Phil,

At least there is some good news for Larry.  No doubt that he is very sick.
Do tell him that we are praying.  Knowing of your recent hospital and all,
it must have been very difficult to have been on the listening side.  But
Larry was able to make that call to you for a reason.  I'm sure you were a
help to him.

Vicki

----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2003 9:36 PM
Subject: Update On Larry Saturday


> Virgie called tonight to updated us on Larry.  Then later, Larry called me
> from the hospital.  First, Larry is in a hospital in Mississippi.  I had
> forgotten his daughter moved from Louisiana a couple of years ago to
> Mississippi.  Virgie said they did a heart scan today and some other
things
> and learned that there does not seem to be any cancer.  His heart seems to
> be fine, too.  He does, however, have double pneumonia.  He is in very bad
> shape and being the smoker that he was for most of his life, although he
had
> quit in recent years, doesn't help any either.  He was not getting enough
> oxygen using the normal oxygen hose you wear just below your nose with the
> two little things that stick into your nostrils.  Very annoying little
> things, too.  I had it for two days and it drove me crazy.  Some times,
when
> no body was coming in, I would push the thing up higher on my nose just to
> get a break from it.  One time a nurses aid came in and jumped on me for
> doing that but I just acted like I had been asleep and didn't realize it
has
> slipped, notice the word, slipped, out of place.  Sure.  Anyhow, they put
a
> mask on Larry in order to get more oxygen into him.  So the phone rings
> tonight and I answer it.  It was Larry, for crying out loud, and he
sounded,
> as my mother used to say, like death warmed over.  I mean, it sounded big
> time bad news.  He was wheezing and blowing and gasping like a bull ready
to
> charge.  He could not even complete his sentences at times due to the lack
> of air.  It really bothered me to hear him talk.  He was relieved, of
> course, that they found no cancer and that his heart was ok but he said he
> has never been this sick in his life.  He said the worst thing about it
was
> that, when he lays on his back, his chest hurts as much as his back.  He
has
> not been able to sleep and I could not sleep either for three out of the
> four nights I spent in the hospital and my breathing was no where near
like
> Larry's was tonight.  Anyhow, it goes without saying that Larry is
> frightened and worried and depressed right now.  I told him more than once
> that everybody I could get was praying for him and he said he greatly
> appreciated hearing that.  I told him I wasn't going to let him go yet and
I
> told him he can't throw in the towel yet either.  He said he wouldn't do
> that but when you are in your early sixties with double pneumonia and you
> have already been going through depression for probably a year with no
> treatment for it, you can guess the rest.  He asked for something to help
> him sleep but they cannot give it to him yet because he isn't breathing
well
> enough on his own to be medicated in that manner.  I remember how hard it
> was to try and sleep that way, too, and as I said, I was not any where
close
> to his degree of sickness.  So please continue praying for him.
>
> Phil.
>