Please Continue to Pray
At 2:30 a.m. on the Fourth of July, my cell phone rang and I didn't answer it. I wondered who would be calling me at that time, and what the problem could've been; but I fell back asleep. At about 7:30 a.m., my wife woke me up and told me that Kristina Buckley's heart had stopped for about 15 minutes before the doctors and nurses could get it beating again. I rushed to the hospital to be with the family.
Kristina Buckley is the wife of Living Streams' founding pastor, Mark Buckley. Kristina has invested 33 years into building up the Living Streams Church family. She is a true servant and loves to help people in their time of need. She is a medical missionary everywhere she goes, but particularly in Honduras and Rocky Point. She is a faithful wife and a devoted mother.
When I showed up at the hospital, Kristina's three living children were at her bedside, loving her, praying for her, and processing deep sorrow. They filled me in on what was happening, and said they were waiting for some medicine to help stabilize her heart. At about noon, Kristina's heart stopped again. This time it was only stopped for five minutes before the doctors and nurses got it beating again. And it was another devastating blow to our already wounded hearts.
Quickly, the team of doctors decided to put in a temporary pacemaker. With the wonders of modern medicine it only took them about a half hour to put it in the lower section of her heart. This was the first drop of good news in the rising pool of sorrow. After this procedure, her heart remained stable all through the night.
On July 5th, the doctors decided to try and wake Kristina up to see if her brain had suffered from the two times her heart stopped. It was a very nerve-racking few hours, waiting to see if Kristina could wake up. To everyone's shock and delight, she woke up. She was able to squeeze people's hands on command and answer certain questions with a nod or blink—all signs of strong brain function. It was a great day and a holy moment.
Today is July 6th and the hope is to see her get off of the ventilator and start breathing on her own. There are still questions about what the permanent solution is for her heart, since the pacemaker they put in is temporary. And we are still praying that her brain would have full function.
Thank you very much to everyone who has been praying, to everyone who has been commenting on the Living Streams Facebook page, and for all those who joined us last night at the prayer service.
This Sunday we will gather together and look at Daniel 7, which speaks about a future and a hope. Mark Buckley is planning to come and share for a few minutes about his wife, Kristina's situation.
The peace and joy of Christ to you and yours,
David