The Fragility of Life

I opened my last post by saying it had been a hectic couples of weeks here on the banks of the Cedar. To add to the misery we also had a medical crisis strike our new brother in law Steve.

It seems that Steve had been battling acid reflex and hernia for some time and it was decided that he would undergo laproscopic surgery to correct the problem. This is normally no big deal for most people but for Steve it turned into major surgery and a weeks stay in the hospital. A few days after being released Steve was rushed to the hospital with internal bleeding and underwent hours of emergency surgery and after being infused with 100 units of blood his survival was in doubt. After a few hours in ICU he was scanned again in hopes of finding the source of the bleeding and then it was back into surgery where the doctors eventually removed his stomach in hopes of saving his life. At one point the doctors told Lisa that they were now working outside of the medical books as they try to figure out how to close his wound and wean him from a ventilator. He is still not out of the woods and as they work to battle infections he will surely spend the next several months in the hospital. Our prayers are with Steve and Lisa.

If anyone should find themselves in a similar position and they want to keep friends and family appraised of the condition of a loved one there is a web service out there that operates somewhat like a blog that lets you post updates about a patients condition and allows friends the opportunity to send messages of support. The web site is called Caringbridge and has been an important connection between family and friends during this ordeal.