Weekend news

This is Phillip reporting (Gordie's son-in-law with, as people call it, "the house").

There isn't much news to report today, as Gordie's situation hasn't changed much since Jacquelyn's last post. I didn't get to see him on Friday, but word on the street was that Gordie felt great on Friday. He even said that he felt like he could have walked home.

This was not the case on Saturday, however. As Joan put it, on Saturday he looked like he was a heart attack victim. I guess he felt really poor in the morning, but by late afternoon and early evening, he seemed just fine to me. I could tell he was uncomfortable and feeling a bit "not right," but as long as he was getting oxygen, he was fine.

As for right now, it's hard for "get it done" people like Paul Simmons and myself to stand by idly and wait. We were all set to drive him to a cardiac care hospital that we knew could treat him. But, Gordie is commited to waiting until Monday to find out for sure what the transfer wait time is. He feels that it is unethical to check himself out and check himself into another hospital at this point. He doesn't want to lie about chest pains to be admitted elsewhere (Paul and I offered to punch him in the chest... then it wouldn't be a lie...).

Anyways, we all respect his decision. I believe that these are the types of trials that really test your ethics. It is encouraging to see Gordie put his trust in the Lord at this point. Of course, I don't believe he is prepared to be foolish about the whole situation. Come Monday, if the wait truly is as long as we have been lead to believe (8 weeks), then checking out here and going elsewhere is what we will have to do.

As for the ethics of such a decision, I keep going back to the fact that it is legal. Just because he doesn't have medical insurance, he is still required to receive medical care.

Anyways, we are celebrating Joan's birthday today at the hospital from 12:00 - 2:00pm. I told her if she wanted the whole family to be here for her birthday, she could just ask... She didn't have to put her husband in the hospital.

Thank you all for your prayers! One of the things that Gordie and Joan have appreciated about the hospital that they are in (other than UCLA or such) is that we are close enough for everyone in the church to make an appearance (and believe me... they have). Your visits and prayers are better than any medicine right now.

Praise God for the body of Christ!