My New Niece

Congratulations to James and Jodi on the arrival of my new niece - Joashleiah Lynn. She was born at 8:15 a.m. on Saturday, December 27, 2008. She weighed 6 pounds 6 3/4 ounces and measured 19 1/4" long. I now have 6 nieces and 4 nephews on my side of the family.

A Tribute to My Dad written by His Niece

My cousin wrote a beautiful tribute to my Dad and she has graciously given me permission to share it with you all.


My Tribute to My Uncle

It’s always strange when someone passes, especially family members. My uncle passed away this last week. I wasn't able to attend the funeral so I have spent a lot of time thinking about the man that he was. One of my earliest memories of him was the first time I fished. I was about 3 years old at the time. We were standing on his back porch throwing the line into the pond below. I remember him helping hold the big rod and reel and then helping me turn the reel to catch the fish when I got a bite on my line. It was a small fish, but being 3 years old, I was just excited to catch a fish. I remember the times we'd stop by the house in Cincinnati on the way to Pennsylvania and how I watched the togetherness of his family. His family was a model family. Having been going thru rough times in my own family, I can't say I didn't envy the togetherness of his family. But I really respected him for it. He and his family gave me a model for which I hope to model my own family one day. They gave me a standard to live up to. For that I am very grateful. He was very much a gentleman. Last year at our family reunion I remember him leading us all in singing a couple hymns with Grandma---the last time we would ever all sing together with Grandma. I will never forget that. That was a very precious moment to me. I don’t remember him ever raising his voice--unless it was out of agitation regarding some idea or action in the world that went against the scriptures. I respected his love of and his respect for standing up for what the Bible says. I remember the last time I saw him at my Dad's in Colorado this past August. I made dinner for him and my Dad and Noalani one evening (I am so thankful I was able to have the opportunity to do something for him). He was showing us one of his loves--photography. (He was an amazing photographer.) Something on TV was talking about the theory of the earth's age and its formations millions of years ago. Without missing a beat, my uncle quickly took a stand for the foolishness of evolution's theories, even though he knew not everyone in the house would agree with him. I respected him for speaking out and speaking up for the truth. Although our family is often spread out everywhere and miles apart, I will never forget you Uncle Francis. You've impacted my life in ways you can never imagine. You will be very missed. I love you.

Marsha

Our Five Kids

Samuel, Briana, Julissa, Alex, & Curtis

This picture was taken on Sunday, December 14, 2008 at cabin 15 in PA.

Capturing the Beauty of Nature

My sister wrote a beautiful tribute to my Dad about fishing. Not only did my Dad enjoy being out in nature, he enjoyed capturing that beauty by way of his camera. Just this past year we got Dad a new camera for Christmas. Below is a picture of my Dad looking at that camera. I have also included some photos taken by him. We can only imagine the beauty he is beholding now. We love and miss you, Dad.

The Courthouse

'Twas here where it all began. A little over thirteen years ago, Jeff and I entered this beautiful courthouse to obtain our marriage license. Jeff took this picture on Friday, December 12, 2008 as we were heading back from town to the cabin where we spent this past weekend with my family.

Funeral Arrangements

The viewing and funeral for Dad (Francis L. Weingard) will be held on Saturday, December 13, 2008 at the:

Ronald McDonald Funeral Home
140 Cherry St.
Marienville, PA 16239

The funeral home is located at the corner of Rt. 66 and Cherry St.

The viewing will be from 10 a.m. until time of service

The funeral service will be at 2 p.m.

The graveside service will be at the Guitonville Cemetery.


A memorial service will be held on Sunday, December 14, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. at the:

Western Colorado Holiness Chapel
20798 Hwy 92
Delta, CO 81416


For those of you that would like to send cards to Mom, you may send them to the following address:

Mrs. Alice Weingard
c/o A.W.C.
2161 Woodsdale Road
Salem, OH 44460

Home in Heaven

Dad went home to heaven this morning.

The viewing and funeral will be in Marienville, PA. I will post more when I know definite times.

Thank you all for your many prayers during this difficult time in our lives.

Saturday's Update

After the CT Scan of the brain yesterday, a decision was made to do an MRI of the heart. The CT Scan show more enlargement of the left and right ventricles than there has been previously. It also showed a shadow on the right occipital lobe, therefore the decision to do an MRI. The conclusion drawn from these tests was that two more strokes (Ischemic) have occurred. This type of stroke is where a clot has been thrown off by the artificial heart valves and gone to the brain. The increase of fluid is probably the reason for his being a lot less responsive and very sleepy.

The neurosurgeon was in and showed the scans to Mom today. At this point, with Dad having suffered two more strokes while being on blood thinners, a shunt placement will not even be considered now. The neurosurgeon and the neurologist will continue to watch him on a daily basis. Dad is also scheduled for another CT Scan of the brain on Monday.

With the heart throwing off little blood clots, it is the doctor's opinion that there is undoubtedly something wrong with his valves. The plan is to do a Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE) where they should be able to see if infection has gone from his bloodstream to his heart valves.

Please pray that God's will be done in this entire situation.

Friday's Update

Dad continues to run a temp today, but I believe it has not been as high as last evening. He continues to remain extremely sleepy and not very responsive. He also had more episodes with his heart again last night.

The infectious disease doctor said that nothing is growing yet on the cultures done from Wednesday. But he also said that this doesn't mean we are out of the woods yet. Blood was drawn again today to start more cultures. He is concerned about Dad's confusion and plans to study his blood work today.

The neurosurgeon came in and told Mom that a CT Scan of the brain is scheduled for today. He feels that in looking over past scans that there is too much fluid on the brain. He plans to show Mom the films on Monday and discuss the possibility of putting in a shunt. He is thinking that Dad is just going to get sleepier and less responsive unless there is a shunt placement done. There is a high risk of another stroke if this procedure is done. Please pray for wisdom in this situation.

Thursday's Update

Dad had another episode with his heart in the night last night. He was given an oral medication that has seemed to have taken care of the problem. So far today he hasn't had any more problems with his heart.

But he has been more confused today and didn't even know his name when asked. He is running a temp of 102.2 this evening and is not very responsive.

He has also been moved again to Room 3395, but he is still in the Cardiac Unit.

Wednesday's Update

Dad had two more episodes with his heart last night where the heart rate was really high and the beat irregular. This was sustained over approximately ten minutes each time. He is back on an IV drip medication to try to get this under control. He is rather tired today.

More blood was drawn today for blood cultures to check to see if the yeast infection is decreasing. We should know some results in 24 hours in regards to this.

Dad was able to talk to Holly on the phone last evening for her birthday. He didn't talk for long and it wore him out, but she was very glad to be able to talk with Dad on her birthday.

Yesterday when asked, my Dad was actually able to tell them his name and birth date. This is a first in over 1 1/2 weeks.

Addendum: He had three more episodes with his heart this evening so will be on an IV drip medication all night.

An Early Tuesday Update

In the night, Dad had an episode where his heart rate went really high and the rhythm was irregular. He is on a medication now that is seeming to get it under control. Somehow in the transfer from one hospital to the next, the information in regards to the episode he had like this before and the fact that he was on a beta blocker and aspirin was never passed on to the current hospital. So he had been without these medications since this past Friday.

We finally have information back on all 4 blood cultures and all 4 of them are positive for yeast. He has a full blown systemic infection going on. They are sending the cultures out for further testing. Knowing all of this they are now saying that it is going to take longer than 2 - 4 days to get this under control. At this point, they are worried that the infection could possibly attack one of his organs. A renal ultrasound has been done and at this point his kidneys look okay. And the echo cardiogram showed that so far everything is okay in regards to his heart valves.

Please continue to pray for Dad and Mom as they go through all of this.

Quick Update

I will update more later, but wanted to let you know that I have changed Dad's room number on the right side of my blog yet again. He had an episode with his heart in the night and has been transferred to the cardiac unit. I don't really know anymore than that yet.

Monday's Update

Dad remains in the neurotrauma unit. He is on an anti fungal medication to try to take care of the infection. So far they have been able to diagnosis the type of yeast in the urine, but have not yet diagnosed the type of yeast in the bloodstream. Hopefully they are both the same. If they are, the anti fungal he is presently on should take care of the infection in the bloodstream also.

So far his echo cardiogram looks okay. His heart valves will continue to be monitored and there will probably be future echo cardiograms just to make sure the valves are okay.

There is a possibility that things will improve enough in the next 2 - 4 days that he could go back to the rehabilitation unit. Until then, physical therapists and speech therapists will work with him where he is. It just will not be at the same level that he would have in rehabilitation.

As far as outward appearance goes, Dad is looking a little better today and is more alert today albeit confused. But he has been rather weakened by all of this and has not had the strength to eat much by mouth.