Papa

I just wanted to let everyone know that my granddad (my moms dad) is not doing too great. He has been in the hospital since Wed. of last week. My aunt Cindy took him b/c he had a spot on his leg that was swollen in his groin area ( around were the leg is attached to the hip). Before I was born (back in Jan 1979) he underwent some surgery to amputate his right leg up to the thigh b/c his veins were clogged. And ever since then he has battled the same problem with his left leg. Of course he stills smokes and will not quit, no matter what the doctors tell him or what he has went through over the years. About every 3-4 years he has to have more surgery to unclog the veins in his good leg (the left one) to save his leg. Well, that is what is going on now. The main artery became clogged and he didn't tell anyone until it became so unbearable to him on Wed. So again he underwent surgery to fix the problem, but now the odds of them having to amputate his leg was a whole lot greater. He did a great job in surgery and they were able to save his leg once again. So, now all he had to do was recover. So, Thursday evening I took Emma and Trent to see him. He is in CCU at Richland and children under 13 is not allowed and I can understand that. But, the nurses were really understanding in letting us take them back there to see him for just a second. He was so thrilled to see them. So, Friday morning rolls around and I received a call from my mom saying that Papa was not doing well. So, I take the kids to Mrs. Hemingways house b/c Geoff is working all weekend (night shift) and I take off to the hospital. He had a massive heart attack and his kidneys were not functioning any. They had to place him on a ventilator and all kinds of machines. Well, he got through Friday night and Saturday. He was doing so good that they took him off of the ventilator Saturday about 2 pm. He could finally talk and looked like he was feeling a lot better. So, I came home and we have a good night and then get another call from my dad Sunday morning that things did not look good at all. So, I dropped the kids off at Cate and Hanks house and once again head off to see him. His blood pressure dropped really low and he could not breathe on his own. The ventilator once again was placed. He pretty much slept all day and is kind of in and out of it. His heart is very weak and is only beating like 55 BPM and his kidneys are not functioning hardly at all so now there is a tube in his stomach to pump all the toxins out so his lungs does not fill up with fluid. He really has so much against him, but he is still fighting very hard to live. He wants the nurses and doctors to do whatever it takes. It is so hard to see someone like that, especially a loved one. I wanted to ask everyone to pray for him and my family. I ask the Lord to give us strength in getting us through this hard time. And thanks to Hank and Cate for watching Emma and Trent pretty much all weekend for me. That really means a lot to me to have great friends like you!! I love you!