Board Meetings and Family Updates

Hello from Arizona.

Beverly and I traveled to Arizona to spend more time with Mother and Dad Landis.  As you know Mom was diagnosed with bone cancer, and we see value in making effort to spend more time with her.  She is 89 years old and is doing well. In fact, she looks much better here in the warm weather and lower elevation than when she left Wyoming.

Earlier in the year, after the AiG board retreat on Branson in January, we added a week to our trip and swung by Arizona before going home.  Then just last week, when we were informed that the AiG March board meeting was changed to a conference call meeting, we decided to come to Arizona and miss another Sunday at CBC.

Ken Ham, just last week, gave a presentation about the Ark Project along with a strong message about the condition of the country today. The presentation was a recorded webcast that was shown at CBC, along with a 13 minute video preface I taped down here, during Sunday morning’s service last week.

Well we were having a good time here with family—a big encouragement to Mom.  Four of my five brothers were able to be together for a short time with my brother Dean and his family coming down from Montana.  

After church on Sunday we all had lunch (picture below).

But on Saturday night of last week, Beverly alerted us to her concern. She noticed Dad’s breathing was labored, and while holding his hands she slyly took his pulse and was alarmed.  His heart rate was erratic and elevated, and she also noted he looked like he was in congestive heart failure.  Other family members had noticed he did not seem well this past month and had regularly asked him if he was feeling well.  Beverly was pretty sure his heart was beating with an irregular rhythm and she named it (it was medical terminology to me). The very next day, after attending church in Phoenix, we all had lunch together as a family. At the end of the meal I said to Dad: “How about we all drive back to the house where mother can take a nap, and we will go with you to the local emergi-care office”.  We did and the sequence of events unfolded: we went from the office to an ambulance and a local hospital ER and then to more tests.  

Beverly spent the night with him at Mountain Vista Hospital here in East Mesa. He lost 10 lbs of fluid overnight. He was looking pretty good but tired the following morning. His heart rhythm still was not right, but there were no blood clots in the lungs. He had to stay for another night due to pauses—when the heart stops for a short time and then starts again!

My brothers Dave and Doug were at the hospital Monday morning, and mother, Ellen, and Sue came in later, while Dean left for Texas the same morning.

I am very thankful the Lord had us here and that Beverly pressured us to follow through—she has a gift for noticing medical issues.

So last week we focused on visiting “Dad” instead of “Mom”!

My plans are still to leave here Friday to be back to preach on Sunday in Jackson.

Thanks for your prayers for both of my parents.

P.S.  I also met with my oncologist and received a good report from him.

Don