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Prayer request for my brother

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I want to thank you all for your prayers. It means a lot to me and unless I'm misjudging his reaction, my brother too. I told him y'all were praying for him and he managed to make half a smile.

 

To update, it seems like God has answered your prayers with a "yes" so far, as my brother has been slightly moe responsive each day. Although all the testing isn't quite complete, the summary I've been able to piece together is as follows:

 

Over a year ago he hurt his ankle badly. It turned out to be fractured, but as the men in this family can be remarkeably stubborn he decided not to take time off work (he's a chef trainer for Dave and Buster's), but just to take tons of Advil to deal with the pain.

 

As the doctor agreed strenuously, taking asprin daily can be good, taking Advil and some of the other over-the-counter pain killers is not. Without making a definite connection for legal purposes, I'll just say that my brother has encountered many of the problems which the labels on these pills say can happen if you take too much.

 

After several months his blood pressure skyrocketed and he returned to the doctor. While examing him the doctor realized that not only was his pressure sky high, his kidneys were beginning to show signs of damage. The doctor put him on medicine for that and finally sent him home.

 

Apparantley my wasn't taking it regularly and delayed in getting a refill, and needed to go back to the hospital emergency room.

 

When they examined him they discovered his blood pressure to be 290 over 180, which I honestly thought impossible and some of the doctors had never seen in someone who lived through it. This back pressure actually tore one of my brother's aortas, and they also discovered an abdominal aneurism. On top of all this he developed pneumonia after a few days in the hospital and his lungs started to fill with fluid.

 

It was at this point that the doctors put him on the ventilator and though he was still responsive at first he began to lapse in and out of consciousness, fighting the machine the whole way. This is when they started using a paralytic on him to keep him still and let his body work.

 

This was all by last Wednesday. At this point I'm going back tonight because they should have the results of his CT scan and know ifhe had a stroke or not during this time, which they suspect.

 

The doc said that if he hasn't suffered a stroke, the biggest concern will be the fluid in his lungs because his aorta was already healing itself before all this happened. He's concerned that my brother may have had a stroke because he wasn't moving his feet or left hand as of Friday, though he was using them all just fine when he was first admitted. His right hand and arm are still quite strong. He's on dialysis though, and they aren't extremely confident about his kidneys.

 

He'd probably kick my butt for sharing so much, but I really do believe that God is at work in this, and I also think we all need this reminder about taking care of ourselves. About working too much (I certainly do that), about not obeying the doctor, about taking too much of the easy medicine, and not enough of the hard.

 

Even if it doesn't seem like it, and also for those very aware of it, there are people who love us, and people who depend on us in some way, and somebody is always looking at how we live our lives. Even if we don't do it for our own sake, we've gotta do it for theirs. (I'm emailing my boss about taking vacation as soon as I post this!)

 

/soapbox

 

Thanks everybody, from the bottom of my heart. I know that God hears every prayer of His children, even if sometimes the answer is "no", which is what every good parent does sometimes. It's very encouraging to know that people have gone to God on your behalf.

 

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290 over 180
:bugeyes: WOW...thats the highest I have ever heard of right there Mark. My sister has high BP and hers gos to something like 200/135 sometimes I think, but 290/180...holy cow man!

 

 

 

Glad to hear hes showing a little improvment. Tell him we're all still thinking and praying for him!

 

 

Steve

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I wish you your brother, and your family my very best, my thoughts and prayers are with you.

 

 

Dustin

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Our prayers for your brother,yourself and family go out to you all in this time of need.We only hope for the best for him and a speedy recovery from this.

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Your prayers have meant a lot to me, my brother, his girlfriend and my family. One of the biggest steps I ever took in growing in Christian maturity was when I realized that with God being a Father, sometimes Hehas to say "no".

 

I've seen many, many people shaken to the core of their faith because God didn't say "yes" to their prayer, or because something bad happened. God was good to help me understand early on in my life with Him that bad things WILL happen even to His children, but that is not the most important thing in life, nor is it to be feared.

 

He was good to help me put two and two together and realize that "no" is sometimes the best answer of all, and if I understood all the present and all the future, I wouldn't need Him.

 

This morning, God said no, and He took my brother home.

 

My brother Charles died of Cardiac Arrest at about 10 AM, but I know that he now lives in a more real way than he ever has.

 

His girlfriend is devastated of course, and their 3 year old doesn't understand why dad isn't coming home. My mom and sister are taking it very hard too, of course. This is the second child my mom has had tobury, and no parent should ever outlive their child. They still very much need your prayers.

 

Wanna hear something ironic? We aren't the closest family. We love each other, but we don't stay in close contact, and often a year or more can pass between visits. His girlfriend told me this morning that his favorite lake happened to be mine too, and I never knew it. He was an early bird, loving to be on the water well before sunrise, while I'm content to roll out of bed and get there whenever.

 

There's a very good chance that we were fishing the same lake on the same day and never even knew it.

 

He was the best fisherman I ever knew, and it sucks that we let so much fishing and fellowship time go past. Thank you all again though, because your caring and prayers have been like food to me, helping me to remember that we aren't alone.

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Mark - I am truly sorry to hear of your bothers passing. I said a number of prayers for him, your whole family and his doctors. We had a guest priest from Boston Mass visit our parish last weekend and his sermon was actually about when God says "no". Viewing God as a father/parent is very reassuring. Your family will remain in my prayers.

 

I am sure Charles will be joining you in spirit the next time you fish your favorite lake.

 

Kind Regards,

Ray

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Mark I really am sorry to here this. I was praying that he get to spend a bit more time here with his family but I guess it was not to be. You are very right, sometimes the answer we get is not the one we asked for but it all fits into a plan that we cant understand sometimes. I'm truely sorry to hear of his passing and I'll continue to remember you, your mom and the rest of your brothers family in my prayers. Hoepfully their suffering is eased a bit with the help of others.

 

You know you helped me a good deal last year dealing with the death of one of my family members, so if I can help return the favor then dont hesitate to pick up the phone.

 

Steve

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Mark, I am so sorry for your loss.....you are right when you say no parent should outlive their child, I lost 2 brothers myself & watched my parents sorrow till the day God took them home. Death can bring families closer...or push them apart..which is what happened to me. Take comfort in knowing he is with God and my prayers are with you & all of your family. You said he was the a great fisherman so I'll make it a piont to put one in the net for him. God Bless

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Mark,

 

My wife, Janet, died nearly two years ago after suffering for four years with lymphoma. The two main things I remember about that experience are wanting her to not hurt or suffer any more and wondering when things would get better. For both Janet and me, that time came when she died, June 28, 2005 at 3:25 am, early in the morning. She didn't hurt anymore, and that is also what helped me with what I wanted, too. She had suffered so much I knew the only way for her to be relieved of the tremendous pain was for her to die; nothing else would do it.

 

Janet and I had had the time to talk everything over many times, although she and I only knew she didn't have a chance for about 3 months. She was extremely brave and tough, but she didn't want to suffer longer or be totally incapacitated for the rest of her life.

 

I am sure your brother felt the same way. Life with only pain and suffering and/or total incapacitation is no life at all. Although you all lost him, he is no longer suffering, and he would have had he lived.

 

I am sorry he died and that you all have to suffer through this. It is always difficult and heart rending.

 

Take care,

 

Ray

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Mark, Im so sorry to hear about your loss. Im still praying for you and your family, and God will comfort you and your family.

 

 

 

Dustin

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