CLASSMATES IN NEED OF PRAYERS

Jake and Nancy - Aug. 8, 2020 - 60th Anniversary

By now, most of you know about NANCY THOMPSON BAKER'S husband Jake (BHS '54). This past Monday he fell off a ladder at their home in Ballinger. The hospital in Ballinger was unable to care for him as he broke seven (7) ribs and two (2) vertebrae in his fall. He was taken to Abilene where, due to COVID-19, there were no ICU beds available. The same was true for the San Angelo hospitals. The weather was extremely cloudy that night, preventing them from airlifting him by Careflight, so he was taken by plane to John Peter Smith Hospital in Ft. Worth. NANCY and their son Russ followed and are staying in a local motel. The ICU unit Jake is in does not allow visitors. That is for the best considering all of the coronavirus cases. However, that makes it very hard on the family. They depend on updates from the nurses and doctors.

Thursday Russ sent me the following that I forwarded to the class: "(Jake) has a chest tube to drain internal bleeding and is currently on a ventilator. He's resting comfortably and responding to nurses' voices." Last night: "Jake still critical but stable, resting comfortably, only had one dose of pain meds. Not on continuous drip anymore. Giving him mild sedative to control anxiety and keep him calm. Getting high doses of meds to keep his blood pressure up. He is still responding to nurses voices by squeezing their hands etc. He is still on ventilator. May need surgery to 'plate' the ribs where they are broken."

Friday morning  Russ sent the following: "This morning Jake is stable. They are doing a CT scan on chest and abdomen to check for problems. Went down a bit on blood pressure meds. He has a chronic abdominal aneurysm that is being treated with meds. Still on ventilator. Nurse said he will be in hospital at least another week."

NANCY and Russ will remain in Ft. Worth for now.

ROSALYN URBANTKE HOELSCHER sent the following:

"I don’t know what’s going on in this crazy world but the virus has now hit our family. My 17-year-old granddaughter has the virus right now. She is not in the hospital and not really, really sick. Yeah, she’s running a fever and doesn’t feel good but she could breathe. I was with her on July 4 and definitely was very close to her and now I know I am fully exposed. At my age that’s going to be very, very hard if I get it. Our son was over there too, but he was not real close to Annalise. Please pray for our family."

I have received many prayers and well wishes from the class, which I've forwarded to NANCY. If you wish to send your thoughts and prayers as well, please send them to me. I will be sure to let their family know. Personally, I have seen what some would call "miracles" as a result of prayer. I believe "good thoughts" contain as much energy as prayers. So whatever your belief, think loving, healing thoughts for all of us. If you wish to send a message to NANCY, please send them to me. I will forward them to her. And of course, if anyone else needs prayers, please let me know.

May we all remain in good health during this trying time.

Love and Peace,
Marilyn 

For greater assistance: 
The Silent Unity prayer vigil, which has been ongoing since the early 1900s, continues to be staffed 24/7. Team members are holding vigil in their homes.  (Before COVID-19, prayer requests were prayed over in the Chapel at Unity Village for 30 days.)

Prayer line in U.S. 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. (CT), 3 a.m. to 11 p.m. (PT)
1-816-969-2000

Online prayer request form can be found at https://www.unity.org/prayer

NEWS AND UPDATES

NANCY THOMPSON BAKER's husband Jake is still hospitalized in San Angelo in critical condition with sepsis. The blood infection has spread throughout his body, and among his many symptoms is hallucinating. This makes it very difficult for NANCY, as when she leaves the room he sometimes thinks she is "lost", and he wants to go look for her. He struggles hard with nurses, who of course need him to stay hooked up to his IV and monitors. NANCY said he will have to be on IV antibiotics for at least six (6) weeks. The doctors prepared her for the possibility that the infection might get on the connections to his pacemaker. If that happens, they may have to remove it. That surgery is more difficult than implanting one, and it would have to be done here in Austin.

I caught NANCY at home this morning. She is already exhausted from going over every day.. sometimes spending the night there. She is also suffering from bone spurs on her feet. She told me that Jake's infection is extremely contagious, so they must "gown up" and wash their hands every time they enter and leave his room. Her children are trying to talk her into bringing him home and putting deadbolts on the doors so he would not wander off. Jake doesn't think he is sick, and pulls out tubes from time to time. NANCY told the nurses that he was a WWP. When asked what that was, she said he is the "World's Worst Patient". I was happy to hear a bit of humor in her voice during such a terrible time. Please hold her in your prayers as well as Jake. She asked that we please don't call her. She has enough family to keep informed that just talking wears her down. Cards would be in order. I told her to let me know if there is a drastic change for the better or worse.

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My favorite prayer warrior, JUNE HASH CURRY, is due for some heavy duty prayers herself. Next Monday, March 28th, JUNE is going to have knee replacement surgery. She still has difficulty with her back, which she has had surgery on as well. This may complicate her rehabilitation from the knee surgery. Let's send her strength and healing prayers that all goes well both with the surgery and rehab.

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Now for a little good news. JIMMY COWLISHAW sent news that his daughter, Kristi, who was Senior Master and Second in Command of the Medical Unit on Hurlburt Air Force Base in Okaloosa County, Florida, has received another advancement and will move to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. There she will be the "Anatomical & Clinical Laboratory Flight Chief and Squadron Superintendent" over autopsies, and reading biopsy exams. Her husband and daughter Paris will join her. He finished his medical training in Orlando, and is now a registered nurse in Cardiac I.C.U. Granddaughter Paris, age 14, now has an opportunity to get Olympic training to put her swimming talents to use.

JIM and Betty also have three sons.. Their oldest one travels a lot with an insurance company, working with disputed claims. Their middle son works from home, but JIM said he is not certain what he does. (Probably similar to a lot of my younger son's work from home..Today's technology gives opportunities to have your own business at home - with no overhead!) He said their youngest son heads up an oil company somewhere in the San Antonio vicinity.

A funny note.. JIM said his daughter called him several months ago and said, "Guess who I met today? PRESIDENT OBAMA!" He said she was really excited, but "I won't say anything more here." I took that to mean he's not a big fan of our President! Oh, well, different strokes for different folks.

May all of you and your loved ones be healthy and happy. Spring is here, and the bluebonnets are already blooming!

Peace and love,

Marilyn