Karen's stepdad

[karen freeinchristman]

I would really appreciate it if anyone has some spare moments to pray this week for my stepfather, Jerry Gillam. He has just been transferred to UC Davis Medical Center in California. Several weeks ago you may remember me asking for prayer for his leg artery by-pass surgery. That had gone pretty well, but now the graft site (where there is a gortex graft) has become seriously infected, and he is on IV antibiotics. The plan is now to do another by-pass (by-passing the infected graft site) with either some vein from his other leg or with some kind of new different technology they have at UCD. Then the infected gortex graft will be removed. The infection treatment will need to be on-going, and as my stepfather is diabetic, his kidneys are not in very good shape. The kidneys need to be able to get rid of toxins from the antibiotics and their effects.

So I ask for people who read this to help me pray for my stepfather, the surgery, the surgeons and medical staff, and for my mother (June Gillam).

Thank you!

[artrx]

:crossrc: They are all in my prayers Karen, and you. It must be hard to be so far away at times like these.

[No Swansong]

Karen I join in prayer for you and your family. This must be a very difficult time for all of you.

Our Father, help us to remember that we are carved into the palm of your hand and that you are with us even when it seems you are not. I pray for healing for this man and his family. Help them to grow stronger in their faith in you as a result of their troubles.

[karen freeinchristman]

Well, my stepdad had his surgery last night, it lasted 11 hours! He is in the ICU now. They removed the gortex bit of his vein graft and have replaced it now with veins from both of his arms. It wasn't really as much new vein as they would have liked for his leg, and it may not be enough to keep the lower leg going. We will just have to wait and see. Hopefully, he will be able to recover from this very long surgery fairly soon. :prayer:

[No Swansong]

I am still praying

[artrx]

:crossrc: for all of you.

[karen freeinchristman]

Thank you both. :hug:

[No Swansong]

Send your mother my greetings when things settle down. I truly enjoyed her "company" Let her know when you get a chance that we are praying for your Father and her.

[JasonV]

Karen,

Sorry to hear all this. My prayers are with you.

[karen freeinchristman]

Thanks Jason!

[TomUK]

Prayers for you and your family Karen. :crossrc:

[karen freeinchristman]

Thanks a lot, Tom, and everyone.

He is still in the Intensive Care Unit, and is on a ventilator until they can be sure he is circulating enough oxygen around. He's not very comfortable because he doesn't want a lot of pain killers. He can't speak because of the tubes in his throat, and he can't sit up on his own yet. They have to turn him every couple of hours to prevent bed-sores. It's not nice. My mother now has a cold (!) probably from the stress, and can only be around him if she wears a mask!

:sigh:

[TomUK]

:hug: :hug: :hug:

[No Swansong]

:groupray::groupray::groupray:

[karen freeinchristman]

Praise God! I just got a phone call from my mom. She said they have been able to take Pa (that's what we call my stepdad) off the respirator! :clap: He will be so much more comfortable!

I also found out that the wound where the infected gortex graft was removed is actually an open wound. The infection actually ate away some of the skin there, and they aren't able to close it yet. That, and also the function of his kidneys are the two things that now require the focus of prayer! :prayer:

[higgs2]

Oh dear, I just saw this, Karen. I'll pray too, and I'm glad there's been some improvement! :prayer: :crossrc:

[karen freeinchristman]

Thanks, Higgs! :hug:

[artrx]

My continued prayers, Karen!:crossrc: :crossrc:

[karen freeinchristman]

An excerpt from today's email from my mom:

We need specific prayers for healing for Jerry's kidneys right now as they are doing some of their work but not quite as much as he needs them to do. That is my specific prayer intention right now, for his kidneys to take a turn and go in the right direction, either bit by
bit or all at once, according to God's will.

And strength for us, his family, as we all go through this process.

Thank you all. :groupray:

[artrx]

:crossrc:

[karen freeinchristman]

I got a phone call last night from my brother, who had received a message on his answering machine from my mom, telling him that our stepfather's kidneys are failing. He has had to go back on the respirator.

:prayer:

[TomUK]

Oh dear. :crossrc:

How are the family holding up?

[karen freeinchristman]

Oh dear. :crossrc:

How are the family holding up?
I'm not too sure. Because my mom was at the hospital, she couldn't phone me long distance, so that is why she asked my brother to phone me. He doesn't know too much because he wasn't in when she phoned and only received the answer-phone message. My sister is with my mom (my sister is also a nurse), and my stepdad's three children from his previous marriage are there, too.

It's very hard for me being this far away and not being able to be with them.
I'll try phoning my sister later on today.

[No Swansong]

I'm not too sure. Because my mom was at the hospital, she couldn't phone me long distance, so that is why she asked my brother to phone me. He doesn't know too much because he wasn't in when she phoned and only received the answer-phone message. My sister is with my mom (my sister is also a nurse), and my stepdad's three children from his previous marriage are there, too.

It's very hard for me being this far away and not being able to be with them.
I'll try phoning my sister later on today.


I can't imagine how difficult this must be for you.

[artrx]

:hug: :crossrc:

[karen freeinchristman]

I spoke to my sister on the phone. She thinks the next 24 hours are critical. I also spoke to my mom earlier today. She sounded really strong, though my sister says she is up and down.

He is unresponsive, my sister said (she is a nurse). For the past two days. Yesterday he opened his eyes for a short while, but not really focussing on anyone in particular, and he doesn't squeeze anyone's hand when asked to.

They are thinking now that there could be a bit of pneumonia (brought on by the ventilator tubes). It just seems to be everything. Everything is happening. Every bit of his system is affected. Except his heart - it is still strong. But his blood pressure has gone very low. My sister said this will take a miracle if he were to recover.

Thank you for being here. It helps for me to be able to say these things and for you guys to respond in support. Thank you.

[No Swansong]

I spoke to my sister on the phone. She thinks the next 24 hours are critical. I also spoke to my mom earlier today. She sounded really strong, though my sister says she is up and down.

He is unresponsive, my sister said (she is a nurse). For the past two days. Yesterday he opened his eyes for a short while, but not really focussing on anyone in particular, and he doesn't squeeze anyone's hand when asked to.

They are thinking now that there could be a bit of pneumonia (brought on by the ventilator tubes). It just seems to be everything. Everything is happening. Every bit of his system is affected. Except his heart - it is still strong. But his blood pressure has gone very low. My sister said this will take a miracle if he were to recover.

Thank you for being here. It helps for me to be able to say these things and for you guys to respond in support. Thank you.



Karen I will be sure that the intentions for your step-father and family are mentioned in the liturgy throughout the week. You certainly have our prayers.

[karen freeinchristman]

Thank you. I should go to sleep, but I can't sleep. I should be writing a paper, but I can't concentrate on that either. Maybe I'll try to go to sleep.

[karen freeinchristman]

My sister just phoned again. The doctor's have decided that they are going to amputate his leg just below the knee... the tissue has become necrotic in the lower graft area from when he had the bypass. They think that by doing this, it will help his kidney function (the kidneys have become overwhelmed by the infection clean-up). He does have pneumonia in one of his lungs, they found today.

I don't know how much more of this he can take.

His surgery for the amputation will take place within the next three hours, and should only last about two hours.

God be with him.

[TomUK]

He'll be in my prayers for the next few hours.

[No Swansong]

Lord Have Mercy

[higgs2]

My sister just phoned again. The doctor's have decided that they are going to amputate his leg just below the knee... the tissue has become necrotic in the lower graft area from when he had the bypass. They think that by doing this, it will help his kidney function (the kidneys have become overwhelmed by the infection clean-up). He does have pneumonia in one of his lungs, they found today.

I don't know how much more of this he can take.

His surgery for the amputation will take place within the next three hours, and should only last about two hours.

God be with him.
I'm praying, Karen. :crossrc:

[karen freeinchristman]

Just to update on his surgery last night - it went OK, but they had to amputate above the knee instead of below it, which is more complex. The doctor's are saying to my mom that they will wait 2 or 3 days now to see if there is any improvement in Pa and if not they will have to make more decisions.

My stepdad has had many re-births in this life.

I'm focussing my prayers on my mom today.

Thank you all so much for sticking with me in this, it really means so much to me. I love you guys! :groupray:

[No Swansong]

Still Praying for both your Step-dad and all of your family.

[higgs2]

Just to update on his surgery last night - it went OK, but they had to amputate above the knee instead of below it, which is more complex. The doctor's are saying to my mom that they will wait 2 or 3 days now to see if there is any improvement in Pa and if not they will have to make more decisions.

My stepdad has had many re-births in this life.

I'm focussing my prayers on my mom today.

Thank you all so much for sticking with me in this, it really means so much to me. I love you guys! :groupray:
:crossrc: Oh Karen, it must be hard for you to be so far away. :prayer:

[karen freeinchristman]

Things are looking a little brighter now. His blood pressure has stablised and so they have been able to increase the dialysis rate, which will help to clean up the toxins more quickly. Today he has been more responsive, opening his eyes and moving his arms (trying to grab things, my sister says, like an attempt to pull the tubes out, probably, which is a normal reaction). He coughed a few times, too, so his coughing reflex is working now, which they are positive about. They have switched from continuous dialysis to a 6-hourly dialysis, too. So it's an attempt to encourage his kidneys to regain function. His remaining leg is warmer than it was prior to the amputation, and his hands are warmer and pinker, so the circulation has greatly improved. The doctor's seem cautiously positive about how he is doing today.

Praise God!

Specific prayer requests are now for him to be able to come off the ventilator soon, and for him to regain more consciousness, and for his kidneys to regain function.

God bless us, one and all!

[TomUK]

God truely does answer prayers. :clap:

Continued prayers are with you.

[No Swansong]

Praise the God of all Creation!!!!!!

[artrx]

:crossrc: continued prayers for God's presence and blessings with all of you.

[karen freeinchristman]

More progress! (I can't believe we are on page 5 of this prayer thread).

Just spoke to my mom. She said that last night they had a couple of good responses from Pa, when he would squeeze her hand when requested to do so. That was something that was concerning me a lot, that he hadn't responded in that way for so long. Part of the reason he hasn't been able to do that is probably due to fluid retention and build up. His hands were very swollen before yesterday, and you can imagine it is hard to squeeze your hand if it is very swollen. Well, they were able to dialyse off 4 litres of fluid from him yesterday! So that made a great improvement! His white blood cell count is coming down, too. It was 31,000 yesterday, and is down to 25,000 today (10,000 is normal). His breathing tube (respirator) is still not likely to come out today, but they have been able to decrease the volume of air as his own breathing has improved. He also made 30 cc of urine! That was an amazing achievement!

We pray to conform our will to God's will. Pa needs to conform his will to God's will, too. He is doing a great work! The Spirit is at work in him! We must take each day as it comes, with patience and acceptance. The Lord is good. The Lord knows what is best. Thanks be to God!

[No Swansong]

Thank you for the update Karen. He (and all the family) certainly remain in our prayers.

[KatacrossthePond]

:pray:

:hug:

[artrx]

.

[artrx]

"As I utter these prayers
from my mouth O God
In my soul may I feel Your presence.
The knee that is stiff
O Healer make pliant
The heart that is hard,
make warm beneath Your wing.
The wound that is giving me pain,
O best of healers, make whole
And may my hopes and my fears
find a listening place with You."

from Celtic Prayers from Iona

:crossrc:

[pilgrimgal]

More progress! (I can't believe we are on page 5 of this prayer thread).


We pray to conform our will to God's will. Pa needs to conform his will to God's will, too. He is doing a great work! The Spirit is at work in him! We must take each day as it comes, with patience and acceptance. The Lord is good. The Lord knows what is best. Thanks be to God!

Dear Karen,

Joining you in praying all of the above. May God continue to surround (Pa) Jerry and your Mom,June, with all encompassing love and healing.

Almighty God, give them all strength during this time of crisis and pain. :help: them and quicky as only you can do.

God, , please send your Holy Spirit to be with them, comfort, guide, and bring peace. Give good judgment to the caregivers who tend Jerry and all medical persons who are involved that the best treatment will ensue.

In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

pilgrimgal :pray:

[karen freeinchristman]

Pa has had another setback. He has fever, the blood pressure has sunk very low again, he has diarhoea, rapid breathing, and is unresponsive. My mom says the doctors have told her that he has another infection. He has septic shock, which is very progressed. My mom said on the phone that she thinks he is trying to go home to God.

They are having a family conference with the specialist doctors this afternoon to decide whether to continue with aggressive treatment, or to make him comfortable and let him go.

My mom asks for prayers for peace of mind and clarity in the decision they must make for Pa.

God has certainly been present in the situation. My mom feels very much lifted by the prayers she knows are being said by many, and knows she couldn't go through all of this on her own. She knows that God is with Pa, and that this is a journey for him. :prayer:

[TomUK]

Father, may thy will be done. :groupray:

[No Swansong]

Karen please know that our prayers are with Pa, June, You and the rest of the family. I will be sure that he is remembered at Liturgy tomorrow.

John

[artrx]

:crossrc: :hug: :crossrc:

[Simon_Templar]

:crossrc:
The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
and give you peace.
:crossrc:

[pilgrimgal]

Holy God,
Holy Mighty One,
Holy Immortal One,
have mercy.

In the Name of Jesus. :crossrc:

[karen freeinchristman]

Spoke to my mom a little while ago, and she said that the family conference with the doctors went well, that they decided that they will continue to do relatively minor things to treat Pa, but not do anything major, such as another surgery or resuscitation if his heart were to stop.

So they know he has another infection, but they haven't found the source or the exact type yet. They've removed all of his 'lines' and replaced them with new ones, to take the old ones away for culture.

His fever has gone, and his blood pressure and breath rate are better. He did have 2 units of blood. He is still not responsive; but my mom said that when my aunt told Pa that they were going to play some Country and Western music for him, and that he mustn't get up and start dancing, she said she thought she saw a smile come to his lips!

The doctors say that this could just be a 'bump in the road', and the next few days will be key in noting the trends and patterns of his systemic signs. One of the doctors said that he has seen patients in worse condition than this make a recovery (but they did not give undue false hope, either).

Thank you all so very much for the praying, it helps the situation so much and touches me deeply. :hug:

[KatacrossthePond]

Still praying Karen.

You're doing great. Must be hard not being able to be there :hug:

[pilgrimgal]

Still praying Karen.

You're doing great. Must be hard not being able to be there :hug:

My husband and I will continue to pray for Jerry and your mom too.

Peace and blessings,

Your friend in Christ,

pilgrimgal

[No Swansong]

Still in our prayers Karen

[karen freeinchristman]

Well, he's still stable and making small improvements again! His blood pressure is still good today so they can continue the dialysis, and he has been more responsive, opening his eyes, smiling (as much as one can with a respirator tube in their mouth), and moving a bit.

[TomUK]

Great news.

[pilgrimgal]

Well, he's still stable and making small improvements again! His blood pressure is still good today so they can continue the dialysis, and he has been more responsive, opening his eyes, smiling (as much as one can with a respirator tube in their mouth), and moving a bit.

Thanks for this update.

Glory be to God...for this improvement.

Amen and amen! :crossrc:

[karen freeinchristman]

Things have been going OK lately, but now we have another problem which is MRSA infection. (methicillin-resistant Staph. aureus, a bacterium that is resistant to many antibiotics).

[No Swansong]

Things have been going OK lately, but now we have another problem which is MRSA infection. (methicillin-resistant Staph. aureus, a bacterium that is resistant to many antibiotics).

MRSA is something I am very familar with. My continued prayers are with your family.

[artrx]

:crossrc: Still holding your family in my prayers, karen.

[pilgrimgal]

Things have been going OK lately, but now we have another problem which is MRSA infection. (methicillin-resistant Staph. aureus, a bacterium that is resistant to many antibiotics).

Oh, oh, not good. :sorry: Will :pray: in the Name of Jesus.

[karen freeinchristman]

Update - the MRSA was not an infection, it was only a confirmation that he is a carrier, so no problems have actually come of that. They just need to be aware of the fact. So that was good to hear.

Pa (Jerry) was due to have a tracheotomy last night, because they wanted to remove his respirator, as it is not good to be intubated for so long. But this morning, I received this email from my mom and I feel so happy that I had to share it with you all who have been so supportive through prayer (my mom sent a 'group' email to her very large support network of friends and relatives):

Hi everyone,

This morning at nursing shift change, around 7 a.m., Jerry took his ventillator tube into his own hands and pulled it out! He had been scheduled to have a trach put in today in surgery at 3:30 as he was considered very borderline as to getting off the ventillator and the
docs thought it would help him wean off it by having the trach for a couple weeks. Jer thought otherwise.

After his auto-medical procedure, he was put onto an oxygen mask to see how he did on his own breathing, then after doing pretty well though working a bit hard at his breathing, he was dialized for a 3-hour session to pull fluid from his lungs, and then put onto one of those small oxygen tubes under the nostrils. He breathed more easily as the afternoon went by and slept, snoring lightly and sounding like his "at home in the recliner" self.

The docs wanted him to breath slowly and to cough on his own, and he did pretty well on both, his respirations being at about the same rate as they had been on the ventilator.

So, please pray for him to continue in this manner or even more slowly and deeply through the night and into tomorrow. If he can hold his own that way, he will not have to be reintubated nor have the trach put in.

By the time I left tonight at 8:00 he was whispering that he wanted to stand up and wanted to go up to a regular room out of ICU. It is hard to keep him focused on simply slow breathing and coughing, for better or for worse. All of his other issues are continuing to improve, as well.

Waiting to see what tomorrow brings; thank you all for your great support.

--june

:clap: :cry: :clap: I am just amazed! God has done amazing things! Praise God and Thank you to the Medical team at UC Davis Medical Centre, too!!! This is just so wonderful, because it's the first time in weeks that he has been able to communicate with his own voice!

[No Swansong]

:clap:Wonderful News!!!!:clap:

[pilgrimgal]

Karen, this is good news. Thanks for updating us and sharing June's email.

God is good to heal and restore.

Sounds like Jerry has a great attitude and will power.

Amen and Amen!

pilgrimgal

[artrx]

That's wonderful to hear, Karen! I pray for continued healing!

[karen freeinchristman]

More good news - last night Pa also took out his feeding tube! The nurses put it back in because they didn't want to call out the doctors in the middle of the night for that reason, but this morning the doctors decided to take it out, and Pa actually ate 3 bites of tapioca pudding! So they are going to start to feed him. And the physiotherapist is going to start working with him today, too, to help him get some muscle strength back after being in bed for so long.

They are a little worried that he will continue to rip out all of his lines, though. He is on painkillers (for the amputation pain), and so can't really just be told not to do it. So they are thinking that someone will have to be with him 24 hours, in which case my mom will probably have to hire a sitter for the 12 hours of nighttime that she needs to go home.

Also, he didn't need any dialysis yesterday, either, so it looks like his kidneys are beginning to regain function!

It truly is a miracle. I really thank you guys for praying; my whole year-group at seminary were also praying so it was an international prayer group! :)

[karen freeinchristman]

Just updating everyone who has been so wonderful for prayer support.

Pa is now out of the ICU. He is off dialysis completely. He is off the feeding tube completely. He is off the respirator. Hallelujah!

He is beginning to slowly gain his strength back, but still needs a lot of physiotherapy from being in bed for so long.

He has accepted his amputation pretty well, and it is healing well. His leg wound is still open (the one from the initial bypass surgery), so that still needs some more healing.

We would like it if his appetite would increase, as he isn't eating that much. But perhaps that is because he has been so sedentary.

I was able to speak to him on the phone for a couple of seconds (my mom wasn't supposed to have her cell phone on in the hospital). He sounded great.

My mom says that if he is able to increase in strength over the next couple of weeks, he could be home before Christmas.

Thank you all so very much for your prayers; we know they helped. :hug:

[No Swansong]

Wonderful news Karen!

[karen freeinchristman]

Just wanted to update that on Dec 19th, my stepdad finally left the hospital and is home with my Mom! :clap:

They are doing pretty good, just trying to adjust to life, my stepdad as an amputee and my Mom as his carer. May God give them the strength and grace that they need.

Thank you all once again for the prayers.

[artrx]

Keeping them in my prayers as they learn to adjust. It's great he could be home by Christmas.

[karen freeinchristman]

:sigh: Need prayers again.

My stepdad has been making great recovery up until about two weeks ago, when a sore on a toe of his remaining leg wasn't healing, and so they put three small stints in a vein in his thigh, which went fine, but this morning they went to see the doctor again and there is now some infection in the bone of the toe that has the sore, and so he will have to have that toe cut off. His surgery is in about two weeks and he'll have to stay in hospital for about 5 days. My mom and stepdad are very upset about this, because of course, their fears come from the ordeal they've already been through.

:prayer:

[TomUK]

:hug:

My prayers remain with your family Karen.

:crossrc:

[artrx]

My prayers as well, Karen:crossrc: .

[No Swansong]

Karen how about an update?