URGENT PRAYER REQUEST FROM AL & MICKEY WILLIAMS

Dear friends and family,

As you know, my father, Elmer Shertzer, has been under the care of hospice because of gangrene on his one toe that is complicated by poor circulation in his legs, congestive heart failure, and stage 4 kidney disease. Because of the bad circulation, amputation was ruled out as a viable option.

Since last Saturday (Dec. 1), Dad has declined rapidly. He was ambulatory with his walker on Saturday, but didn’t feel well enough to go to activities or meals. On Sunday, his legs were so weak he couldn’t stand without my sister Margie and I holding him up (which we only did in order to transfer him to a wheelchair to take him to the bathroom or to the table in his room for meals). His breathing was also erratic - cycles of apnea (no breathing) followed by labored breathing. This usually signals that death is near, so I notified my brothers in Alabama.

On Monday, Dave and his wife arrived. On Tuesday, Steve and his wife arrived. It’s been an emotionally and physically draining week for all of us. To our surprise, Dad is still alive, but he is very weak and the gangrene has begun spreading into the rest of his foot. The medicines they give him round-the-clock to keep him calm and pain-free also make him very groggy. He often says, “I want to go home!” or “I want to get out of here (skilled care).” He’s also verbalized his deep desire to go to his home in Heaven. One day when he said that, I told him he needed to talk to God about that. With great desperation he looked toward the ceiling and pleaded “Jesus, please take me Home! I want to come Home!” We all thought he was going to get his wish granted early this week, but God hasn’t seen fit to come for him yet. We don’t know why. Maybe it’s so we – the family – can shine the light of the Gospel to the staff and other residents.

Pray we’ll be good witnesses for the Lord during this challenging time and ask the Lord to give us the physical and emotional strength we need to keep going. On Saturday, Al begins his return trip to the US. His first of three flights is scheduled to leave Malaysia at 8:25 PM local time (7:25 AM Saturday in Pennsylvania). He is due to arrive in PA about 6:45 PM on Sunday. It’s been hard for him to be so far from home during this challenging time for Dad and our family. Please pray for his safety in travel and peace of mind.

Thanks so much! God bless you all!

Mickey (and for Al and our family)