Pray for David

It has been said that time heals all wounds. But for some, time just complicates things.

Back on May 22, 2003, just days from highschool graduation, David Spears was a passenger in a pickup truck that ran off the road and into a pond. A fence post pierced his skull, and he lost almost half his brain. He also lost an eye and the hearing in the ear on the right side of his head. The most serious injury, though, was the trauma to his brain stem.

In the months that followed he slowly recovered his cognitive abilities, and within six months could talk. He regained use of his right arm and even made some progress on the effected left side (he had been left-handed). But, because of the nature of his injury to his brain stem, he has been subject to seisures. His seisures lead to respiratory and cardiac arrest earlier this week. He was brought back to life, put on a respirator, and eased into an induced coma to allow his brain to recover. If indeed the loss of oxygen was not too great.

Early reports are not good. There has been sporatic brain activity, but even as I write this he may have slipped away. This brings back painful memories of my son's own passing. His heart had stopped in routine surgery, to be brought back immediately. However, the doctors did not know he was bleeding internally (his blood pressure returned to normal). He died in the midst of seisures hours later. By the time I saw him, his brain had quit (from lack of oxygen). The next day he was officially pronounced dead. Jim went quickly; David has been fighting for over three years.

And so, pray for David. But especially pray for his parents and family who have been his care-givers 24 hours a day for these past years. Pray for decisions that must be made in the next few days. Pray for wisdom; and pray for grace.