The Cath Results

Just wanted to update everyone to this point in time. We are still in Alabama but we are staying with Jim’s parents. When we arrived Tuesday afternoon in Birmingham we were soon reunited with Randall and Cammie Evans and Kelly Coldwater. We shared a wonderful supper together and then read scriptures and prayed. We are so grateful for your words Randall they will stick with us forever. We arose Wednesday morning with little sleep due to time spent in prayer. He was supposed to have his surgery early that morning but a 2 year old arrived after us. Jim gladly told the doctors that we would wait. We were overwhelmed by all the family and friends that came to show their love and support. Thank you for all those who were there. It was a mini MSOP reunion. He went into surgery at 1 pm. We were updated about two hours in that there were 3 blockages due to scar tissue from his surgery in 1975.  At 4:30 pm the nurse told us that he was going to recovery. She told me that I could go and see him. So I went accompanied by his parents and mine. I was not allowed to go back and the doctor called me on the phone. The doctor stated that they were not able to do the entire procedures that they had planned due to his heart being substantially weaker than they had thought. They tried to balloon the blockages but could not stint them due to the areas being curved. There was also an increased risk if the stints were put into place. The doctor kept acting strange and I just asked him “Is he in heart failure?” He said “Yes.” He stated that the only thing they could do for him was to give him medicine to make it easier for his heart to work. He is not a good candidate for a pacemaker, ICD, heart transplant….. The only thing they have to offer is medication therapy. To say the least I was devastated. Jim just turned 34 years old a month ago. Everyone was shocked and tried to be strong for his return to the room at 6:30 pm. Jim was joking and having a good time when he got back and the doctor soon came around to tell him and all of us the news again. Then we meet the Advance Heart Failure team. They will be keeping track of us from now on. He could hardly breath because he was in so much pain. He would hardly eat or talk because it hurt. Thursday was a long day because we kept being reminded about what all they could not do for us. I wanted to scream I KNOW, I KNOW. The nurse was out to lunch all day it seemed because he didn’t get his pain medicine and didn’t even get breakfast or lunch. Of course, I got him food from the food court. Everyone went home by Thursday because we were supposed to go since they couldn’t help us anymore. Jim felt so bad that they did a chest x-ray and an EKG. Both came back good and we spent the night at the hospital. Friday he woke up feeling pretty good but not for long. His heart went into a dangerous V teach rhythm and he started coughing more frequently.  They did an ECHO and found fluid around his heart but not a substantial amount. They let us go around 12 pm and we went to his parents’ home. Within a few hours he was running a fever of 102.5 and coughing more. I called the doctor and he thought he might be getting pneumonia. He told us to go to the ER on Saturday if it wasn’t any better. Well it wasn’t better so I took him to a clinic that was open and he has bronchitis. He is extremely fatigued and just feels terrible. It makes me regret taking him to the doctor and the hospital and all. I know that whatever happens it will be alright. All he wants to do is preach. We got him a padded bar stool with a back so he can rest while he is preaching. We plan to go to church in Munford tomorrow morning and make it home to Philadelphia, MS by tomorrow afternoon. We are very anxious to see the brethren there and to be home. We ask for your continued prayers and support. Each of us knows that we are not promised tomorrow or the rest of today for that matter. May God continue to use Jim and our family to further his kingdom. We know that we can do everything our hearts desire for God because of His love and strength and because of you and your support and friendship. We love you all and thank you for all that you have done and for your prayers that mean SO MUCH.

Jim's First Cath Is Set

For those of you I have not spoken with, Jim will have a heart catch on April 29,2009 to correct two places in his heart that have narrowed due to scar tissue. We request your prayers because the doctor has stated that there are a lot of risks involved. If you have any questions, please email them to me. We have had numerous calls and would prefer emails at this time if possible.

 

Just wanted to let you all know that Jim has gotten worse over the past few days. I called his doctor and they moved his catch to April 15th, this coming Wednesday. It will be at UAB in Birmingham AL. He will have three different teams working on him. His fatigue has increased dramatically, retaining fluid, difficulty in breathing. It has been extremely hard seeing him like this. Please lift him and our family up in prayer not only on the 15th but every day. I have been trying to do everything and I am not physically able to do my duties and his. I am having to let some things go. We appreciate all those who have emailed and called. Your support and encouragement will never be forgotten. In Him----Jennifer

Where It All Began

James Edward Murrell was born March 12, 1975. He was born with a rare heart condition called transposition of the great vessels. He also had two holes in his heart. The doctors performed open heart surgery on him when he was 6 months old and only weighed 9 lbs. His parents were told that his chances of survival were only 10%. Well, he survived. Dr. Pacifico later told us that he operated on 8 patients that day and Jim was the only one who made it through. Dr. Pacifico was the only one with the nerve to do this surgery on such a little baby. Jim has always beaten the odds. The doctors then told his parents that he would not make it to adulthood. Well, Jim thrived and grew and became like most little boys. He had to restrict his physical activity but other than that he was free to go and do.
   

Through the years, Jim accompanied by his parents would have checkups. All seemed great. He was doing wonderful. One of the original doctors from the surgery even called on his 18^th birthday to see if he was still alive. Of course, he was and he was doing great.

 

Well, then he met me shortly thereafter on May 15, 1994. He was 19 years old. He looked healthy and was working a full-time job. We fell in love quickly. It was meant to be. He only told me about his heart after I had already fallen for him. I thought nothing of it. Jim looked great and he did anything he wanted to. He was working for Legacy Cabinets.

 

Fast forward several years to 2006. Jim was the new full-time preacher for the Philadelphia church of Christ in Philadelphia, MS. By now we had Julianna who was four years old. She is a daddy’s girl in every since of the word. We also had a wonderful surprise, James Cameron who was almost 6 months old. In October, we were cleaning up the yard and preparing for a cook out. We were going to have the Tingles over (elder from church). Jim started looking funny. He became white as a ghost. I saw him but thought he would tell me if anything was going on. Then I saw him grab his neck. I asked him what was going on. He said that his heart was stopping. I immediately started to cry. We rushed to the local hospital and soon to UAB. He was right. He kept flat lining. He was so calm. He would be sitting there talking and then the machine would sound off that his heart wasn’t beating anymore. He would look over at it and then his heart would kick real hard and start beating again. He went through several tests and eventually we were sent home. The doctors stated that they wasn’t anything they could really do it was really just PVCs.

 

From then on, I started noticing little things which eventually became normal and then scary. He would turn grey, he would tire out easy, he would be dizzy, he had to take a lot of extra breaths…etc. I tried to get him to go to the doctor but he dismissed it time and time again. Then in Feb 2009 he told me that he wanted to go to the doctor. We had an appointment made in March with his doctor.

 

The following is email updates that I sent to our family and friends to let them know what was happening.