Please Continue Prayers for My Brother Randy

About 2 weeks ago, I wrote a post here, asking for your prayers for my youngest brother Randy.

He is still unable to use his left arm after the neck fusion surgery to repair damage from a 20 year old car wreck.

Here is what he posted yesterday on Facebook:

Went to Dr today for 1st post-surgery check. I still can't raise my left arm, and losing strength in bicep. They are ordering an MRI to make sure fusion is ok, and to see what might be causing the problem. I'm worried to the extent that for what I do as a lab tech, I have to have 2 working limbs with dexterity and strength, and right now my left arm is practically useless. I LOVE my job, my department, and the people I work with, and I would HATE not being able to do what I love. I'd appreciate it if you'd include me in your prayers. I don't care if my left arm is restored 100%, or if I can't make chords on a guitar. If it's skinny as a stick, that's OK as long as it can hold a tube, twist a lid, etc. Just hoping for any improvement at this point just for encouragement. Thanks all!

So, please keep Randy in your prayers, especially that he gains use of his arm again and is able to return to his job,

Thank you, and God Bless you all!

O merciful Father in heaven, thank You for being with Randy while he was in surgery. Thank You for blessing the surgeon with the skill and knowledge needed to do his and safely bringing Randy through this operation. O gracious Father, bring healing to Randy and bless him with the best care possible as he recovers. Continue to bless him with your tender care. Grant him patience during his recuperation, help him grow in strength each day, and bring him to full recovery quickly, without any setbacks.

Amen.

A Prayer Request For My Cousin Kim Smith Worley Who Has Lymphoma

UPDATE: 
My cousin Kim is back in the hospital yet again, due to a fever because of her weakened immune system. Please continue to pray for her.

I ask all of you to please keep my cousin, Kim Smith Worley in your prayers. She is currently undergoing treatment for Lymphoma.

Kim is a 49-year-old loving wife, mother of 2 and grandmother. She is bravely fighting Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma also known as DLBCL. She is the backbone of her family and a very strong, God fearing woman. She is in the fight of her life with Lymphoma.

She was admitted to the hospital on March 21, 2016 for what we thought was going to be a quick removal of her gallbladder. After they finally decided to do surgery she started going down hill and wound up in the ICU on March 29 fighting for her life. At first they thought she had some kind of fungal or bacterial or viral infection. Finally after gallons of blood work, biopsies, tests, and a lot of fighting she was diagnosed on April 11, 2016. She started Chemo on April 18, and had her 2nd round on May 10. However on May 7, she was discharged from the hospital! She has been in such great spirits and she is such a fighter. But the tables quickly turned again and on May 20th she was admitted back to the hospital with an infection.

Today, July 15, Kim completed her 4^th round of Chemo, and she has 2 more rounds to go.

Prayer to Saint Peregrine Laziosi

Oh great Saint Peregrine, you who have been called "The Mighty" and "The Wonder-Worker" because of the numerous miracles which you have obtained from God for those who have had recourse to you. For so many years you bore in your own flesh this cancerous disease that destroys the very fiber of our being, and who had recourse to the source of all grace when the power of man could do no more. You were favored with the vision of Jesus coming down from His Cross to heal your affliction. Ask of God and Our Lady, the cure of Kim whom we entrust to you.

Aided in this way by your powerful intercession, we shall sing to God, now and for all eternity, a song of gratitude for His great goodness and mercy. Amen.

Prayer to Saint Jude the Apostle

Dear Apostle and Martyr for Christ, you left us an Epistle in the New Testament. With good reason many invoke you when illness is at a desperate stage. We now recommend to your kindness Kim, who is in a critical condition. May the cure of this patient increase her faith and love for the Lord of Life, and for the glory of our merciful God. Amen.

I Need A Prayer Umbrella

Are you familiar with the old saying, "when it rains it pours"?

Well, it has definitely been pouring for me. Again

About a week ago this past Friday, I noticed a small bump on the inside of my upper right leg, when my pants rubbing against it brought it to my attention. It began growing larger by the hour (or so it seemed), and then the next day there was also one high on the back of my left leg.

I ran a fever on the Sunday night following, and had to call out of work the next day. I called my doctor, and had an appointment on Wednesday. It turned out that I had 2 boils.

The one on the right leg was about the size of a golf ball, and had started to drain. The other is still there, and has not changed yet.

The doctor did a swab of the drainage, and it turns out that I have a staph infection. Lovely.

And to make it even more lovely, this staph infection is what is known as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which in layman's terms, means that it is resistant to certain antibiotics, which include the penicillins and the cephalosporins.

My doctor prescribed 2 antibiotics, one is Doxicycline Hyclate, and the other is Cephalexin.

So, after 2 doctor visits (with a third coming up Friday), missing 8 days of work, and several antibiotic doses later, I would once again appreciate your prayers.

I will tell you this. As much as these boils have hurt, if I had been the Pharaoh, and I had been afflicted with boils, that would have been enough for me to let Moses and the Hebrew people go.

I wouldn't wish these things on my worst enemy!

Thank you all for your prayers.

May God Bless you all!

Australia's Dr Death Philip Nitschke Importing Suicide Kits Into the United States | LifeNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeNews.com (emphases are mine):

• In his most recent newsletter, Philip Nitschke, Australia’s Dr Death, claims to have found a way to import suicide kits into the United States, starting in January 2014, under the cover of his Max Dog Brewing kit.
• Nitschke admitted that his Max Dog Brewing kits are in fact Suicide kits that he sends to people who pay by credit card for the kit that is used for an “undetectable” death.
• A 2010 report demonstrated that coroners were aware of 51 Australians who had died from an overdose of Nembutal, a lethal barbiturate that Nitschke has promoted since the late 1990’s as ‘a peaceful way to die’.
• Of the 38 cases fully investigated by coroners, only 11 people were known to have suffered chronic physical pain or a terminal illness before their deaths. Of the 51, 14 were Australians in their 20’s and 30’s.
• Journalist Michael Cook put it to Nitschke in 2011 that ‘nearly two-thirds of the Australians who died after quaffing Nembutal… were under 60, and quite a few were in their 20s and 30s… [suggesting that] that mental illness or depression, not unbearable pain, was the reason for the suicide.’
• Nitschke responded:
• ‘There will be some casualties… but this has to be balanced with the growing pool of older people who feel immense well-being from having access to this information, [about suicide drugs].’
• American authorities need to confiscate Max Dog Brewing suicide devices while they are being imported or distributed throughout the United States.
• If you are experiencing suicidal feelings and you are reading this article, please contact a suicide hotline.  In the United States contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Link). In Canada contact Your Life Counts (Link).

Read more by clicking below:
Australia's Dr Death Philip Nitschke Importing Suicide Kits Into the United States | LifeNews.com

New South Wales Parliament kills assisted suicide bill | LifeSiteNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeSiteNews.com:

• Another euthanasia and assisted suicide bill was decisively defeated in Australia last week – this time in the Upper House of the New South Wales’ State Parliament.
• The private members bill was introduced by Greens MLC, Cate Faehrmann, who adopted the title of the original Northern Territory Bill that passed back in 1995, and which was overturned by the Federal Parliament nine months later.  The "Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill 2013" was principally an assisted suicide bill with the ‘option’ of euthanasia if the patient was found to be unable to take the drugs for themselves.
• A number of politicians had raised off-the-record concerns that Faehrmann’s bill was primarily a publicity stunt.  Faehrmann will resign from the State Parliament shortly to contest for a seat in the Senate in the September 2013 Federal Election for the Greens in New South Wales.
• Legislators overwhelmingly rejected the bill, with 23 votes in favour to 13 against. There were also five abstentions plus one non-vote due to a resignation.

Read more by clicking below:
New South Wales Parliament kills assisted suicide bill | LifeSiteNews.com

Saint Jude's Chapel of Hope

Not too many miles from where I live in western North Carolina, there is a tiny chapel called Saint Jude's Chapel of Hope.

In 1981, a lady by the name of Beverly Barutio was diagnosed with advanced cancer. She underwent several rounds of chemotherapry. The cancer continued to advance, and the side effects from the chemotherapy were so bad, that Mrs. Barutio stopped the treatments.

She prayed to God, and to Saint Jude, the patron of hopeless, desperate, and impossible causes. Her prayers were answered, and later checkups revealed no signs of the cancer.

For a number of years, she had wanted to build a chapel to thank God and Saint Jude for her miracle, a place where others could pray and hope for their own miracles. So, some years later, she and her husband moved to Trust, a small mountain community in the mountains of western North Carolina. 

There in 1991, at the intersections of Highway 63 and Highway 209 in Madison County, she and her husband built Saint Jude's Chapel of Hope. A little 12 foot by 14 foot cedar chapel that is always open for anyone to go in to pray, mediate, and hope. At the front of the chapel there is a cross, an open Bible, and a shrine to Saint Jude.

If you are ever in western North Carolina, and would like to visit Saint Jude's Chapel of Hope, it is located between Hot Springs, and Waynesville, N.C. From Waynesville of Hot Springs you can follow Highway 209 to Trust, NC. From Asheville, you can follow Highway 63 (New Leicester Highway) to Trust. It's a beautiful drive

Also, if you go, be sure to stop and eat at the cafe of the Trust General Store. If you leave there hungry, it's your own fault!

From The Dignitatis Humanae Institute: Investigation Announced into Notorious UK Death-Acceleration Programme

Note: The following is a press release from The Dignitatis Humanae Institute

Investigation Announced into Notorious UK Death-Acceleration Programme

London, 27 October 2012

After months of refusal and prevaricating, a probe has finally been announced into the conduct of Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP); a framework widely criticised by families whose relatives have unknowingly been placed on this 'pathway to death.'

 The Association of Palliative Medicine has ordered the review into the concerns. The National End of Life Care Programme, an NHS affiliate, will coordinate several organisations in the review.  While critics welcomed this initial step, the move falls short of the Government Inquiry recently called for by the Reverend Peter Smith, Archbishop of Southwark.

LCP is a framework used to dictate the withdrawal of palliative care from those who are seen as close to death.  This includes the withdrawal of nutrients and medicine from the patient, heavy doses of morphine and consequently dehydration.  Such a practice is questioned by the Medical Ethics Alliance, who asserts that any such decision is essentially a prediction, with no conclusive scientific evidence.  This is highlighted by the case of Andy Flanagan, whose family revived him, rescued him from LCP and brought him home to live for a further five weeks. 

The protestations of the Flanagan family added to the many complaints against LCP.  The Royal College of Physicians has uncovered that up to half of families are not informed their loved ones have been placed on LCP.  In particular, when Mr Cooper (pictured) discovered his wife had been condemned to LCP without his knowledge, medical staff refused to reverse the decision in spite of his wishes.  

It has also been noted that the number of patients placed on LCP has doubled in the past two years.  Critics have suggested hospitals are beginning to use LCP as a cost-cutting measure, against patients who are made to feel like a burden to society.

Speaking on behalf of the British Parliament's Cross-Party Working Group on Human Dignity, Jim Dobbin MP, its Vice-Chairman, asserted the necessity of this investigation: "We would do well to recall the words of Pope John Paul II - 'A society will be judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members and among the most vulnerable are surely the unborn and the dying.'  The practices of Liverpool Care Pathway are surely not the best we can do for the elderly and the dying of our society, there is no dignity in the deaths proscribed here.  Such decisions as to the best care must always be made by the loved ones and families of the patient; Liverpool Care Pathway has resoundingly failed on this account and should certainly be investigated for it."

The Dignitatis Humanae Institute aims to uphold human dignity based on the anthropological truth that man is born in the image and likeness of God and therefore has an innate human dignity of infinite worth to be upheld. The Institute promotes this understanding by supporting Christians in public life, assisting them to present effective and coherent responses to increasing efforts to silence the Christian voice in the public square.

Attention All Blog Readers and Fellow Bloggers: A Seriously Ill Blogger

There is a post over on "Instapundit" regarding Dan Riehl of the blog "Riehl World News".

The post reads as follows:

• DAN RIEHL IS SICK: Dr. Melissa Clouthier writes:
• Sorry I didn’t write earlier. Thought you’d want to know that Dan went into the hospital last night with respiratory failure. They had to do pulmonary bypass because he couldn’t be intubated. The doctor gave him a 50-50 chance of living.

You can read the rest of the post here.

In the meantime, please, please consider going to his blog and making a donation in whatever amount you can afford. His "Donate" button is on the far right hand side near the top. You can go to his blog by clicking here.

Please also keep him in your prayers, and share this post if you don't mind.