GARY UPDATE

As most of you already know, my son, Gary Elliott, suffered a severe heart attack on Wednesday, May 13 in California. He was found slumped over the steering wheel of his vehicle which he'd parked in a downtown Los Angeles location. He was able to dial 911 himself before passing out. He had no pulse, was unconscious, and unresponsive when the ambulance crew got to him and he was resuscitated twice by them and once at the Emergency Room. He was brought back and stabilized before being taken to the Cath Lab for an arteriorgram. Luckily, he had an aggressive cardiologist who was willing to dissolve a blood clot that had formed in a stent that had been placed there several years ago when Gary had his first heart attack. The doctor did this with no knowledge of his previous condition, and without permission from a family member. Many doctors would not have done this and we are so thankful that this one did. He said he saw a young man that needed saving and he just did what had to be done.

Gary has been in a coma since he was brought in. He's on a respirator and a lot of other equipment to help him get better. His blood sugar went high so he's on insulin, and he suffered several seizures yesterday and last night. However, he was started on an anti-seizure medication and the seizures are very mild now. He had another EEG and CAT Scan today and neither showed any more damage than the ones done on Thursday. This was good news for us today! The docs seem to think that the swelling in the brain may be causing the seizures. This sometimes happens following a heart attack.

We saw a little bit of response from him over the weekend. He seemed to be hearing us when we'd ask him to squeeze our hand or wink his eye. He would move his eyelashes and open his eyes slightly. We got tickled yesterday - Bill was massaging Gary's feet and began to sort of tickle his feet with his fingernails and every time Bill did that, Gary would wiggle his nose! Because of his dermatomyositis condition, we are trying to make sure his legs and arms are massaged often and we've asked for the physical therapist to work on that for him.

He's had a LOT of company which helps Mia more than Gary. People have been wonderful to respond to us and have offered assistance, prayers, food, and whatever we might need. We are so thankful for people all over the United States who are praying for him and we hope that you'll continue to pray. We do not know when Gary will wake up, but we're not giving up. He's a fighter and we just hope and pray that God will allow him to live a while longer.

Bill and I took an early flight to LA on Thursday morning after Mia called us late Wednesday evening. We have no idea when we'll get to come home, but will stay as long as we're needed and hopefully until Gary wakes up. Please pray for us, too, as we try to take care of the home and be here for the kids even though they are quite independent now. Also, pray for me as I drive in this crazy California traffic!

Thank you again for all your prayers and calls. I will be trying to update you all each night after we've seen Gary during the day. Any of you that want to can e-mail Bill or me at our regular address and we'll get it here.

Much love to all, Nancy and Bill Smith