[Epley Update] April 13, 2006

[Russ and Flossie Epley]

Dear praying friends,

It is with great joy I am able to announce that Russ is out of ICU into 
a regular room! This morning I was at Christian Academy for awhile 
trying to catch up on a few things. I got called out of a meeting for a 
phone call from the hospital. They had told me that they would contact 
me if Russ took a turn for the worse. As I took the call I prepared 
myself for anything. What a delight it was to hear that they wanted me 
to know where to find Russ when I came for the afternoon visitation 
since they had moved him out of ICU.

The best news is that this move is because Russ is making progress 
towards recovering from his pneumonia. He is still on a ventilator but 
it is a lower level one that is weaning him away from assisted 
breathing. Personally I think it would be pretty cool if he could get 
off the ventilator to breathe on his own on Resurrection Sunday, but 
I'll leave that to God to choose His timing.

Russ still has a fever, but it's not high and his vital signs are all 
stable. After he gets off the ventilator he'll begin his various 
therapies to regain the ability to eat, talk, and walk. We'll need 
patience and perseverance in the days ahead. I have always admired 
Russ' persevering work ethic so I believe he'll work hard.

Having Russ in a regular hospital room will also make my life 
considerably easier to manage since I will be free to see him from 2:00 
until 7:00 each day rather than at three different times for shorter 
periods of time. The hospital is about an hour away depending on the 
time of day. By being able to be with him over several hours now I can 
pace my talking and singing to him to match his alert moments. In ICU 
there were times he was too tired to be awake during the time I was 
allowed to visit. The timing of the ICU visits didn't allow me to get 
good sleep. I was happy to give up sleep to take every opportunity to 
see him, but this will be much better. I am so grateful.

We'll appreciate your continued prayers in the challenging days ahead.

Rejoicing,
Flossie Epley