Taking A Break for Jim's Sake

I have been praying and thinking about this decision for the past several weeks. I will not be able to teach my classes this fall (ACC1223 and ECO 2123). My husband, Jim Murrell, who is 34 years old is in Advanced Heart Failure. He has three blockages due to scar tissue from the corrective heart surgery he had in 1975 when he was 6 months old. We have been frequent quests at UAB hospital in Birmingham, AL. This is where his first heart surgery took place and they know his heart. He has transposition of the great vessels and his hearts main function comes out of the right ventricle side. His heart has become extremely weak, he has been going into v-tach often, and recently he had an ICD implanted. The doctors don't give us much to go on. He is one of the first ones to make it to adulthood. He was never supposed to live past 18 years old. He only has a few good hours a day. We have two children Julianna 7 and Cameron 3. We ask for your prayers that the Lord will bless him with many good days. He is the preacher at the Philadelphia church of Christ. We count it a huge success when he is able to preach.

I hope that you all understand my decision. Thank you for the opportunity to teach at EC. I think I made a difference at least in some of my students. Lord willing, I will be able to return soon. Thank you and please remember us in your daily prayers.

A Good Week Ends Badly

I am soooooo sorry that I didn't let you know what was going on. Our lives have been so busy this month. Jim had a gospel meeting in Tuscumbia, AL the 7th through the 12th. It had been planned for 3 years and he hated to cancel it. He got really really bad that week. He was probably doing too much. By the end of that week his resting heart rate was 95 to 100 bpm. Whenever he got up his heart rate would go up to 120 to 140 bpm. We came home to Philly for 2 1/2 days. He didn't even go to church Sunday because he would get out of breath and feel like he was going to pass out. I stayed on the phone all weekend and on Monday morning with his doctors. We had a nurse at the house and then they said Monday around lunch time to come on to Bham. So we went. He had surgery on the 16th and had an ICD implanted. It is helping him a lot. Everything was very successful with the surgery but he developed a high fever and we had to stay until Saturday. We got home late Saturday and then our VBS started on Sunday the 22nd. This was the first VBS for our congregation in many many years. I taught the 1 to 3 year olds and Jim lead the singing. We got home every night exhausted and we didn't get home until 9:30 to 10 pm. I am taking care of Jim the best I can and trying to keep the little ones out of the house so he can rest. He is getting stronger but still has his bad days. I am sooooo sorry that I have not emailed in while. I miss you all and wish we all lived closer to one another. The Lord knows I need some good friends. The closest family we have is 4 hours away. We also don't know where we are going to be from one day to another. We are staying in Birmingham a lot these days. I love you all. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Being a Christian, a wife, a mother, a caregiver, a preacher's wife, a person of chronic illness and so on is trying to get the best of me. The devil doesn't know how hard headed I am. I plan to fight him to the end. Keep the faith and love you all-----Jennifer Murrell