FROM: Chad
Aug 30 @ 1:46 AM

Mama Vaughn: I am with you right now. I hold you in my heart. Everything that is good in me, Is yours to share. Be well. Be very well. Be very well soon.

FROM: Pam
TO: Carol
Aug 30 @ 8:27 AM

Well, here I am back home again. I had a nightmare trip getting there, in fact, the expected 5 hour trip took 13.5 hours due to the mechanics strike and a cab driver in Hartford who got lost. (Needless to say, I didn’t fly Northwest to get home.)

Lea’s body was so full of fluids that she was unrecognizable when I arrived. (She was just beginning to look familiar to me when it was time to come home.) Her face and eyes were so severely swollen that the under part of her eyelids was also swollen and showing and her ears were actually indented instead of lying out on her head. Her hands and feet were so swollen that her fingers and toes actually stuck out as if she had stuck them out to stretch her muscles – except there was no space between them. Her abdomen and arms and legs were also just as severely swollen.

Lea is still very heavily sedated and unable to focus her eyes much less move any part of her hands or feet. I prayed over her and sang praise songs to her as often as I could – once one of the nurses (Adam) had to interrupt me to move in and inject some medication to one of her IV’s on the side of the bed where I was standing. I jokingly said “OK, but don’t steal my song!” (I was singing “One Day At A Time”.) That led to a conversation about which church our family attends, and I found out that he also attends a Christian Church in Hartford.

It’s amazing to see how God has used Lea (and Larry) to minister to the staff at the Hospital, including the doctors. All but one nurse that I encountered during the week, seem to have a special fondness for Lea and take special care when handling her. The one exception is technically good, but she lacks compassion for her patients.

During her shift, Lea was left unattended except when she needed medication, and wasn’t turned during the shift – usually she’s turned every 2 hours and has pillows and pads placed to protect her skin – so she developed huge bed sores on her heels that weren’t there when we left for the night to get some sleep.

Turning her every two hours is up to the nurse assigned to her for that shift, it isn’t a requirement, and the padding is an ‘extra’. The nurses don’t know which patients they’ll be assigned or even if they’ll be assigned one or two patients, until they come in for their shift. They, of course, hope not to get two critically ill patients at the same time, but sometimes it can’t be avoided.

It’s hard for Larry to let anyone else minister to Lea, but it was one of my “needs”, so occasionally I’d tell him to go get some rest. Sometimes he would and sometimes he wouldn’t. I took advantage of those times to play Christian music on the CD player, and to sing and pray for her. (Larry feels that playing DVD’s of their family times is more healing for Lea, so that’s what he does – he called my CD’s “elevator music”! I believe God honors both ways of thinking.)

Sometimes I found myself at a loss for what to do, so singing and praying and holding Lea’s hand were what I did most. If she was feverish, I’d use a cold cloth on her face and eyes. She began to eliminate some of the excess fluid on Thursday and on Friday she was able to open one eye. I was blessed with being able to communicate with her once. By Saturday she was able to open both eyes, that’s when she responded to me and blinked her eyes when I asked if she could blink her eyes to let me know she knew who I was. Praise God!

This week is supposed to be more of the same as last week, responding to her highs and lows in regard to her blood pressure, no aggressive treatment to get her off the medications and ventilator, just moving slowly and cautiously while waiting for her body to begin healing itself. She responds well to this method as opposed to turning down the ventilator to make her body start breathing – we (Larry and I) don’t think she’s ready for that yet.

I chose today to begin sending you the updates, please let me know if you missed any. I just assumed Dottie remembered to forward all the updates while I was gone. All in all, it was a blessed week for me – it was a very long week, emotionally and physically draining. I can’t seem to get the realization that I was able to come home, while Larry and Lea are not, out of my mind. My thoughts and prayers remain with them, of course.

FROM: Marjorie
Aug 30 @ 8:40 AM

My!! What a beautiful Braid!!!!!!!!! I Love You My Son,Give lea a God Bless You from me. UR Mother

FROM: Rene
Aug 30 @ 8:51 AM

Hi there, I’m in Columbia, MO — smack tap in the middle of Missouri — as you well know. Dad forwards on the updates which I appreciate. Everyone here in my office — asks me for updates as well — Lea does manage to touch everyone who hears about her — even before she was sick! Stay strong — I can’t imagine how draining this must all be — you are fabulous. I wish everyone had a “Larry” in their life!

FROM: Londa
Aug 30 @ 9:20 AM

Larry, Lea and I have worked together at Irwin for 13 years. I work remotely out of my home as a programmer for Irwin from Urbana, MO. That is located halfway between Sedalia and Springfield, MO on highway 65. I look forward to your daily updates and am so happy that Lea is recovering! Please let her know that I am praying for her full recovery. If anyone can do it, Lea can!

FROM: Doug
Aug 30 @ 10:24 AM

Larry, My name is Doug Flamini. I used to work with Lea at Irwin. I want to thank you for writing these emails and sharing your thoughts. I may never be the religious person you and I am sure most of your friends and family are, but I have changed my outlook on life since reading these emails. I thank you very much for giving me a better perspective on life. Please tell Lea when she wakes up that if the two of you are ever in Houston, to look me up. I would love to see you both again.

FROM: Jen
Aug 30 @ 10:33 AM

Dear Larry and Lea, My name is Jennifer Milewski, and I live in Silver Spring, Maryland. I’m one of Kristin Niemeyer’s cousins, and her mother, my Aunt Marlowe, sends me your emails every day. They are the first things I look for whenever I open my email.

My husband Doug and I are newly married (about 4 months), and I’m one of the many who have been touched by you both in terms of thinking about what marriage can truly mean. In the depth and generosity of your email communications, Larry, I’ve really learned a lot, some of which I think will take years to truly unfold. These words sound so pale on the written page, so perhaps you’ll understand the depth to which I feel them if I tell you that I have tears in my eyes as I write them.

We cannot choose our circumstances, but we can choose how we meet those circumstances, and as I witness the path you’ve chosen through your present difficulties, I really feel that you and Lea have become teachers for me. The proof, I think, will be in how well I live out those lessons (at first I mistyped, love out those lessons, which may be the more accurate statement after all).

I have a prayer buddy, Jim (he lives in Alexandria, VA, so you can add him to your spreadsheet too), and we are praying for Lea every day. We know which outcome we would prefer – and we know that, whatever the outcome, your words and actions are making a difference for people every day, even people you have never met, in terms of the living witness to your faith that you are providing. Bless you both. We think of you every day. Much love.

FROM: Pat
Aug 30 @ 10:40 AM

Hello to You All! Just a short note to say that Joe is still doing very well, he over did his PT yesterday, and almost made himself sick, but was doing good when I went in to see him in the afternoon. The test on his blood clot showed that it has gotten smaller, and he will have another test in one month. We’re in hopes that in another month the clot will be either gone or small enough to put Joe’s heart back in a reg. beat.

It’s such a blessing to hear about Lea, and I’m sure that she’ll get even with Larry for the “BM” story! (I may even help her!) Joe will be in Riverview Hospital for another 3 weeks, and then we hope he can come home! He’ll still be doing his therapy, but on an out-patient basis. We were discussing about his being home for the festival, and he and Clint are going to set on the porch and just watch the crowds go by! Sounds like fun to me!

We haven’t been able to set back and enjoy the festival for several years. If anyone would like to send Joe a card, you can reach him at: Riverview Hospital. Even though Joe isn’t out of the woods yet, he looks great, and he’s getting his strength back each day. With the good wishes, prayers and God’s help, we’ll ALL make it through this.

FROM: John
Aug 30 @ 11:08 AM

Larry, I am Kristen’s cousin, John (my dad is her mom’s brother). My wife and I live in Singapore – which is a city-state, so no province or whatever… God bless you!

FROM: Geri
Aug 30 @ 11:39 AM

Fishers, IN

FROM: Kim
Aug 30 @ 12:16 PM

Besides the obvious Fishers and Indianapolis, IN, I’ve sent it to Marie and Bev Bynum in Frisco, TX, my sister in law in Denver, CO, my cousin in Simi Valley, CA and Sandy Imel in Orlando, FL. Think I covered enough territory? Lea’s also on the prayer lists of a church in Simi Valley and one in Highlands Ranch (Denver suburb). Don’t forget to let me know about possible “care pkg” preferences as soon as you can.

FROM: Marlowe
Aug 30 @ 12:19 PM

Hi Larry, Lea is so much more stable, praise God, that I am not going to forward the updates every day to my list of pray-ers-just when there is a significant change or step forward. But I gave them the option of getting on your list if they prefer the daily updates. It is great to see that your sense of humor has not been dampened by this ordeal! I’m sure it has helped you to stay sane and upbeat. We continually admire your energy, devotion, faith and courage.

As you know, we live in two places, both Austin and Sandia Park, NM. Since most of the pray-ers on my list are from Austin, you can list us as NM supporters. I am sending photos of a beautiful rainbow we witnessed from our back porch the other night. It made me think of you and Lea, with its symbolism of hope, optimism and the promise of God’s faithful love and blessings.

Good luck with your project-it will give Lea a big boost to see how widespread her cheering squad is! And your braid is beautiful!

(PIX)

FROM: Ben and Joni
Aug 30 @ 2:21 PM

Hey Larry! We’re in Middlebury (IN) now and our Pastor, Bro Adams is in Benton Harbor MI. He gets the updates regularly too! (I give verbal updates to Kevin Hoffman and Co, but they’re in Middlebury too, so they don’t count! haha) I can’t wait to see all of the places that you and Lea are getting emails and such from!! We love you and are praying for you REGULAR! 

FROM: Dave
Aug 30 @ 4:51 PM

Larry: I am delighted Lea is making such excellent progress. I think of her and pray for her often. I now live in Gates Mills, Ohio, an eastern suburb of Cleveland. We moved here three years ago from Indianapolis in order to be near two of our four kids and five of our seven grandkids, plus many other relatives and friends (I lived in the Cleveland area for over fifty years before moving first to Louisville and then to Indy.) We miss our many Indianapolis friends and I miss my former Irwin Mortgage colleagues, but living near family is most important, and we love being here. Stella joins me in sending our love and best wishes to Lea and our admiration of your constant and loving care of her.

FROM: Carl
Aug 30 @ 5:08 PM

Pat and Carl, Austin TX

FROM: Cheryl
Aug 30 @ 8:21 PM

Hi Larry, Bruce and I continue our prayers for Lea. We check our email daily for the updates that Donny and Angie send us. It is wonderful to watch God’s hand on this whole situation, touching not only your lives but the lives of so many that you don’t even know. I wanted to send along the city etc. you requested: Middlebury IN May God continue to bless you and your family in the days ahead.

FROM: Link
Aug 30 @ 9:23 PM

Rake or reiki? Reiki is an Eastern healing technique which is all about energy and not about God… You might want to pray over her body tonight to make sure nothing weird was introduced…

(From the Internet):

What is Reiki?
Reiki is a form of massage therapy. It is a healing technique that originated in Tibet and has been practiced for over 2,500 years. Strictly speaking, it means Universal Life Force Energy. It is one of the more widely known forms of healing through direct application of Chi, or a force very similar to Chi. What is Chi? Chi is the term used by the Chinese mystics and martial artists for the underlying force the Universe is made of.

It is believed that reiki can relieve pain, boosts the immune system and relieves acute problems. This is believed because physical manifestations of pain are often linked to emotional, mental and spiritual states. Chronic illnesses may take a series of treatments, depending on the specific nature of the disease. Reiki goes beyond the symptoms to treat the root cause of the disease. When we treat only the symptoms, we do not always get to the true basis of the illness.

Reiki practice consists of the practitioner places his or her hands upon the person to be healed with the intent for healing to occur, and then the energy begins flowing. The reiki practitioner uses their hands to channel energy from the universe to your body so your body can heal itself. The main distinction between Reiki and other energy healing techniques is that a practitioner can channel the Reiki energy through their hands into their own body.

FROM: Link
Aug 30 @ 9:29 PM

Darn it! You made me cry… Your faith and love for Mom just blows me away… Love you, Dad!

FROM: Carol
Aug 30 @ 9:44 PM

Rakee is a wonderful thing. I have never had it performed on myself, but I have had it done to two of my dogs and the difference in their actions was amazing. Nothing is as potent as God as you know, but keep striving for every chance you can. Larry, you are not being greedy wanting to keep Lea longer, and Lea would be feeling the same if the roles were reversed. You have told her it is ok if she needs to go so the fight is hers with God’s help. My heart breaks for the agony you are going through and your faith, love, and strength amazes me. Continued prayers.