**Dave Update**

Thanks to everyone who is praying for Sam's friend, Dave Slagle. Someone Up there is listening as Dave's condition is improving a little bit each day...and his doctors are hopeful!!! They're slowly taking him off the sedatives and his liver is starting to function somewhat, from what I understand. He needs to get well enough and strong enough for a transplant, and Sam told me that once he is strong enough he is number one at the hospital to receive the donor organ ... so that's great news.

Please if you don't mind ... say a prayer for Dave's wife Karen. It's bad enough that she has to see her husband go through this, unsure if he will pull through ... not to mention she has to run the the business that they own on by herself so that they can continue to pay their bills ...but she's also having to deal with the awful bureaucracy of the insurance company now. Apparently she's fighting with them about the cost of the medication he will need to take monthly (several thousand dollars) for the rest of his life when he gets the transplant.

I'll keep you all posted on Dave's condition ... we're praying for a speedy recovery!

Have a great day ...

Rachel

PS:

DID YOU KNOW:

• There is a severe organ shortage in this country. 17 people die each day waiting for transplants.
• As of this morning, there are 97, 972 people on an organ donation list. Check out: http://optn.org for more information and statistics.
• A new name is added to the transplant waiting list every 13 minutes.
• Most major religions with the exceptions of Shinto and Gypsies supports organ donation. Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish faiths, support organ donation as a virtuous and charitable act. Other religions view donation as a personal choice.
• Organs and tissues from a single donor can be used to benefit more than 50 people on the waiting list.
• Donating organs and tissues does not prevent an open casket burial

If you haven't considered being an organ donor before - this is something that hit home for me. I know that it is an individual choice and personal decision for everyone, and I'm only sharing my opinion and thoughts here. Dave is 44 years old, in good shape ... and is in a potential life or death situation waiting for a liver. You could pass away from a completely unrelated cause and your liver, your kidneys or many other organs and tissues (something I'm pretty sure you're not going to need once you're gone) ... could help save the life of someone who is young and healthy and could have a long and fulfilling life thanks to your donation. I always believed that by listing yourself as an organ donor if you were in an accident, injured, etc. that the hospital, attending physicians, etc. wouldn't work as hard to save you. This is simply not the case. It is their job and the oath they took to do whatever they can to save your life. As well, just because you are an organ donor and there is a severe shortage of organs in this country, it does not mean that your particular donated organ(s) would be viable at the time of your death so it would do a emergency medical technician, surgeon, etc. no good to not try to save your life just to get an organ. Anyway, just some things to ponder ....