Sunday 7-14-24 More Mess. We found out today the reason they are not only discouraging visitors for Wayne, but they pretty much do not want them. Whatever Waynes latest round of infection is, is so contagious that anyone entering the room has to suit up. My heart sank today upon the news. Wayne is absolutely exhausted and is severely drugged and disoriented. Shirley is also just whipped and depleted. To give you an idea, Shirley was thrilled to get 4 hours of straight sleep this past week. There is more to the mess. Insurance has given 20 days for Wayne to be removed from the ventilator and once that time frame passes there are only 3 places here in North Carolina that will accept Wayne based on his needs and the insurance system. Then there is one facility in Ohio if none of those accept him. To the good of this, our Sunday school class had a discussion today on how we can “bring church to Shirley and maybe even Wayne.” Prayers and more prayers. We need a miracle worker to step in here. If you have that gift please pray for Wayne. If you do not have that gift please pray anyway!

Tuesday 7-9-24 Wayne developed another infection and visitors are now discouraged. Heal Wayne Heal! Wayne and Shirley are now in the 8th week of this mess. Please keep praying.

Sunday 7-7-24. Wayne has been moved back to his hometown hospital and has been put in a specialty care unit (not to be confused with palliative care). The goal is for him to start healing. The good news? Doctors are talking about him coming home….albeit,they warned it will be months. This morning when I heard this news there was a sense of inner peace within me. I have this vision of Wayne standing with us in our Sunday school class and me being able to share that with you. Thank you all for continued prayers.

Tuesday 7-2-24 Update on Wayne is brief today. Wayne is being weened off his ventilator with hopes of being moved from ICU soon. He still has a long road and we do not know if his pancreas is working yet. Primary focus for Wayne is breathing, pancreas working and ulcer healing.

Monday 6-24-24 Wayne is in Wake Forest Health in Winston. The surgery went well. They removed cysts and or polyps from the pancreas. I am not sure if it was both cysts or polyps or one or the other. It was not made clear and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. The bottom line is they removed abnormal growths. Wayne is resting and Shirley is wiped out. Shirley stayed home and rested yesterday and did not visit Wayne. The new hospital Wayne is in is much bigger and harder for Shirley to navigate. It is also a further drive. However, Wayne’s Dad has been with him every night since this ordeal started. The man is 93 and sleeping in a chaise lounge chair in the hospital. I guess the bigger deal at this point according to Shirley is Wayne needs to behave so he can rest and heal. BEhave meaning – stop ripping out his trach tube and IV line and monitor wires. What an ordeal.

Thursday 6-20-24 Well we are still on a roller coaster. I missed an update as I was traveling. This past Saturday good news arrived as insurance approved moving Wayne to palliative care. However, shortly after that news, Wayne developed an infection and he is now running a fever of 102 F. The doctors don’t know where the infection is. Last night we got word they are moving Wayne to Wake Forest Health (About an 40 minute ride by Ambulance) for surgery hopefully today. I don’t know what the surgery is for but I can only assume for the better of Wayne. In addition to all this, Shirley’s sister called to inform her that her husband passed away. Shirley and Wayne also lost one of their dogs to this earth about a week into all this. This is quite the mess folks.

Saturday 6-15-23 Wayne has fallen backwards. Yesterday they had to put Wayne back on a ventilator. I just don’t know what else to write here excpet that I am saddened and wish for peace for Wayne and his wife. PEACE.

Thursday 6-13-24 Wayne is still waiting to be transferred to long term care. We are waiting on insurance approval for this to happen. Wayne is still heavily drugged and I am sure still in pain. Per his wife Shirley, his infection is gone but there is a long road of healing that needs to take place with his pancreas. Wayne has had mittens on his hands much of the time to prevent him from removing medical devices. Previously, he was ripping out his breathing tube but now he has a tracheotomy tube. Word from a lady in my Sunday school class is Wayne’s color is much better and he is stable…but its going to a long road.

Thursday 6-6-24 – Wayne is still hanging on!  Last night my son and I went over to his house – we finally got Shirley to tell us what we can do for her. She requested her porch be power washed.  Well – the power thing didn’t work out as my pressure washer decided to put in its resignation. So we just used a hose but it cleaned up real nice. Grateful to be able to give her some peace of mind at least in one area…Wayne is going to be moved to long term care – we are praying for insurance to approve quickly so he can be moved out of ICU and get better care more specific to his needs such as folks moving his legs several times a day for him and care like that…the good news is his infection is gone so now we just need a miracle to get his pancreas to start healing.   What a ride. 

Sunday 6-2-24 Update – We had an update earlier in the week that was not good. Wayne had taken a turn for the worse. It did not look like he was going to make it through yesterday. However, yesterday a lady from our Sunday school class went to visit Wayne and he was awake and alert and talking! The lady told us it was just like the Wayne we always know. They held a conversation that was 100% Wayne. In the mean time Wayne had a tracheotomy. He is once again sedated but his vital signs have improved and he is stable. Obviously, Wayne and all of us, including his Wife and Doctors etc. have all been on a roller coaster ride. At this point, we are sill only able to just pray while the doctors and nurses comfort and maintain. Thank you all for praying with us.

Sunday 5-26-24 Update on Wayne – Today in our Sunday school class the discussion surrounded Wayne and his condition. There was no “lesson” today. One of our class members is a former EMT who spent a significant amount of time in the profession. Her knowledge and insight helped us understand Wayne’s condition much better. Her words while not harsh delivered a reality to us. Short of a miracle, Wayne is not going to make it. Waynes’ condition is dire. His pancreas is basically rocks and not filtering as should be. His liver is failing and his stomach is full of bacteria from many ulcers. In addition, his esophagus is deteriorating. (esophagus’ do not heal or mend, they disintegrate) Wayne is now sedated once again and is unable to communicate. There is a story that I went to tell here:

During our conversation in our Sunday school class, the EMT lady shared that she had spoken to Wayne’s wife Shirley. In their discussion, one of the topics that came up was our Sunday school class. Shirley was lead away from our class to teach this past year. Wayne always attended Sunday school with her over the years. However, when Shirley went to teach, Wayne stopped attending for a few weeks. We would question Shirley when we saw her and she said she would talk to Wayne. In short order, Wayne appeared at our class once again. He has been present ever since. Shirley told the EMT lady that since Wayne started coming to Sunday school on his own, she no longer had to poke and prod him to come. She no longer had to wake him up to get him off to Sunday school. He did it on his own. Now for some of you this may not seem that big of a deal. For me and my wife and our class this is a BIG GOD moment. In all things FOR THE GOOD. I can’t explain Waynes health and why he is where he is. I can’t tell you what God’s plan is for Wayne. What I can tell you is that God allowed our group to be part of Wayne’s journey. For all you parents out there maybe you can relate to this as an example; When your child is successful you feel successful. For me, every time I see my kids catch a fish I feel like I caught one with them. I taught them to fish and every time they catch a fish I had a part in that. Those are special moments we share as parents. In my 12 step program when I help someone, I get to watch them grow and I am part of their success. Sometimes they (kids or 12 step guys etc) purposefully thank you. All these moments are truly awesome moments when they happen.

You know what’s even better? To be part of someone else’s Jesus journey. Whether it be your kids or someone else it doesn’t get better than being part of someone’s Jesus journey. You see, that is why I tell my story. I want you to tell your story. I want you to find hope in others stories. I want to be part of your Jesus story.

Today I am grateful to be part of Wayne’s Jesus Story.

THURSDAY 5-23-24 Update on WAYEN AUSTIN: I found out an interesting fact. Wayne’s real name is John. John Wayne haha. I was able to visit Wayne yesterday and while he is stable, his situation is still dire. The doctors have encouraged Wayne and his wife to move him to palliative care and they have resisted that idea. He is still in ICU. Wayne is drugged very heavily and is in restraints to keep him from removing his breathing tube. He was trying to talk to me but he can not talk with his tube in. I tried to have him write but his words he wrote did not correlate to anything. He did answer my questions by shaking his head and he is alert, but obviously miserable. He was also nodding his head in agreement as I was talking to his Dad about various topics. My prayer for him before I left was scattered as I just didn’t have the words. I left him with “Keep fighting” and “See you soon”. He gave me two wrists up – He is a two thumbs up guy when he agrees with you…so that was the best he could do. For some reason he couldn’t get his thumbs to go up I guess. It was a tough visit. Please keep praying!

SATURDAY UPDATE ON WAYNE AUSTIN:  Following yesterday’s “dire” update, many are wanting to know any report on Wayne today. Tanna and I went up to see him at 11:30 this morning. Shirley was at home getting a little rest (she’s beyond exhausted), and hadn’t returned yet. Wayne’s nurse was kind enough to share with us that there was a “very slight” improvement over yesterday, and his vitals were holding stable. They were able to take him off of one blood pressure medication – and that was a small victory. Wayne was awake and aware of everything going on around him. He has a breathing tube inserted, so he can’t talk.  But he can shake his head “yes” and “no” to direct questions, and can freely gesture with his hands. He also has a small white board to write words and short sentences on – and has surprisingly good handwriting!  He is still in very critical condition – but given the doctor’s obvious pessimism yesterday, I consider it a “miracle” (word used reverently) that he is still with us. Believe-it-or-not, he even clearly smiled and laughed when I told him that he needed to get well so that he could break his dad’s record! (93+ years).  I am assured that Wayne is at peace with God, and is saved. We’ve prayed together multiple times, and he is VERY aware of how serious his situation is. Shirley’s faith is amazing – and I believe your prayers are making all the difference. If Wayne turns-the-corner and comes home – even his doctor has admitted that, “It won’t be because of anything we’ve been able to do!”  Continue to PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! 🙏🙏🙏

5/16/24 Today I am saddened by a situation with a man who attends the Sunday School Class that my wife and I teach. Wayne fell ill one week ago today and they determined he had pancreatitis. Waynes condition worsened over the weekend last week and this week and he has been in ICU since last Sunday. Today the doctors conducted an endoscope on Wayne and found many ulcers in his stomach and he has a fair amount of internal bleeding. The doctors are doing everything they can but they best they can do is slow the process. This is a God intervention situation at this point. Wayne’s wife Shirley is at his side. The best I can do is pray for Wayne and Shirley. Will you also pray for them?

THANK YOU.