This email comes to you from us because we need your help. Recently our Mother, Edie, has been spending a lot of time in the hospital. In February she was diagnosed with a Dilated Cardiomyopathy. This is a condition where the heart becomes enlarged because the muscle is weak and stops pumping blood properly. This condition was caused by the Chemotherapy that she went through when she was sixteen.

             The problem has been present for years but it wasn't until February when we took her to the hospital with heart attack-like symptoms that we knew why.  This first visit, she spent three days there and then returned home. They put her on some medicine to help strengthen her heart muscle. This worked for a while; but eventually she built up too much fluid in her body because her heart wasn't pumping the blood through fast enough. She had a couple of rough spells over the summer, but seemed to be getting by.  However, in August she went to her primary care doctor and we found out that she has blood clots in her lungs and stump.

            After that they put her in the hospital for five days in order to dissolve the clots so they would not break off and get caught in her brain, causing a stroke; or in her heart, causing a heart attack. She came home and then about a week and a half later we took her back to the hospital due to weakness and severe shortness of breath. During the first few hours that she was in the hospital we found out that her heart was pumping less than what it had been in February. She was not getting oxygen to the rest of her body; she was building up fluid on her body rapidly, and her other vital organs were beginning to shut down. The doctors predicted that she probably wouldn't make it past the weekend.

            They then tried something that they weren't sure would work; they put her on something called Dobutamine. This chemical makes the heart beat harder so that it can pump more out with each beat. This helped her heart and she has started to feel better. They still kept her in the hospital for twelve days. The fluid went down and she is now back home.

            We are asking your assistance in two ways: first, and most important, please pray for us.  We've been praying that God's will be done, whatever it is.  Mom is in good spirits and has been very encouraged by all the people who have been there for us thus far.  We all hope this experience draws us closer to our Heavenly Father, and is a witness of His faithfulness to those around us.  Second, we have  hospital bills plus doctors' visits to pay. We are praising God for a $74,000 charity discount from one hospital and 21,000 for the other. Her ongoing doctor visits and medicine is about $400 per month. Because she has no insurance, these bills are adding up very quickly. What we owe currently is about $1,507.

We realize that things are hard for many people economically right now, but please pray; and if you feel led, help us by donating to her medical expenses fund. You can do this in 2 ways:

1.      You can send a check made payable to Edith Graham Medical Fund and mail it to Edith Graham Medical Fund, PO Box 19160, Denver, CO 80219.

2.      You can go to our website www.grahamfamilyministries.com and click on the donate button at the top of the home page and donate via PayPal. (We have had one case where a browser did not like our donate button. If this should happen send us an email and we will send instruction on how to bypass the button and go straight to PayPal. egmf@grahamfamilyministries.com)

 Your help and prayers will be much appreciated.

Thank you for your prayers and support,