Bishop Mike meets with local clergy. He leads well and I am proud to serve in the same synod with him.

Originally uploaded by Pastor Lake

Here is a very fast but to the point update on our visit today with Ben’s surgion Dr. Fraizer

1.  Same as last time.  Ben’s heart has a membrane that is conflicting blood flow and must be removed.

2.  The membrane will more than likely come back after the surgery but we will know more after surgery.

3.  The membrane has really hurt Ben”s aortic valve and Dr. Frazier has concerns about it.  The bottom line is that he wishes to save the valve.  If it is not possible then we we are looking at many alternatives but none that are a silver bullet that will totally resolve the issue.  If I understood him correctly he would like to use a donor human valve if we must replace it.

4.  The surgery will last longer than last time.  There is no way to know how long that will be.  The last surgery was six hours.  Surgery is still planned for Nov. 18 with pre-op on the 17th.  Ben will be told of the surgery on the 10th of Nov.

5.  The risk of this surgery is no higher than the last time we did this.

6.  Last of all Dr. Frazier is excellent doctor and Katherine and I feel strongly that he is exactly the person we want to help us get Ben healed up.

We are numb but ready.

Peace –

Original photo of Alan’s computer urn

Originally uploaded by sam 3.14

Original photo of Alan’s computer urn