Monday, April 12, 2010

Update on Dad and Justin (Monday Morning - going into surgery)

Dad and Justin are being taken back into the OR for surgery. Justin’s surgery should last about one hour, and we should be able to see him in two hours. If a room opens up, he will be moved out of ICU and into a room after surgery. If not, he will return to ICU.

Dad’s surgery is not as sure. The surgery should last 2-6 hours. He will need some down time after the surgery before he returns to ICU. We hope to be able to see him later this evening or tonight before visiting hours close in the ICU at 10pm.

The surgery plan is to repair his pelvis bone and provide the stability he needs to recover. We are hopeful that the surgeons may not have to make a large incision. However, if necessary, the surgeons may need to open him up to repair the damage. If they do, they will also repair his bladder. If they don’t have to open him up, the bladder will heal on its own over time (there has already been some improvement!).

The doctors say that if everything goes as planned, dad should be in the same condition that he was today by tomorrow morning… except his injuries would have been taken care of. That means we would be able to stop focusing on repair and start down the road to recovery! At that point, we would be able to start talking about timelines for removing the ventilator and sedation.

So here’s the deal, pray hard now. Pray that God would guide the hands of the surgeons. Pray that Jesus would bring comfort to Dad and Justin's hearts through the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit. Pray that Dad would continue to fight and never give up. Pray that Justin’s surgery would be clean and allow for quick recovery. Pray for my mom as she deals with leaving my dad and brother and spends time with the Lord. And while you’re at it, pray for complete healing for my mom’s medical condition.

Prayer is critical right now. Please pray hard, and pray now. Don’t stop praying today. We can feel your prayers and we can see God move. We know that prayer matters, so please continue.

We will give an update after the surgeries. Until then, continue to pray.

We can add Australia to the list of international places of prayer for our family. Hannah Jernigan (sorry, I don't know your new last name) is there with her new husband. They and thousands of people at Hillsong are praying for Dad, Justin, and our family.

2 comments:

Hannah Burnett said...

So glad for the update. Y'all have been in my prayers throughout the morning. May God's presence sustain each of you.

Love your family!

karen said...

I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to share another poem for you, and your family. My prayers, from here in eastern Oregon, have also grown to other parts of the country, as blog readers have read about what happened. Find comfort in the Healing of our God, dear friends..

when you cannot close your eyes
and you think you can't keep going on
the peace of God comes surrounding you
and fills your heart with His healing song

You will find peace in this valley
you will find such loving care
you will find hope for all your troubles
you will find my God is waiting there

when you cant seem to see ahead
what I can clearly see for you
just rest in My arms of love
as I have my work set out to do

For you :
you will find my peace in this valley
you will find my Presence waiting there
you will find hope for all your days
I am a God whose love for you, I will share.

Nestle into my comfort, Child
feel my gaze upon your face
be still and know I will hold you close
come to my Side, a healing place.