Craig and Susan Hancock

My brother, Craig, has dedicated the majority of his life to the sport of skeet shooting, both locally and on the world stage, sharing his knowledge and love of the sport by pouring into hundreds of children, adults, and world-class athletes. As a result of the many lives changed by the seeds he’s sown, many are asking, “What happened,” and “How can we help?”

“What happened?”

As many of Craig’s family and friends know, he’s faced some medical challenges over the last few months. What was initially believed to be a fixable heart issue, was discovered to be much more complicated, for both Craig and his medical team. A few months after recovering from successful coronary ablations at the beginning of the year, other issues started to arise. Regardless of medications changed and medical opinions given, Craig’s condition deteriorated, causing him to unfortunately miss shooting events, classes, and travel, which are his livelihood, as well as some of his greatest joys in life.

While Craig received some answers during his 16 days in hospital, he has a journey ahead of him. The earlier ablation procedure has caused a build-up of scar tissue to form around the arteries found on the back side of the heart. This rare pulmonary vein stenosis (narrowing) makes the heart unable to pump oxygenated blood back into the body. While inhaling oxygen is not the issue, the heart returning oxygenated blood to the rest of the body is. This has meant a change in Craig’s mobility and appetite, rendering him out of breath, essentially immobile, possibly needing medical help to meet basic nutritional needs. Because this anomaly is rare, there are no surgeons in Georgia, and very few in the country, qualified to perform the surgery he needs.

“How Can We Help?”

While no one enjoys asking for help, especially now, we have reminded Craig and Susan that they themselves have given to help others, regardless of their own situations, as well as praying and supporting families across the country and world.

First, please help us pray for:

• Craig’s health to improve for him to be stable enough to receive procedure.

• A call from a surgeon at Vanderbilt to be received quickly.

• Favor with medical team and blessing on the surgeon’s mind and hands.

Secondly, if anyone feels led to give in order to help with travel, medical bills, or even just a love offering for Craig and Susan, we as a family are forever grateful.

We will continue to provide updates as they come. As of now, Craig is home and resting, waiting on a call from Vanderbilt Hospital. We are working together as a family to support his recovery and each other, resting in our faith while we wait.