Strength Will Rise As We Wait Upon The Lord…

Update On Daddy…

First of all I cannot tell you how incredibly moved I have been over the last several days by the outpouring of prayers, emails, texts, and notes of encouragements.  In fact as I think about it right now – it makes me teary-eyed. I’ve been reading them ALL to my parents over the last several days.

The days have all merged together. I can’t believe it’s only been 5 days. It feels more like weeks.  Here is a run down:

Wednesday:

Dad had a heart attack, heart cath, & stents placed. He was moved to ICU. Jose and I began our journey out of Haiti.

Thursday:

Dad went from ICU to a regular room.

Friday Morning:

Jose and I arrived in KY at 1am. We immediately went to the hospital

They had him on many different medications including blood thinners because he still has several clots in his heart.

I thought dad looked better than what I expected but he was still pale, weak, and anxious.

They told him 4 stents in one place is a lot and that he needs to really watch what he’s doing. They said if the stents hold well – then in a few weeks he should be able to start therapy again and try to get back to normal activity.

They said they could keep him for a few days and wait and see what happens or if he wanted – he could go home. It’s basically a watch and wait game.

Since Jose and I were there – he said he wanted to go home to his own bed.

Friday Afternoon:

As soon as we walked through the door of his house- Jose and I had to run and grab him before he passed out. He had no strength. His chest was hurting and he thought he was having another heart attack. He broke into a cold sweat. He began vomiting while Jose and I were holding him from falling.

We called the hospital and they said to bring him right back. He said he’s too weak to go. They told us to give him some medicine and then have him lay down.

Friday Evening:

After dad rested a while  – he began to pass out again. Jose and I nearly carried him to the car. He was too weak to hold up his body. As I drove him to the ER I just knew we were going to say good-bye. He was trying so hard to talk but he was in so much pain – so weak – so dizzy – he couldn’t speak. I honestly thought he wouldn’t even make it to the hospital.

We arrived at the ER. His blood pressure nearly bottomed out. He was unable to sit or stand and he was incredibly pale. His initial tests were all indicative that he was having heart failure. The problem was since he just had a heart-attack, they couldn’t really tell if his tests were the results of the one he just had 2 days ago – – or of another one he was having in that moment.

Regardless they began pumping him full of fluids and medicine and ran several more tests. The longer we were there – the more his color began to come back. All his vital signs but his blood pressure began to return to normal. He was able to speak and by the end of the evening he was even able to laugh.

Tests revealed that his heart looked good. The stents were still in place. But he now has acute renal failure. They believe the dye from the surgery caused the kidneys to slow down. They said he should have never been discharged today.

They re-admitted him for renal failure and low blood pressure.  He was stable and seemed to be doing fine.

Saturday Early Morning:

Saturday morning at 3am my dad flat-lined. He continued to have a blood pressure of 40/40 and heart rate of 30. He was rushed to ICU where they hooked up an IV in his neck. This larger artery would allow him to have multiple IV’s going more rapidly.

He had renal failure, internal bleeding, low blood pressure, and an infection. The family was being called in.

My mom was completely spent – – nearly ready to fall down herself. The chaplain was with her for over an hour.  Our hearts were heavy as we began to realize this was it. He was leaving us.

Rest of Saturday:

They had given him a ton of medications & antibiotics. He had CT scans trying to find out where he was bleeding. They were pumping fluids in him as fast as they could.

The only thing we know – there is power in prayer.

 

Around 8 am the bleeding stopped and his blood count slowly began to rise.

Around 10am his kidney functioning tests were slowly improving.

Around noon his blood pressure slowly began to rise.

Around 2pm his numbers were back down.

By 4pm he was back on track.

***

Dad is still in ICU but he is stable.  He is incredibly weak but his color is back.  We believe he’s going to pull through this with little damage.  (It’s a miracle)

So much goes through your mind during a crisis. As the family sat together we begin reminiscing about daddy and funny parts of our childhood. There were moments we laughed until we cried – – and moments we cried until we had no more tears. We tried to process – to rally together. I think I’m still processing.

The last few days have been a rollercoaster. Things were up and then down – then left and then right. Our bodies have felt the ride. We are all exhausted on every level.

Please continue to pray for strength for my papa – –  and that this rollercoaster ride will finally come to a complete stop.