Dad is still with us, but...

Last night was a rough one. We were awoken at 3:30 am by a call from the nurse saying that dad's blood gas levels were not looking good at all and we needed to come in. When we got there they were in the process of administering agents to completely paralyze him so that they could force him to breath at an un-natural rate, in hope of forcing his lungs to dispel the collecting liquid. He was sedated and unable to talk anyways due to the breathing tube.

At this time, the fight is over the fluids collecting in his body. We got word that tests confirmed his kidney's are working, they just aren't getting the fluids to process which means there is something going on to divert all of the fluids they are pumping into him. His heart is still working fine but they don't know how long it will last under this type of strain and they are also worried about his low oxygen levels. They did a procedure tonight to try and clear one of his lungs and although they thought it wasn't successful, his heart rate did come up a bit which was good. That was the last thing they can do to help him. Right now, it is completely up to him and God whether he will come back from this.

We have all had a chance to go in and speak with him, albeit through sedation, but the nurse said that he can still hear us. We are prepared for the loss but still hanging on to a shred of hope for him to make it through this. Even so, I know that if he does pass on, it will be such a joy for him to step out of this body and to finally be with the Lord. To have answers to his questions and unhindered communion with God...it will be wonderful and we will rejoice with him, even through feelings of loss for the void he will leave in our lives.

This is a difficult post to type up but I wanted to let our friends and family know what is going on. Thank you all for your many prayers and loving support. We can feel God upholding us through all of this, but it is still emotionally taxing.

~Erika