love your heart...

for those of you that don't know...

matt's dad has been having some health problems for the past few months. he had his gall bladder removed two months ago and apparently he almost died on the table from complications. eventually he was sent home, given permission to go back to work, but he continued to not feel well. he kept going back to the doctor but they couldn't figure out what exactly was causing the extreme bloating (and by extreme we mean that he literally looked pregnant). things were finally diagnosed last week as a bad valve in his heart. it was stretched out and blood was not flowing properly causing the bloating.

last thursday he went in for an angiogram but it was unsuccessful due to the 100% blockage in one of his blood vessels and 80-90% blockage in three others. he was immediately put on mandatory hospital bed rest, and was scheduled for a quadruple bypass and valve repair. on saturday matt and i took a trip up to nebraska to help lift his dad's spirits and get some more information.

he had his surgery on monday and it was completed in two and a half hours. they successfully did a quad-bypass and put a band around the valve to repair the stretching. as of yesterday, he no longer needs a special balloon to help his heart beat and is right on track as far as recovery goes. he does have severe heart damage, but was told that with exercise, a healthy diet, and no more smoking he should be fine. hallelujah!

please keep him in your prayers!