Hello all.
I’d like to share some updates from Greg’s story I’ve shared via Facebook recently.
Greg received news from the drs this week. I haven’t updated much on here. I still have some people asking if he is home. He’s been home since October, but he’s been suffering most of that time. He’s pretty much home bound. Even getting out to go to the doctor is hard for him. We have contacted home health and haven’t had much luck this far. This whole situation has been really hard on all of us. We are truly thankful for everyone who is still praying.
Background story for new friends: Greg was born with heart disease and heart valve defects. He had 3 open heart surgeries as a kid, and he was able to recover and be a seemingly normally functioning person- anyone who met him thought he was joking if he said he had heart problems. He only needed to take 2 meds daily to help keep him on course. Until 2019 came along. Greg had open heart surgery for a 4th time; his first time as an adult. As many know, your body heals and recuperates much faster as a kid. This surgery was truly life changing for him and our family. He’s on 20+ meds per day that all come with their own individual symptoms. The last three years have been the hardest years. It’s hard to see him suffer and in pain. He tried to return to work and couldn’t endure the physical stress of it all. He had multiple hospital stays and procedures performed over these last 3 years. In June of this year, he remained in the hospital at least 80-90% of the time until September. Weeks of his life spent there. During the summer, I spent most of my time there with him, trying to be as supportive as I could. It hurt us both so much to have so much time away from Jalyn. Then, August came, and Jalyn and I returned to school. The next two hospital stays came along and Greg felt so isolated there. The first week of his hospital stay usually goes pretty well- we feel like quality of care totally nose dives after that first week, so it’s really hard to think to the future.
Flash forward to this week (beginning of December): Greg’s cardiologist called Thursday. They’ve been looking at a leak his heart has for awhile (months) trying to decide if they thought they could fix it without it being too brittle and breaking apart while they’re in surgery. They determined it’s too dangerous and they won’t take the risk. He has two options: Go in the hospital and stay there 100% of the time until a heart becomes available for transplant- literally LIVE IN THE HOSPITAL. Option 2: he can stay home and receive comfort care and eventually go on hospice to keep him comfortable until he passes. He’s going to take the next month or so and try to make a decision. He’s so unhappy and his mental health is so poor when he’s in the hospital. He’s so much happier at home, despite all the daily complications he’s learning to live with. It could be months or even longer before a heart becomes available it’s a lot to think about and consider and pray over. I know this is a long post. I’m thankful for those of you who read it in its entirety. We are so so so thankful for those who keep us in their prayers. Only God knows what the future holds for us, and we are going to stand strong in our faith. We are determined in that- but please know we are all feeling heartbroken at this time. I think the plan is to enjoy the holidays altogether and move towards a decision after the New Year. We would appreciate thoughts and opinions of those near and dear to us. Thank you.
You'll never believe the call we just received from Greg's cardiologist. They've managed to find a 3rd option. It would require open heart surgery, so it's a huge decision in his delicate case, but I can't help but feel like this is the power of specific prayer and everyone coming together. We truly appreciate all the prayers and hope everyone will continue upon this new update. They'll be calling to schedule a consult with the surgeons soon, so we can make an informed decision. Just to be clear: no decision has been made at this time. This is a huge deal and we don’t even know the odds without having the surgeon consult first. Feel free to share with church prayer lists this evening.
Prayer warriors: Greg’s blood is being attacked by infection again. 3rd time in 3 years even with preventative medications. Very discouraging because he hardly is able to go anywhere anymore, but he keeps getting sick. It’s just inevitable at this point. This threw a huge curve ball in any options for transplant or surgery in the future, depending on how bad the infection is. They caught it early on & they’re fighting it with aggressive antibiotics, but we know from the past his artificial heart valves and anything else artificial in his body is at risk at this point. Please pray for God to intervene! We have no idea how much longer he will be in the hospital at this point. We pray the Lord’s will be done. Thank you for praying…
Currently: prayers are being heard! Infection has cleared the blood and they’ve moved the surgery up from 6 weeks to NEXT week, January 4. This will be Greg’s 5th open heart surgery, but he’s ready for some relief. Thank you for reading his story.
I’d like to share some updates from Greg’s story I’ve shared via Facebook recently.
Greg received news from the drs this week. I haven’t updated much on here. I still have some people asking if he is home. He’s been home since October, but he’s been suffering most of that time. He’s pretty much home bound. Even getting out to go to the doctor is hard for him. We have contacted home health and haven’t had much luck this far. This whole situation has been really hard on all of us. We are truly thankful for everyone who is still praying.
Background story for new friends: Greg was born with heart disease and heart valve defects. He had 3 open heart surgeries as a kid, and he was able to recover and be a seemingly normally functioning person- anyone who met him thought he was joking if he said he had heart problems. He only needed to take 2 meds daily to help keep him on course. Until 2019 came along. Greg had open heart surgery for a 4th time; his first time as an adult. As many know, your body heals and recuperates much faster as a kid. This surgery was truly life changing for him and our family. He’s on 20+ meds per day that all come with their own individual symptoms. The last three years have been the hardest years. It’s hard to see him suffer and in pain. He tried to return to work and couldn’t endure the physical stress of it all. He had multiple hospital stays and procedures performed over these last 3 years. In June of this year, he remained in the hospital at least 80-90% of the time until September. Weeks of his life spent there. During the summer, I spent most of my time there with him, trying to be as supportive as I could. It hurt us both so much to have so much time away from Jalyn. Then, August came, and Jalyn and I returned to school. The next two hospital stays came along and Greg felt so isolated there. The first week of his hospital stay usually goes pretty well- we feel like quality of care totally nose dives after that first week, so it’s really hard to think to the future.
Flash forward to this week (beginning of December): Greg’s cardiologist called Thursday. They’ve been looking at a leak his heart has for awhile (months) trying to decide if they thought they could fix it without it being too brittle and breaking apart while they’re in surgery. They determined it’s too dangerous and they won’t take the risk. He has two options: Go in the hospital and stay there 100% of the time until a heart becomes available for transplant- literally LIVE IN THE HOSPITAL. Option 2: he can stay home and receive comfort care and eventually go on hospice to keep him comfortable until he passes. He’s going to take the next month or so and try to make a decision. He’s so unhappy and his mental health is so poor when he’s in the hospital. He’s so much happier at home, despite all the daily complications he’s learning to live with. It could be months or even longer before a heart becomes available it’s a lot to think about and consider and pray over. I know this is a long post. I’m thankful for those of you who read it in its entirety. We are so so so thankful for those who keep us in their prayers. Only God knows what the future holds for us, and we are going to stand strong in our faith. We are determined in that- but please know we are all feeling heartbroken at this time. I think the plan is to enjoy the holidays altogether and move towards a decision after the New Year. We would appreciate thoughts and opinions of those near and dear to us. Thank you.
You'll never believe the call we just received from Greg's cardiologist. They've managed to find a 3rd option. It would require open heart surgery, so it's a huge decision in his delicate case, but I can't help but feel like this is the power of specific prayer and everyone coming together. We truly appreciate all the prayers and hope everyone will continue upon this new update. They'll be calling to schedule a consult with the surgeons soon, so we can make an informed decision. Just to be clear: no decision has been made at this time. This is a huge deal and we don’t even know the odds without having the surgeon consult first. Feel free to share with church prayer lists this evening.
Prayer warriors: Greg’s blood is being attacked by infection again. 3rd time in 3 years even with preventative medications. Very discouraging because he hardly is able to go anywhere anymore, but he keeps getting sick. It’s just inevitable at this point. This threw a huge curve ball in any options for transplant or surgery in the future, depending on how bad the infection is. They caught it early on & they’re fighting it with aggressive antibiotics, but we know from the past his artificial heart valves and anything else artificial in his body is at risk at this point. Please pray for God to intervene! We have no idea how much longer he will be in the hospital at this point. We pray the Lord’s will be done. Thank you for praying…
Currently: prayers are being heard! Infection has cleared the blood and they’ve moved the surgery up from 6 weeks to NEXT week, January 4. This will be Greg’s 5th open heart surgery, but he’s ready for some relief. Thank you for reading his story.