With Much Gratitude

Dear friends and family,

I wish to express my most sincere and heartfelt gratitude to all of you for your prayers, your encouragement through phone calls, emails, letters and cards. This whole experience has been surreal, to say the least. I have never spent a night in a hospital, and aside from a few broken bones through the years, have rarely seen the inside of a hospital outside of visiting others who were admitted for one reason or another. To have a doctor tell me that I would have to undergo open-heart surgery has got to be the single greatest shock of my entire life.

I am grateful for a medical staff (from my cardiologist/team to my surgeon/team and nursing staff) that took such care of me. They are all incredibly skillful and have been just as kind as they are skillful. I am indebted, too, to my local family doctor and the cardiologist in our local hospital for enabling me to catch the fact that I needed to be further checked out BEFORE I had any heart damage (permanent or otherwise).

I must also say a huge THANK YOU to my precious wife, Dana, for her kindness and care during these weeks. Since just before Christmas when they told us I was forbidden to lift more than 8 pounds (although I did load and unload some of my luggage before the surgery), Dana has made sure that those things which would require me lifting anything over the allowed limit was taken care of for me - whether she did it or had our son, Ryan, do it. Dana has been very nurturing - doing everything from waiting on me to bathing me (my first few showers after surgery). May God's richest blessings find their way to her!

I am thankful to my children for their love and care during this time, too. They have really stepped up and helped their mother out; and their obvious concern for my welfare brings a lump up in my throat and tears to my eyes. Ryan and Lauren are the two most wonderful children a parent could ask for! And, since I am still not able to preach, Ryan will be taking the load of preaching this coming Sunday morning (2/1/09), and I am anxious to hear what he has to say.

I am most appreciative of my dad, Tom, for spending so much time here in Oakdale with us. He flew in the Sunday prior to my surgery and stayed at my side in and out of the hospital for 19 days! While he was here, Dad walked with me every day and did a lot of little jobs around the house that has been needing attention for nearly 2 years! He also built me a little stool to enable me to climb in and out of my pickup truck (and I am still using it!). To be honest, however, it was just him being here with me that was such a blessing. I cannot tell you how much it meant to me to just be with him (whether a word passed between us or not). To his wife, Glenda, I am grateful she allowed him the liberty to stay with us for such a long period of time. She is not well herself, and would, no doubt, have preferred to have him at home helping her.

Long before I went into the hospital I had scheduled a missionary service with a very dear and long-time friend of mine, Ken Burgess. He arrived on Saturday, January 3, and stayed in Oakdale until the Because of the Times Minister's Conference in Alexandria, LA; and with the exception of that first Saturday and Sunday, he was at my side every day. He came to the hospital and visited for hours every day until I was released, and then he would come over to the house. On several occasions he would go with me on my daily walks. His wife, Kay, would come over in the evenings and on a number of evenings she took it upon herself to prepare supper for all of us. Their son, Kameron, was a tremendous blessing, too. It was a joy having them with us for that period of time.

To my sister-in-law, Karyn: what can I say? You are the one responsible for this blog, and you have done an incredible job! Just the idea of the blog was incredible! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking it upon yourself to keep our friends and family informed of my condition. It was a joy having you and your entire family visiting with us over the holidays. We always have a blast with the Whites and Huffmans!

To my church family here in Oakdale: there are absolutely NO WORDS to explain my feelings for you all. You have been incredibly kind and understanding during this time of my convalescence. The numerous cards and letters each meant very much to my wife and me. The DVD you made for me brought tears to my eyes! You all have been so kind! The offering you gave us was incredible, and I cannot thank you enough for your generosity.

I would like to take a moment and mention our Youth Pastor and his wife, Chance and Sarah Lewis (and baby Zane): they have been very helpful during this time. Chance has really stepped up and done an outstanding job preaching over these past few weeks. They have been having better church without me than with me! Chance and Sarah are incredible; and they are doing an outstanding job working with our youth. Chance has also done great acting as my body guard when in crowds - being very careful to make sure nobody bumps into my chest. And just getting to see Zane is a thrill. I consider him to be my "adopted" grandchild. I am his "Papa K". I really love and appreciate this family!

I know there are many more I could acknowledge, I do, however, want to be conscious of time and space. If you are reading this, you have chosen to spend a significant amount of time just to check on my well-being, and I cannot tell you how much that means to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

As to my present status, I am gradually returning to office duty. My time spent in the office is in preparation for the upcoming series on the Ten Commandments that I will be teaching beginning in March. I am also signing/sending out birthday cards, anniversary cards, and Thank You cards. I am (thankfully) getting stronger each day, and feeling better with every movement of the hour hand on the clock. I am still forbidden to drive; and I am not supposed to lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk (both of which I am striving to adhere to). I am supposed to be in cardiac rehab three times a week (but I have missed more than I have made, so far). In fact, I forgot all about it this morning! I will work to improve that.

I am sleeping better at night. My neck and back have given me the most trouble (pain), but it seems that even those areas are improving. For the first time (last night) I slept on my stomach for a period of time, and rolling over, while it still hurts some, does not hurt nearly as bad as just a few days ago. In fact, for the first time since my surgery, I actually slept some without my "heart" pillow! Sometime in the night it fell out of the bed and I was still able to get some sleep. Believe me when I tell you this, that in itself is a huge step forward in my healing progress!

Also, while it still hurts to cough and/or sneeze, the pain is not nearly as intense as it was even a few days ago. If my healing process progresses like it seems to have been, then I am thinking that by the time I see my cardiologist on February 18 (I think that's the date), I will be completely mended and virtually pain-free! That certainly is my hope, anyway.

Again, thank you for your prayers, your calls, your letters, cards and emails. And, thank you for taking the time to check out this particular blog just to see how I am doing. I have discovered through this ordeal that I am a man that is rich with friends; and I am eternally grateful to and for each of you!

May God's bountiful blessings be yours!

Sincerely,

Tim Kelley

This morning, Tim had a doctor's appointment for a check up. The doctor says he is doing great and can go back to doing anything he wants in three more weeks. He ought to have a blow out message prepared to preach by then since he has all this extra studying time. (ha) He can now use all types of soap, not just a special antibacterial soap. (LOL) He attended church for the first time since his surgery on Sunday, making it for both services. He's been taking lots of walks. He is also planning to attend "Because of the Times" services starting today through the 22nd of January. It is held at the Pentecostals of Alexandria (POA), Alexandria, Louisiana. He has enjoyed his friends, Ken and Kay Burgess and their son, Kameron, visiting for the past week or so, as well as some more old friends from TBC, the Danny Johnsons, stopping by to say hi. He is enjoying all the correspondence with each one of you and as some of you may know, I have created him a Facebook profile and a "everyonesapostolic" page. So, stop by and hook up and say hi. Thanks once again for all your prayers, support and concern.

Still on the mend...doing great. : )

: )

Much better day today. Medicine was upsetting his stomach, but that seems to be resolved. He is still enjoying having his father in town and some other relatives and friends that have stopped and visited. He sounded very chipper on the phone...for someone that had triple bypass surgery only a week and a day ago, I think he's doing pretty good!!!

Hello, all....just a new update. It's after midnight on January 7th and I'm just now getting to the blog! Tim had a rough day today. He was nauseated and just didn't feel well at all. I hope he isn't overdoing it! Please continue to keep him in your prayers!

NEWS ALERT!!!

At 6:30 this morning, they took the tubes out and he is doing SO WELL, they are letting him go home this afternoon. Normally, they have to wait for 24 hours after taking out the tube, but because he is doing so well, they are letting him go home early. So....if you are headed up to the hospital to room 360, you may have to visit someone you don't know. : ) Like my parent's GPS says, MAKE A U-TURN!

Stealing Kisses

Ryan and Chelsea

With Daughter, Lauren

with nieces

Kaitlyn and Kassidy

"Uncle Tim"

with nephews, Jacob and Jared

Dr. Dewitt, the heart surgeon

Tim with his dad, Tom Kelley

The Heart Patient with his wife and expensive new pillow!

This is Dana again. We are so ready to leave the hospital. Tim is doing really well. He feels very good, is walking a lot, and is eating well. His blood pressure and vitals have always been normal. The only thing keeping us from going home is "the chest tube". He still has fluid on his chest and they are trying to get rid of that. After they pull the chest tube (hopefully tomorrow) we can leave twenty four hours following . We thank you for all the kind emails, texts, calls and visits.
My sister will be back home tonight and she'll hopefully post some pictures of the heart patient.

Before surgery with all the family....Dec. 28th, 2008

NEW ROOM

Hello to all! This is Dana. We have moved to a new, larger room today to better accommodate us and our guests. We are in 360. Tim is doing very well today. The hiccups really set him back yesterday. After suffering from the hiccups (these are quite painful for heart patients)
all evening the night before and into the night and all day yesterday, he was heavily medicated to try and rid himself of them. He slept all day from the heavy medication and was not able to visit with any guests. He did not get to walk and this hindered the fluid in his chest and around his lungs from draining. Therefore, he still has the chest tube. He will receive a steroid shot today to help dry up the fluid. We are hoping for the very best - as soon as the fluid is gone, the chest tube is gone and we can possibly talk about going home. We sincerely thank all of you for the prayers, phone calls, visits, support, etc.

He had his first meal last night and it was all liquid. Chicken broth, grape juice and jello. Through the night, he has had really bad hiccups and it has been very painful for him. All of the tubes have been removed except for the one that drains the fluid from around his lungs. He still has quite a bit of fluid along with some inflamation, which the doctors say is totally normal. I've got pictures to post as soon as I get access to high speed internet. We are still traveling, heading for Oklahoma and gonna eat some "Bodacious BBQ" with some friends. Today they finally served him solid food for breakfast (eggs, toast, frosted flakes cereal, and also butter and syrup). My sister asked them if all the heart patients get this kind of food, but we think they must really want his business again. For lunch he had chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and some rolls (mmm mmm). Maybe that hospital food isn't so bad after all. : )

This morning, Tim did the walk down the hall. He is sitting up now in his chair. He looks really good....doing great! Having several visitors already today. Thanks for all of you visiting, calling, sending comments, etc. My family is leaving today and will be on the road off and on the next couple of days.....I will blog as I get to each destination. He will probably still be in the hospital until at least Monday, maybe Tuesday or Wednesday at this point; we don't really know. Will keep you updated! Thanks!

ROOM 357

He is FINALLY in his own room.....#357. We are headed to the hospital as soon as I post this. I'll let you know of any new developments. Thanks for your support!

Hmmm.....what to say now?
Okay, the nurses have got him out of bed today and he sat up in a straight back chair for one hour this morning (Thursday) and one hour this afternoon. He said he hated it! His temp., blood pressure, etc., is all normal. He has finally enjoyed having some visitors even though the nurses run them out as soon as they can. He says "just stay here until they make you leave." He is really starting to feel the boredom....stuck in an ICU room on New Year's Day, with no football games, no food, and no music, etc. The nurses want it very quiet in there....whisper.....some of them can get grouchy. However, if you make it up to visit while he is still in ICU, make sure you come when Gloria, the hospitality lady is on her shift...she is the nicest lady! She has also kept several of us entertained with her stories. : )

Tonight, Dana is packing a bag to stay at the hospital the next few days in the hopes he will be moved to his own room tomorrow! I'll keep y'all posted on the room information as I get it!
Good night! It is 1:52 in the morning! THANKS for y'all's prayers and support!

Okay, visiting time is over right now. Tim is really talking and alert. The downside is that he won't get into his own room today....they want to get his pain levels down first. He is still having quite a bit of pain on his left side, which they say is normal. We wonder if they are just really busy with it being new year's day. Still quite a few visitors are trickling in and out. If you make it up here, please ask to sign his guestbook.
Also, please leave comments here, even if only to sign your name. Thank you!

1:24 p.m. and still in ICU. Hoping to get into a room today. He is doing so well. They have a little (aspirator?) machine for him to breathe in and get stronger. Dana and our mom are in with him right now. Maybe I'll have another update soon. Thanks for all your support. It has been overwhelming and very touching to him and Dana and the kids.