Monday's "Mom Message"

Hi guys!

I don't have a lot to update but I know you're curious. So just a quick blurb to say that Sis. Betty remains in Cabrini and we're not sure when she'll be home. She's on some new "big gun" medicine that has to be closely monitored. She had a little set-back this evening, but the whole thing was recorded on her heart monitor so hopefully that will help the cracker-jack heart doctor figure out what's going on with the fluttering, palpitations, arhythmia, or whatever you want to call it.

Everyone keeps asking me if she'll be home in time for Christmas. To be honest, I think all of us in the family really don't care. Not that we don't care about Christmas, but we want mom better - so if that means staying in the hospital over Christmas so the medical team can get all this straightened out, then so be it. We just want her better!

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement. The cards, flowers, balloons, emails, text messages, IMs, phone calls, carrier pigeons (did I leave anything out?) are all very encouraging to us. And thanks for understanding when we don't respond right away - be we are uplifted by your love and prayers. Thank you.

Blessings,

Nathan

P.S. Don't forget out AWESOME Christmas Eve service at 5:00PM Wednesday. "Carols and Communion by Candlelight!" It's going to be GREAT!

P.P.S (Or is that P.S.S.?) I'm going to bring ringing the bells for the Salvation Army tomorrow morning from 10:00-12:00 at the Pineville Walmart on the Grocery entrance. Come say "hello!"

Update on Sis. Betty

Hello everyone,

I'm getting lots of emails, calls, texts, etc, asking for an update on my mom. Here's the synopsis - she's doing better. :)

Here's the longer version - Thursday morning she started experiencing severe heart palpitations and chest pain. Dad called me to come down to the parsonage to check on her. We called the doctor's office and told him we were headed to the ER, which we did quickly. Once there it didn't take long for them to have a lot of people working on her. They tried shocking her heart twice to get it to "convert" back into a regular rhythm and that didn't work. So they used some powerful meds that finally kicked in and called in a cardiac electrophysiologist who quickly got her on a relatively new drug that specializes in this type of problem. They eventually settled her into room 244.

She rested well last night (Friday night) and feels much better today. They're talking about doing another heart cath to make sure they didn't miss any blockages and a CT scan of her lungs to try to find out why her oxygen levels are not where they should be. We don't know how long she'll be up there, I'm guessing at least a couple of days. But she does feel good and would welcome visitors. She's at Christus St. Francis Cabrini hospital in room 244. You can call her at 318-449-2244 if you'd like. Thanks for your continued prayers for my mom!

Blessings,
Nathan

She's baaack!

Hello friends and family,

The picture at the right probably sums up my mom's feelings. No matter how wonderful the care at Christus St. Francis Cabrini, and it was indeed wonderful, still there's no place like home. Mom came home this afternoon and is settling in well. The folks at Cabrini were absolutely wonderful, as my dad commented on his blog. They take their mission seriously to extend the healing ministry of Jesus. But we are definitely glad to have mom home where we can love on her and serve her even more.

Please feel free to stop by the parsonage for a visit. She'd love to see everyone. (You might want to call first to make sure she's presentable! And don't tell her I said that or I'll be in trouble! ) Thank you to everyone who has visited, and especially for being considerate of her need to regain strength by keeping your visits brief. She really appreciates the words, hugs, balloons, flowers, etc.

Well, that's it for this update. I'll try to keep updating. We've got our AngelFood distribution this Saturday, which is always fun. I'm also wrapping up our "Old Carols in a New Light" sermon series this Sunday, talking about "O Holy Night". I've really enjoyed this series. And I'm looking forward to our Christmas Eve candlelight service next Wednesday evening at 5:00PM. It's FUN to serve Jesus!!! Especially with YOU!

Blessings,
Nathan

Thank God for His Healing Hands

Hello friends,

It's been a whirlwind couple of days and by looking at the picture you can probably figure out that the medical field is involved. In this picture you can see a few of the 10 bags of liquid healing that are being pumped into my mom in the ICU at Cabrini. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

My mom had been experiencing some chest pains off and on for some time. Finally she was referred for a stress test and then a heart cath, which showed 5 blockages. She was scheduled for bypass surgery the very next day.

While this was sudden news, we were filled with God's peace. Mom was glad to know it wasn't all in her head and that it was treatable. It was reassuring to know that her surgeon, Dr. Jones, had previously been tasked with providing care for Nelson Mandela some time back and President George W. Bush on his recent visit - so mom was definitely in good hands.

The morning dawned with many visitors, phone calls, texts, emails, etc - all expressing thoughts of prayer, support and encouragement. They finally took mom back and we migrated to the surgery waiting where we received frequent updates on her progress. Finally they were through and the doctor came out to inform us of her excellent progress - they had done 3 grafts, bypassing the 5 blockages, and he was very pleased with how well it had gone. They had not needed to give her any blood and there was no heart damage. A home run!

They brought her up to the ICU and eventually we got to go see her. Her color looked great! She wouldn't have approved of me snapping a photo of her, so I took a picture of the bags of healing. (Sorry for violating the "no cameras" rule, Cabrini!) Later tonight they actually took out the breathing tube and she's doing GREAT!

When I look at that picture, I think of how the Lord has sustained us with His peace and provided everything we needed throughout this entire journey. God is the Great Physician, and He extends His healing hands, sometimes through people. Thank You, Lord, for being our Shepherd, providing EVERYTHING we need. And thank YOU, friends and family, for being there for us. You overwhelm us with your love! Truly we are blessed to feel God's loving and healing hands through you.

Blessings,
Nathan
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Sent from my Treo 700p cellphone - Sorry for any tyops!