An update on my father

"Again I say to you, that if two of you shall consent upon earth, concerning any thing whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by my Father who is in heaven. For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." --Matthew 18:19-20

When I sent out the original e-mail, I knew that I could count on prayers, but I didn't expect to see the level of response that I received. Thank you all very much for your prayers. As I'm sure you can imagine, it really means a lot to me and to my family to know that so many people are praying for us.

I found out that his heart is getting weaker because it is stretching. The cardiologist informed him that his heart was twice as large as it should be, and was more like a balloon than a pump. It was at this point that he was advised to go to the hospital, or else...

My father was in the hospital up until this past Monday. While he was there, they had him hooked up to an I.V. (or several). My family in the area spent as much time as they could there with him, because they kept hearing that he could go at any time. I was also prepared to leave the area and go back home on short notice, should things get worse. Two days into his stay, things started looking better towards the end of the day. My Dad's energy increased, and he was eating quite a bit. He had some coffee and was returning to his normal self. The doctors still said that he could go at any time, but his prospects for surviving were looking ever better. When they released him, he went home and tired out very easily. But the good news is that my father is getting better. I spoke to him last night, and he sounded weak. I called him again today, and he sounded really energetic.

I would like to thank each of you personally for everything, but I realize that that would be quite impossible. However, I would like to thank you all for your prayers, Masses, novenas, rosaries, etc. for my father and for my family. It was undoubtedly thanks to all of them that he has pulled through still kicking, although I'm sure that the medical community and good ol' Smitha Stubbornness played a role, as well.

As good as all this sounds, he is still in the woods, although he is making progress out. If you have time to send an Ave heavenward, it will be of huge assistance in his continued recovery.

God bless you all for your prayers and support for me and my family during this difficult time. God will reward each of you for your generosity. My prayers for all of you are hardly thanks enough for everything that all of you have done, but I hope that they are at least a start.

Sincerely,

Anthony Smitha