Many of you know that our last three weeks have been unbelievably difficult. My beloved Grandfather, who is like a Daddy to me, got very ill on April 21 in the wee hours of the morning. He was airlifted from their small town to our larger hospital (where we are rated one of the top 100 in the nation...thank the Lord) where he was treated for a heart attack, pulmonary edema, and essentially cardiogenic shock. He received, during his course of stay in CCU, a balloon pump, dialysis, a blood transfusion, a ventilator, being treated as a diabetic, and so many other things. During all of this, the Lord was so gracious to show our family many things. None of which, at present, I feel I can aptly put into words.
As a bit of history on Pawpaw (which might help you to understand why we love and appreciate him so:)....... He grew up in a self sufficient family- with a police man for a father. His Dad was shot on the job and from the time he was a young boy, he worked to provide for his family. At the tender age of 17, he was drafted into WWII and landed on Normandy Beach on D-Day. He served his country for three years, being wounded and MIA for months at one time. He has since been awarded the Purple Heart for that service (along with other medals of honor). Since his war experience, which was very painful emotionally, he has never wanted to be away from home and had a fear of being somewhere and not being able to get back. All of that is important because during his hospitalization, I (and I am sure others also)constantly prayed for his peace while he was not at home and that the Holy Spirit would minister to him in such a way that he felt that amazing presence of the Lord. God gave us confirmation that He had indeed done that through Pawpaw's own testimony later on:)
One week ago, after prayers of so many, Pawpaw's condition (which had been given to us as a 95% mortality rate) began to change for the better. His body was finally beginning to work again, and he is now off all of those life support machines and in a step down unit where we believe he will go home early next week. I wrote this update to friends and family tonight and wanted to include it in this post for others to know where we are today.
Hi Everyone,
You have all been so encouraging while going through this illness with Pawpaw and I wanted to let you know that the Drs think he might be going home early next week! We are so grateful and can't believe God's goodness and mercy in allowing us more time with this wonderful and very special man.
They have deduced that the thing that caused all this was aspiration from the start. They believe he aspirated (he did eat a bigger than normal meal at dinnertime that night), then the lungs became involved, then the heart attack (due to decreased ability to pump over time) and then the cardiogenic shock. Because of the aspiration theory, they have put in place a PEG tube this morning to assist in nutrition while he learns to swallow again, and while they get his reflux under control. We have a friend who is a speech therapist who will help us do at home exercises to get him eating again.
His disposition remains good. He is SO ready to go home, but he is still joking with all the people who come in to care for him. He even told one of his doctors (about me) "I raised her, but she is a little bit of a smart aleck!" Geez....what'd I do do deserve that??? LOL!!! He also told them I was a good nurse but a bit bossy....hmmm....I might deserve the bossy part;) Anyway, he is retaining his sense of humor. He reminded me tonight about my being a little girl and him telling me that stawberries "put me in a bad humor"...he always did tell me strawberries made me mean:) He used to buy Neopolitan ice cream and I'd have him dig all the strawberry out for me and no chocolate or vanilla could touch it! Wow, was I high maintenance!
Anyway, he is doing well. Please continue to pray that he heals quickly and that he remains peaceful.
I feel such a need to honor this special man in some way. Those of you who know me are aware of the fact that my Father (Pawpaw's only son) died very young of alcoholism. He was not always available to me as a Dad, but where I had needs, Pawpaw stepped in and filled them. I have never in my life doubted that by that man I was loved and cherished. He answered questions left unanswered by my Father so beautifully that I have been able to go on to be fairly productive in this life and marry a wonderful man, who is very much like Pawpaw (even sharing the same initials ) Without his love and care I'd likely still be a little scared girl standing in a corner somewhere afraid of everything around her. He taught me to be different. God intervened in my life through him (and others) and taught me to be different. I am ever grateful.
Peace to you~
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