Off The Bypass Machine

1:00 a.m. Doctors woke Mike up. He moved fingers and toes for them! They lowered his oxygen since his lungs are working well (thank you for those prayers!).

8:15 p.m. Docs went in to clean out blood around heart. They found clot size of grapefruit pressing against lung. This is what was causing breathing problems. They cleaned everything out and it went so well they decided to try to take him off the bypass because it was not working quite right and he was having to do most of it himself anyway. He is doing well. He is stable and breathing well. Stable heart rhythm. They'll reevaluate him in a couple days and as long as he keeps up this improvement they will move him up on the transplant list. His doctor is VERY optimistic. Mike needs to be on the list so he can get his artificial heart.

Tonja has been sharing the group with Mike, telling him about your concern, support, and all the prayers. As soon as he is able, she will share the site with him, on the laptop Chuck hooked her up with. Boy is Michael going to be surprised!

Tonja said one of the reasons the social worker approved Michael for the transplant, is because of this group...which is ALL OF YOU! She said it's important for transplant patients to have a support network and thanks to you, he has passed that requirement! Awesome, huh?

We need to pray him through his recovery. He needs to regain strength, get rest, breathe easy, and we need his heart to remain stable. Let's all praise God and give thanks for answered prayers! Tonight, Mike needs folks praying for him to remain stable, and to focus on that perfect heart rhythm.

Tonja is in desperate need of 3,000. This will get her set up in a house in Minnesota. This is another very important requirement. She has to establish residency and be a resident for 30days. If you can help, contact me, Tonja, or Richard. We are hoping to get some sort of fund set up that folks can direct deposit into. 3,000 really isn't that huge. If each of us gave 25.00 she would have more than enough. Another option, if each of us could get a $1.00 donation from 25 people. It works that way too! We have to hurry though, she needs to do this right away.

12:35 p.m. Urgent Prayer Request; Mike is on his way to surgery right now at 12:35p.m. They are weaning him off the heart lung machine, clearing a bit of clotting, and draining a bit of fluid from one lung. Please pray him through this. He is making progress, needs to rest, heal, and gain strength. Thank you for all of your prayers!

10:53 a.m. Update from Tonja; "Michael is still making improvements......Let's keep praying, the stronger he gets the more likely he is to get a new heart..The doctor that CLAIMED to be the head of the transplant team is a vascular disease doctor....Dr. Burkhart is the head surgeon...he will help make the final decision....We are still going ahead with our plans, I refuse to take him off that machine if he is improving"