(2 personal notes from Mrs. Cissy Alvey below)
PRAISE
REPORT!!!!
Thank you to everyone who has
visited this site across the country and have taken the time to pray for
Brother Larry Alvey.
On behalf of New
Hope Baptist Church of Grandview, Indiana and Mrs. Larry Alvey the following is
a synopsis of Pastor Larry Alvey's medical
condition. This page is updated as
information becomes available.
April 16 Wednesday: Pastor Alvey began
to come down with flu/pneumonia-like symptoms but pressed on
working. He preached that evening but was in severe pain and began
limping. During the preaching his
pain worsened and he asked for prayer that evening.
April 17
Thursday:
He tried to continue working. He was in severe pain and his limping (left
leg) was even more apparent.
April 18
Friday:
His tongue began to turn black and his skin began turning an orange/yellow
color. His pain was much more severe and he was still limping. That
evening he went to the emergency room. By then his kidney's
began to shut down and was put into the ICU. The doctors ran tests but
couldn't come up with a diagnosis. They determined that he may have
MRSA (super bug). They noticed a bruise on his left calf muscle and
determined that that was the origin of the super bug. He continued to
spiral down. They gave him 0 percent chances of making it through the
evening.
April 19 Saturday: Doctors removed his left
calf muscle. His pain was unbearable and he was heavily sedated.
His internal organs continued to shut down. He was placed on a respirator
and dialysis. By Saturday evening his condition greatly worsened.
The doctors asked for prayers.
April 20 Sunday: Doctors removed his
entire left leg. They've had to sedate him heavily due to the severe
pain he was enduring. The doctors believed he may have been contagious and
asked that people be kept from the room. Mrs. Alvey never left his
side.
April 21 Monday: Doctors believed that by
removing his leg it would stop the spread of the super bug. They tried to
determine whether or not he should have more surgery. He was still
heavily sedated and in severe pain.
April 22 Tuesday: Doctors determined that
he should have surgery as they found more evidence of infection on and or
around his abdomen. His skin is still discolored. Still
in severe pain; still on a respirator; still on dialysis.
April 23 Wednesday: Doctors found more spots
on the stump of his left leg. They did analysis in the morning some
of the tissues. During this procedure one of his arteries
ruptured and he lost a lot of blood. His right foot has begun
to turn black and they are considering amputation of that leg. He is
still in extreme pain and continues to be heavily sedated.
April 24 Thursday: After testing this
morning the doctors have found NO more poison in his blood. (All praise and glory to God!!!) His spleen has begun repairing
itself. His lungs are functioning at 40% and the doctors are considering
removing the respirator in a couple of days. He continues to be on
dialysis for his kidneys but the doctors believe he will be able to be removed
from the dialysis machine in a couple more weeks. The doctors are
cautiously encouraged at this point. Much more prayer is needed for his
complete recovery.
April 27 Sunday: As of today the doctor’s
have removed the respirator (Praise the Lord!) That being said, he has begun to
communicate with his family and is trying to eat a very limited amount of food,
although he is having difficulty keeping it down. He remains on the dialysis
machine and continues to be sedated due to the severe pain he is in. No final
decisions have been made concerning the right foot. Doctor’s believe the
discoloration has to do with the medication he is on but further testing and
more waiting will need to be done before any major decisions can be made on
further surgery. Brother Alvey and his family continue to need your prayers and
to be lifted up on a daily basis.
April
28 Monday: God is good… a simple statement indeed but how powerful
the truth! Today Brother Alvey is
eating! The doctors have removed the
main dialysis machine; however, he will continue to need dialysis treatments
about every 2 days. His blood pressure
went up over the weekend and then back down, the doctors continue to monitor
him. As for his right foot, his toes
remain discolored and the conversation with the doctors continues to be a “wait
and watch” stance. The possibility of
him losing his toes is still a consideration; so much prayer is needed on that
situation specifically. Brother Alvey
remains in ICU and will be there for at least one more month. Lastly, please pray about the physical
therapy that will be coming shortly. I
can only imagine how difficult it will be, but we can count on two things - the
fact that Brother Alvey is strong and the fact that God is stronger! On a family front, the Avley’s
have a positive attitude and are standing strong and encouraged by the prayers
of their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
Having their husband and dad recover like this is nothing short of a
miracle; I think of Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive
them, and ye shall have them.” And also
Psalm 28:6-9, “Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my
supplications. The LORD is my strength
and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart
greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise
him. The LORD is their strength, and he
is the saving strength of his anointed. Save thy people, and bless thine
inheritance; feed them also and lift them up forever.”
April 30 Wednesday: Hi, this is Cissy. I would like to thank everyone everywhere for
their prayers. The people here have been
so helpful to our family. The doctors,
nurses, and techs have all been so kind to us.
Many have brought us food and we so much appreciate not having to leave
Larry’s side in order to take care of ourselves. When Larry is feeling good, he wants
visitors! This gives him something to
think about on the bad days. Larry is
scheduled for surgery every 3 days now.
He also has dialysis treatments now instead of continual dialysis. We are praying for a private room since all
visitations at this hospital are changing.
Today, Larry was feeling really well, but is having dialysis treatment
now and is not feeling so well. When
Larry is well enough, he will transfer to another hospital for many weeks until
he returns here for extensive skin grafting.
After that, he will go to a rehab facility until he can go to outpatient
therapy. Please continue to pray! We are receiving many reports of people asking,
“What is the country preacher trying to tell them?” Larry goes soulwinning
regularly, and, well, Larry is busy preparing his next sermon and I can tell
you this much, it will be to glorify God as always and turn people to
Jesus. I am a little scatterbrained
these days but I wish I could share with everyone all the miracles we’ve seen
and the way God was using a country preacher even when he could not be woken
up! God bless you all for taking your
time to pray for my husband. Prayer is a
priceless gift!
May 2 Saturday: Today was a good day; he began his
occupational and physical therapy! Mrs.
Alvey explains that he is thrilled to be up and moving about; although
difficult at times he appreciates the opportunity to get up and move. She said that he still has a long road ahead
and that the doctors are still concerned for his right foot. It looks as though he will lose most of the
heel and a couple more toes. The doctors
are optimistic about the skin grafting, but Pastor Alvey is still in need of
much prayer regarding the grafting. As
of right now, there is not much skin covering the left leg and it’s difficult
because it consists of mostly muscle over bone.
Because of this he cannot sit or be fitted for a prosthetic leg until
the grafting is completed and healed.
Mrs. Alvey mentioned that he is in good spirits, but in a lot of pain
and is working very hard on his recovery.
May 6 Tuesday: (a note from Brittany Alvey) The name of his illness is “necrotizing fasciitis”. He is in a private room now, Praise the
Lord! Today, he has had, hopefully, his
last amputation surgery. They amputated
a little past the base of the toes up the foot plus part of the heel on the
right leg. Please pray for him as he is
still in a great amount of pain. He will
be able to get a prosthetic foot piece, but they’re not sure about the left leg
at this time. Please also pray about
that too. Thank you all for your prayers
he really needs them. Here are a couple
verses dad has been meditating on, he would like to share them with you: Philippians
3:13,14, “ Brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark
for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”
May 10 Saturday: I received a call from
Mrs. Alvey today, how it brightened my day to hear her tell me how Brother
Alvey is doing. All the praise and glory
goes to God for this report! The doctors
have decided to permanently remove Brother Alvey from the dialysis!! They’ve decided to switch him from
injections and/or IV’s to pills to deal with the immense pain that he is
experiencing; today he is able to tell the difference between phantom and
actual pain, which is important in his recovery. I was told that at times the pain was so bad
that he thought he would lose his mind…but God has brought to Brother Alvey
verses like 11 Timothy 1:7, “But God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but
of power and of love, and of a sound mind.” He says that even when he thinks he will lose
his mind because of the pain, he knows God won’t let that happen. On Monday, May 12, 2008, they will be doing
more skin grafting. Emotionally, Brother
Alvey is doing really well. He is always
quoting scriptures and giving praise to God.
Each morning is a new day and another chance to move ahead in his
recovery. Mrs. Alvey said that, “God
never gives him more than he can handle and God has entrusted him with the
trial to bring Glory to God.” With all
the surgeries to promote skin growth and with each day’s accomplishments
Brother Alvey gets closer to being moved to a therapy hospital. He’s anxious to get started! Currently, he goes to physical and
occupational therapy to help him regain his mobility. Mrs. Alvey wanted me to express her heartfelt
thanks to all of you who have stopped by the hospital and visited. This brightens up his day and helps him get
through the tougher ones! Thank you for
your prayers.
May 11 Sunday: Hi, this is Cissy Alvey. I want to thank everyone again for all the
prayers and support and for the cards we have received. Larry is recovering from the most recent foot
surgery now. Rehab had to be stopped to
protect the heel on his right foot. We
may be starting it back up this week.
Larry is scheduled for skin grafting on Tuesday, and the doctors have
suggested he go back to therapy to learn transfers and to sit up. Larry is no longer taking pain meds by IV,
but rather by mouth, this way they last longer.
Pain is still an issue and Larry at times is getting sick to his
stomach. His spirit is great and he is
such a testimony to his nurses and techs.
I rarely leave his room, but we enjoy this special time our Saviour has
given to us to share. Larry has asked
several of his doctors what his worst condition has been through this and each
has told him, “You were dead, and I wouldn’t have given you a chance at pulling
through”. Praise God! This just shows us that God is and always has
been in control. Larry has had one
doctor that was brought in from
May16 Friday: URGENT PRAYER REQUEST… Brother Alvey had to
have surgery again today to remove an infection in his stump. Besides the obvious risks, this infection
will delay any further surgeries for skin grafting a major part of the healing
process. As most of you know Brother Alvey’s left leg
is just muscle and exposed nerves which is extremely painful. Please pray for the infection to subside and
that the skin grafting surgeries can continue.
While we know that this infection has delayed, not only his surgeries
but also his therapy, we know that God is in control and that He can heal and
comfort him during this difficult time.
Thank you for your prayers!
May 21Wednesday: (This praise report
contains several days of information!!)
Mrs. Alvey contacted me to let me know that after the most recent scare
of infection Brother Alvey is doing better.
They were able to proceed with the skin grafting surgery; they believe
that over 90% of the grafting has taken which is a blessing to be sure! He began therapy again, both physical and
occupational. It lifts his spirits to be
able to be self-sufficient and to gain back the dignity that can be easily lost
with what he has had to endure. God has
been good to him and he praises the Lord every day. Brother Alvey is hoping to be in the therapy
hospital soon, possibly even this coming Monday or Tuesday. There is so much to
be thankful for yet there is so much that is still needed as they all progress
down this path of recovery. There will
be days that the burden of it all seems too great and days when the mountain
top is crystal clear and care free.
There is still so much that needs to be bathed in prayer. They have coveted your prayers so far and ask
that you please continue. Thanks to
everyone for their support and notes of well wishes!
June 2 Monday: WOW!
Praise the Lord, God is so wonderful!
Today, my beloved and I celebrated our 21st anniversary by
coming home! Yes, you read it
right. Larry is recovering so well that
the rehab hospital turned him away! The
main hospital sent him home to continue his recovery. Thank you to all of you who have helped in
any way; by prayer, financially, or physically visiting us. All was, and is,
needed and appreciated. Larry plans to
preach Sunday in his own church and we will plan a welcome home Preacher
service the last Sunday in June. This
will give preacher a little more time to adjust to being up in his chair. Again, thank you for all of your support! In Christ, Larry, Cissy, Karissa, Bethie,
Many people have called
and asked what they could do to help the Alvey family. There are a few needs that have presented themselves.
There is a need for ramps to be built at their home and at the church, along
with other medically necessary updates within their home and church. There are
several people within
Finally, Brother Alvey remains in ICU at the hospital so space is limited, but
wouldn’t it be great for both Brother and Mrs. Alvey to hear from all of us who
have been praying for them? If you would like to make a contribution to the upgrades needed or if you would like
to drop a card to Brother Alvey and Mrs. Cissy Alvey, please send them
to:
Brother Larry Alvey
c/o Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Calloway
1709 East 17th Street
Owensboro, Kentucky 42303
(We
truly serve a wonderful and powerful God!! Much more prayer is needed for
Pastor Alvey, his wife and children and his church.)
This
page will be updated as information becomes available.
Pastor Tim Russ
Greater