Aug 22 and Aug 23

Hello Family and Friends,

Over the last week, life has been full of faith building challenges. Between getting Olivia's Kindergarten situation settled (Praise the Lord, she will be 100% mainstream integrated - she will NOT have to go into a Multi Handicapped room at all....that's a whole different story) and mentally preparing for my Mom's right and left sided heart cath, it was a stressful week.

My sister has sent out a couple emails that detail the events of the last two days. Those of you who are on her email list, please forgive the duplication. Her letters are in BLUE and GREEN and I've made interjections and addendums in red. :0)

ANGELE'S LETTER ONE - Continue to Pray for My Mom - Friday, Aug 22
Thank you all for your prayers. It has been a day that has seen many emotions. God was good and we were all in good spirits when my mom finally went in for her heart cath (right and left) around 1 pm. The dr. came out to talk with us and said it went well, but the pressures in her heart were very high and he was quite concerned. His words in fact were "I am not going to sugar coat this, it does not look good". The plan was to get a bed ready and move her over to the heart failure ICU and the pulmonary and cardiac team would work together over the next few days to figure out a med combination that would hopefully get her heart functioning better. I went downstairs to make some calls and when I returned my Aunt Alverda and Stephanie were coming back out of the "family room" with the doctor. In that short time, she began having trouble breathing and they wanted to put in a respirator but she refused. The doctor was checking to see if Aunt Alverda could go back with him and talk to her. She said when she went back there were over 15 people in her room and she looked very scared and not well. She talked with mommy and told her we all wanted her to have the respirator put in and she consented. (I later asked my mom why she refused and she said that she thought she was breathing a little better with oxygen and didn't realize how serious it was). [My mom also said that she was requesting to see her family, but they didn't want to have any family members to see her in that state. When the attending came in to see her on Sabbath morning, he said "we're glad we got to intebate you because we wanted you here with us"] A dr later came out and said he'd walk us over to ICU where they were still working on her. He was very kind and carried our things and Aunt Alverda said he was there in the room with her and he had said that my mom asked him to stay with her and he said he would. She assumed he was one of the dr's attending to her, but as we talked to him in the ICU waiting room he said that he was just walking by and he could see she was in distress and he went in to be with her and when she asked him to stay he did and he did not leave her. My mom later told us that he also prayed with her. We are truly convinced that was God sending an "angel" to be with her. Thank you Jesus for sending Dr. John Galla, to comfort my mom in her time of need. [Dr. Galla also told us that had she not conceded, he was going to order she be intebated.....the authority of a Dr. not even on her team - ANGEL indeed!!!]Around 6:30 they still had not called us to see her, so I called the nurse and she said in a couple minutes. A few minutes later her pulmonary dr. came out (she had been called in) and she explained that she wanted to remove the tube because patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) it can intensify that. She said they would up her medication because her health has significantly declined. She was better but still critical. We (Steph, Lynette, Pastor Valles, Sharon and Aunt Alverda - Avery wasn't allowed ) finally got in to see her and I hadn't seen her before but Aunt Alverda and the doctors said she looked a lot better. When I just told her nurse that we would be staying the night she said "she's fine" but I told her we would feel better staying. The nurse said that her blood pressure was over 200 when they first brought her over. She is on nitroglycerin and lasix to try and pull the fluid off and they have upped her Flolan (PH med).Sorry, for the rambling but I wanted to update you on all of what is going on and let you know that God is hearing and answering your prayers. Continue to pray that God will preserve my mom's life.I am unable to get a signal in the hospital, but as you can see they do have a computer, so I am able to email.Thank you once again for your prayers, love and concern. God is Good and I am claiming the many promises in His Word.
[As we were settling down for the night, I was reading my bible, following my yearly bible plan. I happened to read Habakkuk 3:19 Clear Word paraphrase "The Lord is my strength - whom shall I fear? The Lord is my light - of whom Shall I be afraid?" I made a notation in my bible the date and circumstance when I read this.]



ANGELE'S LETTER TWO - God Continues to Work, Aug 23
Again I thank you for your prayers. My mom had a restful night, the three (Aunt Alverda, Steph and myself) of us rotated sitting with her through the night and into this morning. She is able to have the oxygen nasal cannulas and not the full mask and her oxygen levels are good.I was in when the dr. came this morning and he continues to say how she looks much better. He said the course of action today is to get her off the high dose of nitroglycerin and find the right combination drug in pill form to keep the pressure down in her heart. He is a cardiologist and admits they want to aggressively treat the left side and the failure, but her primary diagnosis and main concern is lowering the pressure in the right side (the PH). So, he wanted to talk to her pulmonary dr. before he did anything and he wants to increase her Flolan. She had a chest x-ray this morning and he said the fluid is minimal, nothing to worry about (they weren't sure if she had aspirated into her lungs or had pulmonary edema).He is totally against her continuing with Toprol (sp), a drug she was put on 2 wks ago. He feels that caused a lot of the fluid retention and was not the right drug to use for her.The most promising thing he said and I am claiming it and know that God is working, is that he strongly feels that if they can get the pressure in her right heart under control, the left side will begin to function at a better rate. He feels that is why her left side is declining so rapidly due to the high pressure on the right. Only God knows what is happening and I pray that He will give her doctors the wisdom to treat her.She looked and sounded like my mommy this morning and I thank the Lord for each of your prayers. Please continue to lift her up and our family (traveling mercies as my dad is driving over from PA and my sister and aunt will be going home this evening). If she wants me to stay I will be with her again this evening at the hospital.Again thank you for your prayers and love. I have shared your love and concern with my mom.And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.Isaiah 65:23-25

Today of all days, my battery died in the parking garage (my Dad gave me a jump) and I was running out of gas on my ride home. I stopped in Ashland, Ohio, an hour from Cleveland for gas and my car wouldn't start. The attendants in the store said they weren't allowed to assist customers outside and they didn't even have jumper cables. I called Edroy to come to my rescue, and while I was waiting, I asked the Lord to lead me to the next "angel". I figured men driving trucks would be likely candidates, so the first man I saw driving a truck, I asked if he had cables. He said yes he did and would help me as soon as he used the restroom. I called Edroy and told him not to come. After only three hours of sleep, the Lord guided my vehicle safely home and we headed straight out for a new battery.

I add my thanks to all of you who have called and expressed your concern and shared your encouraging words and prayers WITH me. The hope and peace that has overcome me is very comforting. All of your messages, hugs, kisses, thoughts and prayers are being relayed to my Mom and family and we feel God's presence. Continue to boldly uplift your prayers before God's throne of grace.

Above all else, I emplore each of you to prepare your hearts for Christ's soon return. As I told Mommy this morning, this life doesn't matter...we are assured that if we confess our sins, He will forgive us and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness....WHEN WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN, WHAT A DAY OF REJOICING THAT WILL BE!!!!!! Until then my heart will go on singing!!

1 Corinthians 2:9 Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.