Help Sam and Licia Pay their Medical Bills
2 weeks ago, Sam’s wife, Licia, notified us that Sam was rushed into emergency surgery. They found a 2 inch perforation in his colon. He was septic. The ER doctors told Licia to “call the kids, he probably won’t make it through the surgery.” There is a 30% success rate on this surgery. Sam survived surgery! The surgeon said it was one of his hardest cases. A normal surgery of this type takes 4-5 liters to clean out the abdomen, for Sam it took 25 liters. The surgeon felt that Sam had been walking around a week or so with this perforation. Sam was never sick and did not have any pain until Wednesday evening before surgery. The surgeon said, “one hour later, Sam would not have been a candidate for surgery, we would have just made him comfortable until he passed.” Words you never want to hear. He came out of surgery with a 9-10 inch incision down his belly, 3 drain tubes, a colostomy, an NG tube and on a ventilator. It was determined that the sepsis damaged his kidneys and his heart. But he was alive! The surgeon said it would be a few weeks in ICU, then some time on the surgery recovery unit, then home.
Against all the odds, Sam survived the surgery and although he has a long road to recovery, he is making great progress. In 9 days he went from being on life support to up and doing a dance. He will have to go home with a “life vest” (this will monitor his heart continuously), wound care, and colostomy care. The surgeon says a reversal surgery can be performed in 6 months or so and once he has lost 50 pounds.
Although this has probably been one of the scariest things his family has gone through, it’s been a beautiful reminder of how good God is, and how He does answer prayers. Thank you to everyone who has prayed for Sam.
Anyone who knows Sam, knows he never slows down and goes out of way to help with whatever needs to be taken care of. So the next couple months will be challenging as he will not be able to drive for at least 4 weeks and won’t be able to go back to work for at least 8 weeks. It’s scary to think about being out of work for months, but he knows God has a plan and will continue to trust Him. He is humbled by the outpouring of love, support and most of all, prayers! Thank you.
