My sister, who is in the advanced stages of COPD, is in the hospital with pneumonia. My mother was told yesterday and the day before that her condition was currently stable, but that she was very sick; I don't yet know what her condition is, as of this morning. At the moment, she's in the intensive care unit at a hospital in northeast Texas (our local hospital no longer has an ICU). My mother, my cousin, and my cousin's daughter are all there with her now. They spent last night there, and will spend tonight with my sister as well; how long they'll remain down there remains to be seen. My sister's condition was stable as of last night, but she's on a ventilator because one lung is completely filled with fluid and only 1/4 of the other can be used--at least, that was the case, as of yesterday. They told my mother that it was like trying to breathe underwater. (My sister is 63 years old, and I am unsure of her spiritual condition.)

Kathy, I will be praying for your sister. I will also be praying for her salvation (I hope she is already a Christian)

Thanks, Heidi.

Well, I've received an update from my mother. My sister's not out of the woods yet, but her vital signs are better than they were when she arrived at the hospital, and that's a good sign. Because of the ventilator, they're keeping her asleep, and they expect her to remain asleep and on the ventilator for a few more days. Therefore, my mother and cousins are coming home today.

Kathy, sending prayer request to Abba for your sister. Praying also for her to be drawn to Jesus in this time. God is able to reach her, asleep or awake, ventilator or no. God is able.

Thanks, Regina. I pray that God will reach her. They're keeping her asleep while she's on the ventilator, but God can reach her even in her sleep, right?

My mother says that my sister's platelets are down and that there's bacteria in her blood. Thankfully, her blood pressure is much higher now than it was when she entered the hospital, although it's still a little low. They expect to keep her on the ventilator for the next 2 or 3 days, after which they're going to start trying to wean her from it.

Amen!

Kathy, what Regina said is true.
Asleep or awake, ventilator or not, God is able.

Kathy, I'm so sorry to hear this about your Sister.
May the good Lord have mercy on her body, as well as her soul.
I pray that either you or someone from your family will share Jesus with your Sister when they see her, it will ease her pain and suffering. My prayers are that she is saved, and if not, that she will be now.

God only knows what the out come will be; let's hope and pray for the best for her condition.

I will continue to pray for your Sister Karen, until we hear of a good report.
I will also pray for you and your family, as it must be hard on all of you, going through this, especially your Mother.

Kathy, I'm glad to see you posted your request here on Rapture Flight to Heaven so that many more people can lift your Sister up in prayer.

May God hear and answer the prayers for Karen and your family.
God Bless,

Prayerfully,

Valerie

Thanks, Valerie. She's down in Sulphur Springs, Texas, and I'm in southeastern Oklahoma, so at the moment, all I can do is pray.

Kathy, I too, will keep your sister, Karen, in my prayers as well.

Maranatha!
Tammy

Dear Kathy, I am so sorry to hear about your sisters medical and spiritual condition. Prayers are going out for her right now.

Dear Father, I come to You in Jesus Name. Lord, I hold up Karen right now before Your throne. Lord, she needs a healing from you desperately. I ask that You remove the excess water out of her lungs, and heal her of the bacteria in her bloodstream. I ask that You heal her of the COPD and the pneumonia. I ask for a miracle for her right now, dear Lord. I pray for her salvation, and that You would send someone to witness to her, and that she can be saved in the Name of Jesus. I pray for Kathy and her family, including Karen, that You would give them Your strength and Your peace as they are going through this. I ask all of this in Jesus precious Name. Amen.

I say amen to this wonderful prayer Lisaleenie and agree with you for healing for Kathy's sister today. May a big PRAISE report be coming soon. God bless you Kathy and your family.

Thank you, everybody.

Kathy, keep us updated on your dear Sister Karen.

I'm still praying for her daily, and hoping to hear a good report.

Prayerfully,

Valerie

Well, today, Karen was transferred to a long-care facility in Paris, Texas, and she's going to stay there till she's off the ventilator. It's a lot closer to our home town than the hospital in Sulphur Springs, so my mother won't have so far to drive to see her. So far, she's still on the ventilator and under sedation. Tomorrow, it will have been a week since she was rushed by ambulance to our local hospital.

Thanks Kathy for the update on your Sister.

Will continue to remember her daily in my prayers!

Keep us informed, about her condition. Hoping and praying for a complete recovery, with a good report.

I'm praying for her salvation as well.

Prayerfully,

Valerie

Kathy, how is your sister doing? Praying for her on a daily basis, and I will add prayers for her salvation, too.

Love and hugs.

My mother's planning to visit her tomorrow. I'll have a better idea of my sister's condition when my mother comes back. So far, all we know for sure, over the last few days, is what my mother has been told over the phone.

Thanks Kathy, for the update. I too have been wondering how your Sister is doing.

Still keeping Karen in my daily prayers!

Valerie

Well, better news than previously! Karen is better now than she was. There's still some fluid in one of her lungs, but we don't yet know if this means that there is no fluid left in the other lung. At any rate, it's much better than it was at first, when one of her lungs was completely full of fluid and the other was three-quarters full. The last time my mother visited Karen, which was last week, my sister was so out of it that she never even knew my mother was there. Today, she was aware of our mother's presence.

Also, the hospital is trying to wean Karen off the ventilator--an hour off and an hour on, I think is. The hospital is hoping to get her completely off the ventilator by the end of this day; however, time will tell about that.

She is still being kept sedated, because not only is she still on the ventilator part-time, but she also has a feeding tube in her nose, through which she's being fed, as well as other tubes inserted into other parts of her body. There's so much equipment in her room that there's just room for one chair, which is in a corner. The staff is taking good care of her, I'm glad to say; her doctor, a respiratory therapist, her RN, and other hospital staff. I have no idea how long it's going to take for her to get well enough to leave the hospital, let alone recover completely. Time will tell about that.


Kathy G.

Kathy, I'm glad your sister is doing better. Our loving trustworthy Abba in heaven hears prayers for her. He knows everything that she needs.She is Abba's beautiful creation.
So are you Kathy, you are Abba's beautiful creation.
YSIC

Thank you.

Kathy I am so glad to hear that your sister has improved so much. PRAISE REPORT!!! Thank God for His healing power and great mercy and love.

Kathy, I'm so glad to hear your Sister Karen is doing much better; Praise the Lord,
thank you Jesus.

I'll continue to remember her in my daily prayers; because I know that nothing is impossible for God.

Isn't God wonderful, we pray and ask, and the sick receive and are healed, according to God's plans in that person's life.

May she continue to heal and be healed completely, in Jesus name I pray.

Prayerfully,

Valerie

Well, as of this morning, my mother has spoken with Karen's nurse over the phone. She's off the ventilator now. She's talking; she's eating; and she's going to the bathroom. She is definitely on the road to recovery. Now it remains to be seen how long it'll be until she's well enough to be discharged.


Kathy G.

Kathy, praise the Lord that your sister is doing so much better!! Thanks for the update. She is still in my prayers.

Wonderful News Kathy, thanks for sharing the update.

Praise the Lord, thank you Jesus, for your loving mercy and healing touch. Amen!

Prayers are being answered with thanksgiving to our God the Father, for Karen's healing. Amen!

Yes.

My mother just got back from visiting Karen. It turns out that she's not nearly so strong as I (and apparently my mother) was led to believe. She can't get out of bed on her own; she has to have help to get in and out. And just doing that gets her winded and out of breath. She has a potty chair next to her bed, which she's using now. Her doctor has her on a soft, pureed diet, because her stomach needs to get back to normal. Trouble is, none of the food tastes good to her; the only food that she's eating is pudding, and so that's all she's eating. She's having diarrhea. The good news is, she no longer needs the ventilator; she knows where she is, and what's going on; and she's able to talk. But she is so weak.

My mother says that they told her that Karen will be in the hospital for 4 more weeks, which means it'll be next month before she's discharged. You know, she came so close to dying when she first got sick. On the morning of Wednesday, March 4th, Mama found her lying face-down on her bed, with her face and stomach on the bed and her feet on the floor. She was draped over the side of the bed, and her oxygen prongs were not in her nose. My mother could neither rouse nor budge her, so she had to call an ambulance. I'll tell you, Karen just looked awful that day! Because our local hospital no longer has an ICU, she had to be sent to another hospital. At least her life's out of danger now, and she's on the road to recovery.


Kathy G.

Well, as of this morning, my sister has begun rehab. With her nurse's help, she got out of bed, and then, with the help of a walker, she walked toward the wall and back to her bed, where her nurse helpd her back in. She must have been pretty winded by the time she was settled back under the covers. She is most definitely very weak.

In addition, at breakfast this morning, she drank some coffee and ate a banana. She won't eat any of the puréed food, and I can't say I blame her.

My mother says that patients have to stay at that long-term care hospital for a minimum of 21 days. Since my sister was transferred to that facility on Tuesday, March 10th, she'll have to stay there at least until the 31st, and possibly longer. It all depends on how well she does, how rapidly she recovers.

kathy, its good news that your sister is up with help. saying a prayer for her today. God bless you

Kathy,

I too, am very happy to hear that your sister, Karen, is doing much better.

I was thinking as I was reading your above reports on her condition, if perhaps the reason why she may have been out sooo long...is b/c she might've been spending time with Jesus...in heaven. You know how being cast into a deep sleep is? Dontcha know? Like that boy that spent his time with Jesus as well?

Anyhoo, I just thought that I would give you a tadbit interesting food for thought. OK!?

So, once again, I'm glad that Karen is now well on her road to recovery.

'n' s

Maranatha!
Tammy

One can only hope, Tammy!

Kathy, I pray for healing for your sister every morning. Please continue to update as to her progress.

I pray for you, too, Valerie, for healing and relief for your pain and weakness in your legs. I also pray for wisdom concerning your moderation of this site, and also for the Lord to bless you financially as you have taken the financial responsibility of this site on your shoulders. God bless you, Kathy, and Texas Sue, as you continue your ministry here as moderators. May the Lord reward you all for your hard work.

Lisaleenie, Thank so much for your prayers, and I thank everyone who has been praying for me, your prayers are being answered. Yesterday and today, I have had much relief from the pain, which is such a blessing. It means a great deal to me, just to be able to cook a meal, or do the laundry, etc. on my own.

The Lord has been helping me, get around to do my chores when I'm able too. Yesterday I was able to do some laundry as well. The Lord always provides a way for me to pay for this site every year, and has been guiding me along the way, and brought two awesome moderators, Kathy and Texas Sue, as moderators helping to minister and monitor this site, as I can't be on here 24/7.

Praying God will reward everyone here who participates in doing God's work. Lisaleenie, know that you are in my prayers daily, along with Karen, and others who are suffering as well, who are in need of God's intervention. After all is said and done we are all One Body in Christ, and must take part in praying for one another to keep the body strong and uplifted. When we pray for others, our merciful God in turn blessing us as well as the person or people we pray for; in other words it's truly a blessing to pray for and to be prayed for in return.

God Bless you Sis, hope you are feeling much better, as each day passes.

Much love in Jesus,

Valerie

Dear Valerie,

I know what you mean when you say that you are thankful for the times that you are able to cook a meal or do laundry. I'm not able to do the laundry anymore because the washing machine is in a laundry room in the back of my home, and I am not able to go outside without a walker and I can't carry my laundry and use the walker at the same time. But I do have my wheelchair in the kitchen, and am able to heat things up on the stove going back and forth in my wheelchair from the refrigerator to the stove or to the microwave. Even those small accomplishments are huge to me, or if I am able to get the trash ready for my nurse to go outside to dump it in the trash bins.

I am thankful for every day that I am not in bad pain or if I have the energy to post. So I can really emphasize with what you go through on a daily basis. People don't realize how bad it is until they are in a position themselves to have to struggle on their own and are dependent on others to help them. I rely very heavily on my caregiver to come in three times a week to do my grocery shopping for me, pick up my dinner, or take out the trash outside. I can't afford to have her come every day, so in the meantime, I have to get the trash ready myself for the hospice nurse to take outside for me as a favor to me because that is not a part of her job.

Thank you so much for your prayers for me. I pray for you, too, on a daily basis, not only physically like I said, but financially and for the Lord to give you wisdom and guidance while being the head moderator of this site. I know that is hard, in addition to the every day challenges you have to face and that's not easy. May the Lord bless you in everything you have to do on a daily basis. I pray for others here as well on a daily basis, like Kathy's sister, Heidi, and Steve O. I can't wait until the day when there will be no more pain and sorrow, and the Lord will wipe away our tears.

Much love to you, dear sister.

, Lisaleenie. You, too, Valerie!

Well, Karen's received some good news. As of yesterday, she was finally allowed to go back to solid foods. Good thing, because she couldn't stand the puréed food they had her on, and she wouldn't eat it.

She has to stay at the long-term care facility for 25 days from the day that she was admitted. Therefore, barring any complications, she'll be coming home on Friday, April 3rd.


Kathy

Oh, Kathy, that is good news! It sounds like your sister is coming along better every day. So glad that she is eating now. Yes, I don't blame her for not liking the pureed foods. I used to work in a convalescent hospital when I was a nurse, and I remember how awful that food looked like when I was feeding those patients who needed assistance in feeding themselves.

Thanks so much for the update. I will continue to pray for your sister. Praying that there will be no complications to prevent her to coming home on April 3rd.

Hugs to you, too!

Great News Kathy,

I'll keep on praying and I trust God will keep on healing!

Thanks be to God the Father, for His loving kindness He has shown us,
and especially His mercy on those like your Sister Karen, and all suffering souls in these end days. Amen!

Prayerfully,

Valerie

Kathy, still praying for your sister. Any updates?

She's able to take showers now, if she sits in a shower chair.

Well, for the first time, my sister has been able to do some walking without a walker. However, because she ate none of the puréed meat (as well as precious little of the other puréed foods), her protein levels are dangerously low. Her doctor wants her to drink some protein shakes to bring them back up. (Hopefully, the protein shakes will taste good! I've never drunk one myself, so I can't vouch for them.)

Kathy,

Thanks for the update! Glad to see she's coming along slowly but surely.

Hopefully, she'll be able to return back home to her family.

I'm still remembering in my daily prayers.

Prayerfully,

Valerie

Kathy, I'm still

God Bless~ Valerie

She will be home by Resurrection Day - how is that for good timing! Praising God for His mercy, love and goodness that never fails.

Possibly. She had a fever yesterday, according to her hospital doctor, and he didn't know what was causing it. That could keep her in the hospital longer. We'll have to wait and see what develops.

Well, my sister's home from the hospital. She was discharged this morning, and my mother brought her home. She will be making heavy use of a walker until she gets her strength back, however long that takes.

Still praying for your sister, also, Kathy. I'm so glad that she is home! I think she will improve being home. I know I did. I improved by leaps and bounds. There is something about the security of being in your own home that makes all the difference in the world.

What caused the fever? I'm glad that it didn't stop her from being discharged.

I don't know, and I don't know if the hospital doctor knows, either. If he ever found out, I haven't been told.

My sister's supposed to undergo physical therapy to regain her strength, once it's been arranged. She's scheduled to see her doctor Monday morning.

Strange about the fever, but I'm glad that she's having physical therapy at home instead of having to be in a convalescent hospital like I was.

Praying that the Lord will renew her strength, and that she will get her appetite back.

Praise God your Sister Karen is Home, Thanks be to God.

Slowly but surely she will get stronger as days go by. God is good, considering
she was in such dire straits, and the good Lord brought her home.
Kathy it always takes longer for an older person, to regain their strengthen afterwards, we heal a lot slower, etc., but with God's help we can always say;
there by the grace of God go I; I'm speaking of my own experience.

Will keep praying for continued improvement.

Thanks for the update.

Kathy, along with Valerie, I'm still keeping your sister in prayer.

I agree with Valerie, it does take us longer to get our strength back up when we are older. But I think her being home makes all the difference in the world. I know it did me.

How is she doing now? How is her appetite and is the physical therapy helping her?

Last week, Karen had to go back to the hospital for a few days; fortunately, it was only our local hospital that she had to stay in during that time. She's working on getting her strength back now, slowly but surely. She's managing without the walker more and more; a physical therapist has recently begun coming to the house to give her workouts that are designed to increase her strength; and this morning, for the first time since she went to the hospital early last month, she went with my mother and me to Wal-Mart. And she's eating now. So she's slowly recovering.

Thank you for the update, Kathy. She is in my daily prayers. I am glad she is recovering slowly but surely.

Thanks. Unfortunately, she's still having a hard time of it. She only ate Jello at lunch, and she's feeling queasy. It may be the iron that her doctor has prescribed for her to take that's causing the stomach problems (she's anemic). At any rate, she's not feeling too well. Please pray for her, would you? Thanks!

Kathy,

I continue to keep your Sister Karen, in my prayers.
Sometimes we take two steps forward and three steps back.
However, nothing is impossible for God.

Praying for you Sister to regain strength so she will be
able to get around, and perhaps eat a more normal diet once
she feels better.

Prayerfully,

Valerie

Yes, Kathy, for sure I will keep her in my daily prayers, along with Valerie.

I think iron can be very hard on the stomach, especially if it is not taken with food or milk. That could very well be the cause of her nausea. When I was so nauseated in the hospital and during my convalescent hospital stay, I asked them to give me some Ensure, and at least I got some vitamins and minerals into my system. That could be a suggestion for your sister until she gets her appetite back.

Dear Kathy, I am still keeping your sister in prayer every day. How is her strength and appetite coming along?

Her appetite's improving; she's eating more now than she did at first. She's having physical therapy at home twice a week, which is helping, and she's trying not to use the walker at all now. Unfortunately, if I'm understanding her correctly, she hurts all over. Please pray that God would ease her pain.

Yes, I will surely keep her in prayer, especially for the pain. I'm so glad that her appetite has improved. I think that helps so much in a person's recovery to get some nutrients into their system. I'm wondering if it would be wise for her to use her walker when she's in severe pain in order not to overuse or strain her muscles? That could be a question to ask her physical therapist. I know when I am in severe pain, I use my walker for the same reason.

Thanks for the update, Kathy. Will continue to keep her in prayer.

My sister didn't feel good yesterday; her stomach hurt. She basically stayed in her bedroom all day yesterday, and didn't have any meals. Please pray for her, would you? Thanks!

Absolutely. I pray for her every day. Thanks for the update. It is always very helpful to know what to pray for. I'm sorry that your sister had pain in her stomach. If she is taking pills, they can be hard on the stomach. If that is the case, it is helpful to take them with either food or milk.

Thanks. She was really sick over the weekend and on Monday, but she's been feeling better since.

Praying for your sister.

Kathy,

I'm still remembering your Sister Karen in my daily prayers, for her continued healing.

The Lord works in His perfect timing, and accordingly. He is a merciful, loving,
and a caring God. If He wasn't, the good Lord wouldn't had come down to Earth,
and suffer such horrific pain and death, for our sins. Therefore, the Lord has great empathy and first hand understanding, for those who suffer and are in pain; for Jesus was in a human body which felt, pain, suffering, and ultimate death; which rose from the dead on the third day.

May your Sister continue to heal completely. Amen!

Valerie

Kathy, are there any more updates on your sister's health? Still praying.

She's been having stomach upsets on the weekends. My mother thinks she may have an ulcer. Trouble is, she doesn't want to go through the testing required to diagnose an ulcer, and it can't be treated unless it's first diagnosed. She could still use your prayers!

how is your sister doing Kathy? thinking about her. I pray in Jesus name for God to pour out His mercy upon Karen today and draw her to Jesus, to accept Jesus as her saviour. I pray for healing for her stomach, for strength and appetite to be normal for her, in Jesus name. amen

Thank you. She had her last at-home physical therapy session the other day. She believes that she's back in the shape she was in before the pneumonia set in, and hopefully, she's right!

That is great news, Kathy! God is good.