Dear Family and Friends,

Mike is resting easy in the hospital. They have him comfortable and they are working on resolving this issue with the blood clot in Mike's subclavian vein. I'm so grateful for your prayers, and God's hand, on the situation we found ourselves in last night.

Mike's left arm had begun to swell, hurt, and turn colors early Thursday morning. I didn't find out that was going on until 7 p.m. Thursday night, because Mike didn't want to worry anyone.

When I came home from work yesterday, I found Mike asleep back upstairs in bed. I was somewhat surprised because I had told him not to climb down, or up, the stairs without me to help him. He has a risk of falling. So when I found him upstairs, I knew right away, Mike wasn't feeling well. I let him sleep for 2 1/2 hours and finally woke him up around 7 p.m., to give him his evening medications and something to eat. In the process of getting together his medications, he called out to me in a familiar voice, which let me know right away something wasn't right.

When Mike showed me his arm, we both knew what those symptoms meant. The cardiologists in Houston, last October, told us to be on the look out for those particular symptoms. We knew Mike's subclavian artery was completely blocked, and we knew everyone was sitting on that discovery, because Mike hasn't been strong enough for general anesthesia. We knew these symptoms would result in us getting to the emergency room without question.

Mike's delay though, put us in a little bit of a bad situation. Because I wasn't aware of his symptoms, offices were now closed, we were facing a holiday the next day, and Mike's main doctor was on his way to Turkey. Also, while Mike was sleeping upstairs, I had made the decision to take my own evening medications, which includes three prescription pills, to help me sleep. So, trying to figure out which emergency room to head to...in the back of my mind, I was trying to determine if I could safely drive us to Little Rock.

God really had His hand on us, because St. Mary's was able to handle the situation here, Amber was available to help me, the blockage didn't end up being where we feared it was, so the treatment wasn't going to be anything to really fear. It was such an immediate answer to prayer! Thank you for covering us so completely, time and time again.

Mike is suppose to be released from the hospital tomorrow, if everything goes well. He will be on Coumadin for awhile and either he or I, will be giving him Lovenox injections into his stomach, twice each day. This is suppose to help thin out Mike's blood and dissolve this clot. It is uncertain how long he'll need the injections at this point...but maybe only for a week or two. His arm is even more swollen this afternoon, but we're sure everyone is keeping a close eye on Mike, and he should be fine.

Please continue to remember us in your prayers. As you already know, things change fast around here, and Mike's health is in such a constant, delicate position. We need your arrow prayers more now, than ever.

"May the Lord of peace Himself, give you peace at all times, in every way." 2 Thessalonians 3:15