Answered Prayers

"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation." Psalm 91:14-16

Tonight many prayers were answered!! Ruthie was able to have a good conversation with Louie's doctor.

Dr. Ware (Dr. Duke's nephew) has performed the last two surgeries on Louie. He informed Ruthie that they were able to connect part of his bowel and that it appeared to have good blood flow. They also believe that the area of skin they thought could have infection tested negative to one of the worst kinds of infection (if you want the fancy doctor name, you can email me because I can't spell it!!).

The general impression that he left was that the surgery went well. With all of that good news he reminded us that Louie is very sick. He could code at any minute. His life is really critical and we can never forget that.

Beyond the fact that the report was very good Aunt Ruthie feels so comforted knowing that Louie is being cared for by a very compassionate surgeon. Moreover Dr. Ware told her to read the 91st Psalm.

God has been so gracious in providing Louie with a good Christian doctor. We know that all of your prayers are blanketing Louie and that God's hand is watching over him and for that we are eternally thankful.

We hope that you find the same encouragement that we have in the Psalm that his doctor directed us to:

Psalm 91 (New International Version)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you make the Most High your dwelling— even the LORD, who is my refuge-
then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

Tomorrow Louie will go back to surgery. Either Dr. Ware or Dr. Duke will perform the surgery. Please continue to pray that Louie's body stays strong and that God guides the surgeons in their work.

Abby

Annointing

We have had many visitors today for which we are very greatful. Everyone has been so generous, and all of the time in the waiting room passes quicker with such good company.
We requested a priest on staff come by and annoint dad today. Even though his condition has not seemed to worsen, we would never pass up this great opportunity.

His nurse tonight just might be our favorite. He has had great nurses, but tonights nurse does a great job of explaining things to us and seems to be a quite the nurturer. After surgery she bathed him, washed his hair, and gave him a clean shave to make him look his best for visitors. :) Today they let us know that even though we've not received the culture back, they are thinking that the discoloration on the right side is bruising and not infection. We are really praying that this is the case and we're hoping to have a definite answer tomorrow.

I guess that is it for now. Thanks again to everyone for everything.

Update

We spoke with one of the physicians and he is still critical but stable. We are still waiting on tests to confirm the extent of infection, but the surgery went relatively well and the situation is no worse or better. He's able to support his own blood pressure and will continue with dialysis at this time. Thanks for your support and keep praying for him!

Out of Surgery

He's out of surgery and we are waiting for an update from the doctor. It may be a little while... they never seem to come around very quickly.

In surgery now, please pray

Brian went to the hospital this morning so that he could be with Aunt Ruthie when the doctors rounded. They were able to speak with the attending surgeon that operated on Uncle Louie last night. He again reminded them that Louie is VERY sick. He told them that Uncle Louie needed to go back to surgery so that they could continue to assess the intestines and take out some of the tissue that is infected.

Now that he is in surgery, if you could specifically pray that God guides the doctors hands while operating and allows them to remove all of the infected tissue and skin. Getting rid of all damaged parts of his body is a vital part of Louie's recovery because any of the damaged tissue is prone to spread infection. Along with the surgery right now the risk of infection is one of his biggest battles. If you could also pray that Uncle Louie stays strong during the surgery.

We continue to be so thankful for all of your prayers.

Abby

Prayer Marathon

As some of you know, Brian and I just completed our first marathon. It was 26.2 miles. Some miles were exhilarating and some were just plain ugly (mile 22). Uncle Louie is also running a Marathon.

As we are finding out some days are going to be great and some are going to be just plain ugly. I have decided to ask each of you to sign up for a Marathon of Prayer with me.

As a general rule my prayer life is just not what it should be and instances like this remind me that I am required to do better. Sure I pray but not nearly as much as I should.

I am going to try to spend 5 minutes a day (a much shorter time than it took me to run each of my 26 miles) for the next 26 days in prayer.

No need to sign up here on the blog, I just challenge each of you to join me in my Prayer Marathon.

Grab your bible, your rosary , or whatever helps you feel at one with the Lord and lets start our Marathon!!

Abby

Update

We all got to go in to see dad and meet with one of his doctors. While his heart rate is still elevated and creatinine is high, his blood pressure is stable. He is on continuous dialysis right now to help his kidneys, and tissue has been sent to test for infection. More of his bowel was removed today as well as other dead tissue. They are keeping him sedated to ensure his comfort. The doctor also told us to expect "ups and downs" along the way. His strength and our courage to face each hour are the result of your continued prayers.

Update

We met with Dr. and the report from surgery is not good. The extent of the damage was reassessed in the OR, and it was far worse than they previously believed. The reality of the situation is that he could possibly die tonight. Please pray for him because he needs it now more than ever.

Blood Drives

Blood Drive Info for Louis Buzek:

Thank you so much for all of you that were able to give blood or signed up today at Wal-Mart. For anyone that was unable to give, there are two blood drives coming up for Louis Buzek this next week. Please call the contact person for the drive you can attend and get your name on the schedule so you will not have to wait. Again, thank you so much for your donation. Please remember to keep Louie, Greg, and their family's in your prayers. God is good.

Thursday, February 5, 8 a.m. till ?
Shoppa's Farm Supply, 1010 Hwy 59 W, El Campo, TexasContact person is Trish Steinmann or Pat Mamerow at 979-543-8363

Friday, February 6, 12 - 7 p.m.
El Campo Fire Department Training Room, 220 Merchant, El Campo, Texas
Contact person is Vicki Roberts at 979-332-2103 or you may email me at vroberts@cityofelcampo.org

There will be a third drive organized

Out of Surgery

He's out of surgery and we should be able to see him in about an hour. The surgeon should come talk to us soon.

He's in Surgery

Quick Note from Tracy:

He is back in surgery now. Keep praying!

We've been told that he will start dialysis soon to because his kidneys are having hard time. The Dr's comments today we're "we're moving in the right direction". We're so thankful!

Pray for a successful surgery

As most of you know Louis is my husband's uncle. I have just pretty much adopted him as my own and frankly I only know how to call him Uncle Louie.

We have known all along that this process would require several trips to the OR. Sometime today he will be operated on. We aren't sure when. Please please pray for Louie to be strong during the surgery. For the surgery to be a success and for the good Lord to watch over all of the medical staff working with Uncle Louie.

I know Aunt Ruthie wants all prayers to be directed towards Louie and Greg but if you have a little extra time you might say some prayers for her and the girls too!

On other news we visited with him last night and I think that he looks great all things considering. He still looks like the Uncle Louie we know and love. He is very responsive and wants to communicate, unfortunately his vent tube gets in his way. He is able to talk to the Ruthie and the girls through a letter board and nodding.

Some of you have mentioned that you would like to donate to a fund for him. We are working on getting that set up. As soon as I have more information I'll tell you about it.

Blood Drive

As most of you know Louie lost a lot of blood. If you are able to donate there will be a blood drive TODAY from 12:30-2:30 in the El Campo Walmart Parking Lot.

What happens if I don't live in El Campo or even in Houston. We are currently hashing out that information. As soon as we know what you should do we will update the blog with that information.

If you live in El Campo don't forget to tell them your donating for Louis here's his info!

Louis Buzek
Memorial Hermann Hospital
STICU- Herman Pavilion
Thanks so much,
The Buzek Family

If you can't donate don't feel bad just keep on praying for Greg and Louis. Thanks!!

Update from Ruthie..

Thank you so much ---Louie made it here safely but evidently was in very bad shape. At one point in the emergency room his heart stopped and the doctor told me this morning that Dr. Duke had the knife in his hand ready to open him up and it started again. That could only have happened with the huge amount of loving prayers lifting him up.God knew we did not have time for that since he absolutely had to get to surgery to control the bleeding. He received 52 units of blood as of post surgery and more today.He responds to us when we speak to him (nodding etc.) The risk of infection is great as well as other issues BUT the doctors say he is doing amazingly well at this moment. I will take "this moment" as my current gift from God. Continue to pray with your whole hearts and my request for today is to pray for Greg . He feels devastated and needs each of you. I WILL NOT let him take responsibility for this. It was an accident and how easily the tables could have been turned--Love to you all---Ruthie