pray for jim!

will samson's good friend jim has been waiting for a double lung transplant for over a year now - it has been a long, long wait. he is in the hospital right now awaiting the news if the donor lungs they hope they have for him will be available, and then he will be going into surgery.

please pray - either way it's huge - if he doesn't get the lungs it will be disappointing, if he does he and his family will need our prayers. please, please pray.

check on jim

UPDATE: We are not clear on whether the lungs are here in the building or still in transport, but we were told that the surgery is definitely going to proceed. We are overwhelmed with relief and gratitude to our donor and the donor’s family. You are welcome to come over to the main waiting area at UCLA and hang out with us. We’ll probably be here into the night.

UPDATE #2: YIPEE!! jim is through surgery and in recovery - his family has been allowed to see him, and he is still sleeping. GOOD, GOOD NEWS!

UPDATE #3: From the blog: Jim’s ventilator is turned off. He is breathing on his own, but the tube is still in his throat. If he can breath on his own for about an hour and a half they’ll take the tube out. Overwhelmed with gratitude and relief again.

UPDATE #4: Keep praying - recovery from this kind of surgery isn't easy. Yesterday's update said this:

Dr Ross and Dr Ardehali have decided to put Jim back on the ventilator, perform a tracheotomy, and insert a small feeding tube for a number of reasons. Since the transplant Jim has been having problems breathing deeply which resulted in high CO2 levels in his blood. He has also not been able to cough enough to get rid of mucus inside in air passages. Dr Ardehali felt that the most conservative approach should be used as he is mostly concern with the long term; namely, to protect the new lungs, allow Jim time to heal from the surgery, and let Jim learn to breathe again. The tracheotomy will allow the doctors to clear out the passage ways and protect the new lungs from any pneumonia. Dr Ardehali explained this was all part of the process of getting a great outcome.