The personal stuff. Please pray!

I have a hard time even writing this, because I just don't know what to say. I know that some of you remember this post regarding my brother-in-law's dad.

I'll just cut and paste a couple of things so I don't have to rehash emotions.
From my dad:

Dear Family,
Last night Matt's dad, Chad, had another bad stroke. He was taken to the hospital, but this morning they released him to return home to the care of a hospice nurse with the sad news that he probably only has a few more days to live. He has pneumonia, has been put on morphine because of the pain and he has given the directive not to allow a feeding tube or any other means to prolong his life.

Matt and Jen got the news at about 10:00 AM today (Tuesday) and are already on the road together. Mom/Carol and I are taking over family/kid responsibilities with Tim and Sara's help. We will be playing this by ear as to what next events will unfold.

The Quaker Meadow Banquet is this Friday night, but Matt and Jen will not attend and now it appears we will not be going either. There is also a camp this weekend. Tim is taking leadership, and Sara, Nick and Angela are staff. I (Bob) will fill in as well. Mom/Carol will do the two soccer games on Saturday and then join us at camp.

We'll keep you posted. You know the need for prayer.

Thanks,
Dad/Bob

A prayer request from me:

I just received word that my sister's father-in-law probably has 2-3 days left to live. We call him "Uncle Matt's Dad, Chad" around here because we have been praying for his health since he was diagnosed with a very aggressive brain tumor just before Christmas. He had the tumor removed and there was a seriously miraculous healing in his body as they could not find any cancer when they did a follow-up scan a few months later. Unfortunately, the drugs he has had to take have effected other body systems. He has had terrible blood clots and a couple of strokes. His most recent major stroke was this morning. He has been sent home from the hospital with a hospice nurse and has refused a feeding tube. He is a really young guy. Early 50s. My sister and her husband have 6 kids, and I know this is going to be especially tough on them since they love Chad, but don't get to see him as often as they would like. My sister (Jen) and her husband (Matt) are driving up to Oregon from California to be with Chad in these final days.

So, I guess I'm asking for prayer for Chad's family, including Jen and Matt, for comfort and to be able to say everything they want to say. Also, for the grandkids who will take this pretty hard. It will be their first major loss and I just wish I could be with them. And, especially for Chad, who has been ready to go for a while now, but who just loves his family and is concerned about the way they will handle his passing. Chad is a born-again Christian, so he is confident in his salvation. That much we can be thankful for.

And from Jen this morning:

Hi Guys!

We got in here at about 2 am. I drove the last few hours so Matt could sleep, but he was so worried I would fall asleep that we both stayed up! When we got here Chad was set up in the living room and his color was/is awesome. Yesterday was a rough day though and his lungs were filling so fast that they didn't know if he would make it through the night. He was completely incoherent. The hospice nurse is a good friend of the family. He is in a huge amount of pain, but he's on a morphine drip which keeps it at bay. The nurse gave him a medication that has taken the swelling down in his brain. Matt stayed at Chad's side all night and at about 5 am, Matt heard Chad's breathing change and Chad's eyes were cracked open looking around. So Matt got right up in his face with a big smile and said "Hi Dad!". Chad's eyes got huge and he broke into a big crooked smile. Matt spent about 30 minutes talking to his Dad with Chad responding with hand squeezes, smiles and looking right at Matt. Kathy woke up and quickly everyone came in to spend some time with him. He is up now and there are about 20 people here. His pain is getting worse and the social worker is here, so they will be upping his pain meds in the next little bit and he will probably go to sleep. The medication that is keeping the swelling in his brain down isn't going to be able to keep up with the pace of the swelling and the hospice nurse expects that later today he will go into a coma. The pneumonia will take over and he won't have much time left. But all we can say is that the fact he was able to wake up and be coherent is a huge blessing. Matt and Amy talked to Chad about being able to go up with Jesus and how amazing it is going to be for him. He broke into a huge grin and squeezed Amy's hand. I feel blessed to be here. There is a festive mood in the house, lots of laughter and funny stories.

Thanks for letting me come up here and for taking the kiddos!

Love you tons,

Jen

Please keep this family in your prayers.