Prayer Request
If you have a moment and feel led I would appreciate prayer for my dad, Lee DeYoung. My dad, 62, works with a radio missions organization called Words of Hope. Their mission is to broadcast the gospel by radio, especially into hard to reach or underserved places. With his jobs he travels internationally several months a year. He's been to over 60 countries, mostly in Asia and Africa. I don't know how he's done it for 25 years or how my mom has been able to manage so well. But they have. Working with producers and translators and church leaders around the world is my dad's passion.
Eighteen days ago my dad was admitted to the hospital in Grand Rapids with an especially violent strand of cerebral malaria which he contracted while on a recent trip to Africa. After suffering for a week from flu like symptoms, he quickly lost his cognitive abilities as the infection spread to his brain. Thankfully he got to the hospital just in time. Another day and he probably would have died. The doctors were able to treat the malaria with a red blood cell exchange and a special drug flown in from the CDC in Atlanta. Over the subsequent two weeks my dad slowly got better. His kidneys, his brain, his blood pressure, and a bunch of other stuff improved. Some days had setbacks, but overall he was on a trajectory toward health. I had some great times visiting my dad and seeing his invigorated passion for the gospel and evangelism and his renewed commitment to going back overseas no matter the cost.
A few times in the past week they almost released my dad from the hospital. But every time something would come up–fever, chills, a blood clot, an IV infection. On Saturday morning–on the day we thought he might even come home–my dad encountered an unsuspected and serious complication. He stopped speaking and lost movement on the left side of his body. Thankfully, it was not a stroke. But the doctors discovered bleeding around the brain that had developed because of blood thinner medication which he was on because of a clot that had developed because of a central line. I'm learning a lot about medicine and how amazing and intricate and sometimes fragile the human body is.
They quickly brought my dad in for emergency brain surgery on Saturday. The surgery was successful in cleaning up the biggest accumulation of blood on the brain. As he woke from surgery he eventually started moving both sides of his body and even spoke a few words. Yesterday he grew less and less responsive. That seems to have changed again for the better overnight. The CT scan looks okay, but there are still several serious concerns. I won't go into all the details because they change often and I may not understand them perfectly. But I know that my dad is in very critical condition and needs the Lord's mercy. Many of you understand firsthand what these scary times are like. We do not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future.
If you desire, please pray for my dad. Pray for my mom too. This has been hard on her as you can imagine. I'm grateful that my parents, my three siblings, and all our spouses know the Lord. I'm thankful too for all the support, love, and prayers I've received from my friends and wonderful church family.
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe" (Prov. 18:10).
