Update on Dad

It has been almost 4 weeks since my dad had his heart attack. We’ve been up to Michigan every weekend since he had the attack. I’m pleased to say that he is doing better. He is off the respirator and is breathing on his own.
The doctors say his progress will be slow, but we are thankful for any progress we can get. My mother is holding up fairly well, but I know at times she is overwhelmed by everything. She just wants him to come home from the hospital quickly.

Dad has a hard time talking because his vocal cords are swollen from the respirator. They put dad in a cardio chair for about 3 hours each day so he isn’t on his back all the time. He says it hurts when he is in the chair and he doesn’t like it. I’m afraid that he is getting depressed about his current state, but that is expected.

It is hard to see someone who prior to the heart attack was fairly healthy and strong to be in such a weak state. He is fortunate to even be alive at this point, so God has given him a second chance.

Genesys Hospital has an email service where you can email patients. Last week I sent him an email to cheer him up and to give him words of encouragement. He did receive the email and my mom read it to him. Here is the text of my email:

Hi Dad,

I can’t tell you how pleased I am that you are able to sit up and open your eyes. You really had us scared the last few weeks. You have been through quite an ordeal and it will take some time to get you back on your feet.

I pray that you do not become discouraged. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be for you to have to be in the hospital, but remember that every day you will continue to improve. I was so good to hear your voice on Saturday. I could barely hear you, but it made me feel good nonetheless.

It is hard to be away from you while you recover. Even though we are 250 miles away, Christie, Gannon, Grant, Gibson and I think of you all the time and are praying for your quick recovery.

I am proud to call you my father and I’m thankful for everything you have done for me. The boys can’t wait for you to take them fishing again and to tell them deer hunting stories.

Never forget that we all love you very much and God loves you even more than we do.

"And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
James 5:15-16

Continue to be strong and you will be well on your way to recovery. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Sending much love your way,

Bryan

A Day I Wish Had Never Happened

This past week was not a good one. On Thursday, January 5, I received a call from my brother Vince on my cell phone while I was at lunch with some co-workers. I knew right away that this would not be a pleasant call. Vince advised me that my father had a heart attack and they were performing emergency surgery on him. (Above is a photo taken in 2002 of my dad and I).

I had to get back to Michigan right away. Unfortunately, my car had a problem with the radiator and was in the process of being taken to the shop to be repaired. We only had Christie’s van and she needed it to be home with the kids as they are in school.

Fortunately, my friend Jeff Whetzel from work drove me up to Michigan in his car along with his brother-in-law Lucas. When I finally made it to Genesys Regional Medical Center in Grand Blanc, my father had just come out of surgery and the doctors had spoken with my mother and sister. The doctors informed them that dad had a 90% blockage in one of his arteries and as they were preparing to perform an emergency angioplasty, he had a heart attack right there on the operating room table. Fortunately they were able to hook him right away to the heart-lung machine they use to perform the angioplasty. They also performed a triple bypass surgery and mitral valve repair.

The doctors said that after the surgery he only had about 30% function in his heart. He went into surgery around 12:30PM and he didn’t come out until about 6:00PM a few minutes before I arrived at the hospital. Those next several hours waiting to be able to see him were quite trying. We were finally allowed to see him for a few minutes. He was hooked up to all kinds of machines and IV’s. To be honest, he looked terrible. I said a short prayer and left the room to wait for the next step.

Around 10:30PM the doctor came out to the lobby waiting room. He told us that dad’s blood pressure was very low and that there were two things causing it, one of which was fixable. He said that there either is a blood clot in the fluid sac that protects the heart, which can be fixed, or that there was just too much damage done to his heart and there really wasn’t anything he could do. The severity of what he said hit me like a brick.

The doctor said they would have to open him up again. My mom, sister Viki and I immediately wanted to see him before he went back to the operating room. I felt numb as we walked down the hallway to his room. As I entered the room there were about 4 or 5 medical personnel getting him ready for the surgery. Dad’s body was shaking and his arms and legs were twitching as if he were trying to get up off the table. It is a sight I will never forget. I stood as tears flowed down my face and I placed my right hand on dad’s left thigh and lifted my left hand up facing God and began to pray. I’m not sure what I even said or if I even said the prayer aloud or to myself. I was oblivious to anything else that was going on around me. When I was finished, I said “I love you dad”, and walked out of the room.

As I was walking down the hallway towards the 3rd floor lobby, the realization that I may have just seen my father alive for the last time began to overwhelm me. I could hear my sister and mother walking behind me, but I just couldn’t look at them. I initially wanted to immediately go to the hospital chapel to pray, but I didn’t know where it was located and I was just to upset to try to find it. I found a quiet corner in the lobby area, sat down and prayed quietly. Dr. Silver initially said that dad would be in surgery for about 1-2 hours.

I called Christie on my cell phone to give her the news and to have her pray as well. She was back in Indiana. I wanted her here with me at this dark hour, but I knew that she had to stay back with our boys. I don’t remember what I even told her, but I remember her crying on the other end saying, “oh my God, I’m so sorry”.

The next 90 minutes seemed to last forever. Finally around midnight as my sister and I were walking down the hallway towards the surgery area, we saw Dr. Silver emerge from the surgery wing. He gave us a reassuring nod, so we knew that he had good news for us. We tried to contain our excitement as we continued walking with him down the hallway towards the anxious lobby area. He proceeded to tell us that there was indeed a blood clot in dad’s heart sac and they were able to remove it and that his blood pressure began to improve. This was fantastic news! He then proceeded to tell us that because of the swelling in his chest cavity, they were unable to close his chest fully and they had to keep it open to relieve the pressure on his heart. We weren’t sure what this meant, so Dr. Silver explained that his chest cavity would remain open and it would be covered with a special sterile cover. Once the swelling went down they would close him back up.

Later that night we were allowed back into his room to see him. The sight of him lying there with about 15 IV’s, respirator, and many other machines hooked up to him gave me a sick feeling him my stomach. I thanked God that dad was still alive and I knew that the next several days would be harrowing.

Logos 5

This past December, Christie and I traveled to Grand Rapids, MI with our boys to attend the LOGOS 5 Wesleyan Youth Convention. We were sponsors for the Junior High students. A total of around 50 youth from our church attended. Gannon and Grant are part of the JC Bodyshop youth group at College Wesleyan.

We arrived a day early so we took the boys to the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum. The museum was very impressive. The best part was the replica of the Oval Office as it appeared during Ford’s presidency. There was also a large section of the Berlin wall in the main lobby.

Overall, I thought the conference was very good. I enjoyed the music and the speakers were inspiring, especially that of Marilyn Laszlo, who shared her story about time spent in Papua New Guinea as a missionary and Bible translator for Wycliffe Bible Translators. Some of the high school students felt that the speakers were not “deep” enough in the Word for them. Our youth pastor Mike Hofer had to remind them that this convention was designed for students who are at various levels in their walk with Christ. Some of these kids’ parents are Bible professors at IWU and I think they are a little spoiled by the preaching they hear every Sunday at our church.

Several of the high school and junior high kids became ill during the trip. Fortunately for them, Christie was there acting as both nurse and pharmacist. She had her bag of medicine with her and she was busy dispensing aspirin, cold and flu medicine and other remedies to the kids. I jokingly told her that we needed to put a Walgreen’s sign our hotel room door as they were always knocking on our door saying “Christie do you have any……?”

Although Gibson is too young to be part of the JC Bodyshop youth group, he participated in all of the activities with the “big” kids. In the evenings after the general sessions were over students could participate in the Street Party in one of the convention halls.

The Street Party consisted of video games, and other activities such as a mechanical bull, dodge ball, jousting, and basketball to keep the kids busy. Christie and I were both exhausted from the trip, but we both agreed that we had a great time. Our boys had a wonderful time as well. We are so glad that they are able to attend conferences like this where they can learn more about God with their friends.