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Last Friday, my Dad became very dizzy and ill. His blood pressure dropped, he broke out into a cold sweat and slept heavily for several hours. These symptoms occurred again on Sunday night but much more severe. His blood pressure spiked and he could not regain his balance, his speech slurred, and the violent vomiting did not relent. He was transported in an ambulance to Mary Washington Hospital where they stabilized him and ran every test. (MRI, MRA, EKG, Doppler, blood, urine, xray, etc) The radiologist saw evidence of several small strokes at the base of the skull. There was no visible damage from the stroke. The Neurologist recommended that my Dad be transferred to the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville for surgery. He was transported there Monday night. My brother Mike flew in from Minnesota and he and my Mom drove down to UVA on Tuesday. They all met with the surgeon who recommended that my Dad undergo basilar arterial angioplasty stint surgery. The blood vessel at the base of my Dad’s skull is partially blocked and causes the minor strokes that he has been having intermittently over the course of the last 10 years. A little over 10 years ago, he was told that there wasn’t anything that could be done about it. The doctors at UVA have been performing this surgery for years and a few years ago, the technology for the balloons and stints advanced to improve the outcome. The Doctor who will be operating on my Dad performs this surgery approximately 5 times a month. At the outset of all this, my Dad just wanted to go home. He has since come to accept that God placed him here, so this problem could finally be diagnosed correctly and surgery could help alleviate it. He will be operated on at 0800 Thursday 8 November. The surgery will take 1 1/2 - 2 hours and he will be in the ICU for several hours afterwards. He will stay in the Hospital overnight and if there are no complications, he may be released back to my house on Friday. As my Mom sat with my Dad throughout the first night in the hospital, she was reading about Lazarus. “This sickness is not onto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” John 11:4 I do glorify the Lord through this. Our move to Virginia has not only blessed the children and I, it has now blessed my Father. Here in Virginia, my Dad and my Mom found answers and help that they have been seeking for years. The Lord God has also been glorified through my church. I am ever grateful to belong to a terrific body of Christ that truly does “love one another deeply from the heart.” I am also grateful to have Christian neighbors who have been an example of the Proverb, “Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.” Proverbs 27:10. So, please pray for my Dad and praise our God who prepares the way, walks beside, and in the midst of trial gives us peace. “”Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God: and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7