Mary
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Missionary with heart attackWe got a phone call from our friend Jim who is a missionary in Romania. He has been ill with pneumonia for about a month and got some antibiotics for that from a doctor, felt somewhat better, but is by no means well. Yesterday when he called he could barely talk. He has fluid in the sac around his heart and is gasping for every breath like a fish out of water. He was taken to a hospital by friends in the village, and was treated, but due to the very primative conditions of hospitals in rural areas in Romania, he refused to be admitted. He was told that the medications he was given "might have an effect in five to ten days"!
Other missionary friends, who are out of the country for the winter, have loaned him their apartment, so he is caretaking there, and is alone except when other people look in on him. There is a plan in the works to take him to a major city with a better hospital where he could see a heart specialist, but that might take a few days.
Please be praying that he can get the right medical treatment soon, and that the medicine he got will be effective in the meantime.
I will keep you updated when I have news.
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God's Warrior
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Prayers going up here for Jim. I will pray especially the medication to take effect rapidly and for him to be able to go somewhere else for good treatment immediately.
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CajuninKy
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He will be in my thoughts and prayers. Missionaries have my utmost respect.
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Mary
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A small update: Today my hubby talked to somebody in Romania who is helping Jim. The plan is to try to get a plane ticket with only one plane change for about a week from now. Hopefully by then he will be breathing easier (read more or less normally) so that he would be allowed on a plane. Then if he could get wheelchair assistance in the ariport so that he wouldn't have to walk anywhere to change planes, it would be doable. He is a veteran, so could get into a VA hospital in California near some friends of ours who would meet him at the airport.
Apparently his spirits have also improved over yesterday as well, he is trying to joke with his friend today. Thus far, his physical condition seems to be unchanged, so please keep praying.
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Mary
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Update again. We know that Jim had a plane reservation to be coming to the USA today (Dec 11). We have not heard anything for a few days, so we assume that he is on his way! Please pray for a safe trip for him and for him to be able to get medical attention soon after he arrives.
He needs his military service record to enter the VA hospital, but it is not in the boxes of personal possessions he left in storage with us. He might have things stored with a friend in another state. Pray that they will be found soon or that his records can easily be varified by computer.
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God's Warrior
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Thanks for updating us. I will be praying for a safe trip for him and for his necessary needs to be met as soon as possible
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Mary
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Jim is back in the USA, and is on his way to the hospital. He will get a lot of tests today. Now that he is on US soil, it will be easier to get news.
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God's Warrior
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Praise the Lord for answered prayers. I will keep praying for him. 
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Mary
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Praise the Lord! A good report.
Jim has been seen by 3 doctors, they believe his condition can be handled with diet and meds. He is greatly relieved not to be facing surgery immediately. He will get further tests on the 20th. The period between now and then will be an indicator of how well diet and meds will take care of him. And so for now at least, the crisis appears to be over. Thanks for your prayers. I will add to this thread when I have anything more.
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God's Warrior
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Thank God for Jim and the fact that he might be able to be treated with just medication and diet. God is indeed GOOD! I will continue praying for good health for him.
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Mary
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The doctor Jim saw in Romania took an EKG and told Jim he needed a heart transplant! A week later, the first EKG at the VA hospital indicated that it wasn't quite that bad, but that he would need a bi-pass after more tests. Another EKG was taken the next day and after consulting with 2 other cardiologists, it looked good enough to go the meds route! And all this without the paperwork he needs, unheard of but that is God at work.
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God's Warrior
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Don't you just love it when you see actual miracles in people's lives? I always tell the doctors when these things happen that the Lord did it, whatever it is that confuses them so badly.... I know that they see miracles all the time and it is hard to imagine how they could discount them as just happenings rather than the Lord working in people's lives. We do indeed serve an awesome and loving Lord.
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Mary
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Yes indeed! One of Jim's cardiologists is a born again Christian whose sister is a missionary in Russia. Coincidence? I don't think so.
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God's Warrior
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I don't think so either. "Ain't God Great?"
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CajuninKy
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God is, indeed, Great and always right on time!
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Mary
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Jim has been staying with friends and going to the hospital for tests, the results of which are not yet complete. I'm not even sure that the tests are complete at this point. He says he is breathing much better and can tell that the meds are working, but is very tired and lacks energy, so he sleeps and reads a lot.
He also said that 2 groups of believers in Romania called him and prayed with him over the phone. That really lifted his spriits! They are missing him and are anxious for him to come back.
More later, when news comes.
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Mary
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Our friend Jim is still being tested and treated as an outpatient. His doctors have adjusted his medications again and want to see him again in about a month. He plans to do some visiting of friends and supporters during this time before he is able to go back to Romania if he can make the proper arrangements.
Please pray for continued improvement, and for finances and travel plans to come together in a timely manner.
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God's Warrior
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That is such good news for him.
My prayers are now going up to the effect that he wants and needs to get back to his mission for the Lord in Romania and needs things to come together to make that a reality as soon as possible..
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Mary
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Another update on Jim. His doctors have adjusted his meds again and don't want to see him for about a month, so he has started visiting his friends and supporters. He is currently in Oregon and we expect to see him when he visits his home church later this month. God is good!
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God's Warrior
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Praise the Lord for answered prayers!
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Mary
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Last week my hubby brought Jim to our area so that he could make contact with his home church and pick up some items he had stored at our place. He looks a bit tired and not quite the same as we remember (thinner and he has grown a beard), but he says he feels pretty good. Someone in his church gave him a ride back to the west side of the state, where he will catch a train to go back to California soon. He has appointments at the VA hospital, and the results of those will tell how soon he could return to Romania.
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God's Warrior
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I pray it will be smooth sailing for him from here on out. Hopefully he will be able to go back to Romania soon.
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Mary
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Update again. Our friend Jim just called, he has been examined by his doctors again and they have released him to go back to Romania. They want to see him in a year! Praise the Lord.
Now he will see about transportation to return to his flock who will all be very glad to have him back with them. His journey has been amazing and he has seen the hand of God over and over though it all. Thank you for your prayers.
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God's Warrior
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Praise the Lord for answered prayers. That is wonderful news.
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CajuninKy
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Great news! God is so good.
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