I need a favor, friends

Happy Monday. I hope you all had a good weekend. Mine? Well, mine was rough. I’m afraid I need your prayers again, dear friends.

Early Friday, my granddad was rushed to the hospital as he gasped for breath and his heart rate skyrocketed. My granddad — the strongest man I’ve ever met. A retired Marine with a booming voice and solid body. My granddad, who I’ve never seen sick a single day in my 24 years.

Grandma said that he’d been fighting a cold for awhile, but refused to go to the doctor. By the time he arrived at the hospital, his “cold” had become full-blown pneumonia. He had a lot of fluid on his lungs, which was putting an enormous strain on his heart. They quickly moved him from the ER to the ICU, where he’s currently still hooked to a ventilator, heavily sedated.

They said he appears to be doing better. His heart rate has dropped from the upper 160s to around 95, and his oxygen saturation is back in the 90s, which the nurse said is a good sign.

They pulled him off of the sedative briefly yesterday to see if he could respond to some simple commands. They asked him to squeeze their hands and open his eyes. He could do neither. They think he might have been consciously trying, though. Each time they’d ask him to do something, his heart rate would increase, but nothing else would happen. Maybe it just takes time.

As worried as I am about him, I know that if anybody can beat this, he can. He’s a fighter. He’s stubborn and hardheaded (in the best way possible) and has never been one to give up. I have faith.

Plus, now he has all of you thinking about him and praying for him, too – right? That’s got to count for something.