Providence Prayer Archives

Carol Sutton and Sarah Bates (recent attendee from CA) were in a serious car accident earlier today, as Carol was taking Sarah home after the service. Both were in the hospital this afternoon, and both are back at home now. Carol's right arm was fractured in three places, and has been set and immobilized. Sarah has a broken clavicle, but otherwise seems to be doing well. Both have a number of bumps and bruises.

The accident occurred at the Hot Spot intersection (64 & Blairsville Hwy), when another car plowed into them (driver has been jailed for substance abuse), and Carol's van was knocked into the HotSpot parking lot and hit a stanchion in front of a kerosene pump. I've attached a picture of Carol's van below. Some prayer requests:

- thanksgiving for God's provision, and His mercy, that both Carol & Sarah were not further injured.
- prayer for the next couple of days, as they will both likely experience significant pain
- pray for God to provide in meeting specific needs - Carol's van will be a loss and it can be difficult to find another handicap van, and there are significant costs; Carol's wheelchair might be beyond repair; until a replacement van can be found, transportation will be an issue for Carol
- pray for the driver of the other car, that God would use this in his life for good

UPDATE 5/16:  Carol had her forearm fracture diagnosed yesterday, and Dr. Davis determined that she needs surgery right away. She is at the hospital now and will be undergoing surgery very shortly. He will be installing either internal or external rods and pins to fix and stabilize the bones so they can heal. Please be in prayer both for her surgery and for healing afterwards.

Lynne Williams took a fall down the stairs at their home.  Nothing was broken, praise God, but she is very still and sore.  Mostly on her right side back, on her ribs, and her right foot.  Please keep her in your prayers.

UPDATE 2/9:  Lynne is still experiencing a great deal of pain, although Dave said she was able to make it through the night last night.  It is a blessing that David has been able to be there with her.  Please pray for significant healing to take place by Wednesday, when he will need to leave her in Johnson City to return to work in Murphy.

Pray for Karen Mercer (daughter of Marilyn Foley, prior member of Providence).  She has Multiple Myeloma.  She has gone through 2 years of chemo and radiation, and it has only gotten worse.  She is now at an alternative center in Florida.  Her daughter is going to be married in March, and she is hoping to be well enough to go to her wedding.  The disease is supposed to be incurable.

Pray for Earl Wallace (have been assisting through our Mercy Ministry).  Earl is in the hospital in Sylva.  He has a heart condition that seems to be causing his spells with high blood pressure, as well as a number of other ailments (including epileptic seizures).  Pray the doctors would be able to discern the problems, and what is needed.

UPDATE 12/27:  Earl was released from the hospital last night, and is back in Murphy (living out of his truck).  It's not clear at this point that anything was resolved with his medical condition, but his blood pressure is back under control.

Please pray for the Rogers family (live in Hanging Dog), who are in our homeschool COOP.  Their son Anthony is in critical condition at Erlanger, after having been in a very serious car accident here in Murphy a few days ago (David Williams assisted with the airlift).  Anthony has a severe brain injury, is in a coma, and is not yet breathing on his own.  Here is an updated prayer request that was sent out by his mom.

UPDATE 11/29:  "Anthony's MRI showed what the Dr's thought, that he has a "Diffuse Axonal Brain Injury," which is basically lesions in the white matter of multiple areas of the brain. The Dr's will not give us a prognosis, however They did say it's not worse than They thought. At this point we can only wait and see. They aren't turning his sedation down today, but just going to let him rest. Thanks for the prayers....Trusting in God's healing hands!"

Pray for Carol's friend, Sharon.  "I just learned that my friend, Sharon (who lost her husband in July) is in the hospital following surgery and will likely have to go to a rehab facility because she won’t be able to sit up in her chair until it’s pretty well healed. Please pray that she heals well and completely as soon as possible and that she has the medical and family support that she needs."

UPDATE 11/23:  Carol reported that Sharon has begun healing up well, and she got to go home.  Her sister is staying with her until she gets better.  Please pray for continued recovery.

Please pray for David's best friend in Johnson City, Glenn Davidson (and his wife Debbie).   Glenn was laid off at his work today.

UPDATE 11/12:  David asked that we also pray for Glenn's brother-in-law Rick.  Rick has a bleeding disorder (has had it for many years), and may be close to death, but does not know the Lord.

Please pray for Carol's sister Wendy, as she will have a serious surgery next week.  Carol received the following:  "Prayer Warriors, Asking for prayer for an upcoming surgery. A week from today, Tuesday Nov 6th, don’t know time. My Sacroiliac (SI) joint is degenerated, my degenerative disc disease has now gone to that joint. For those that do not know what the SI joint is, it is the joint that is between the hip bone and the base of the spine. This is a common surgery but not commonly done. Once my doctor said that I needed surgery, a SI specialist that is not connected to my doctor has to audit my records to be sure that we did everything possible before the surgery. One of the requirements was that I had to have two injections and have a certain percentage of relief, which I did. It is an iFuse implant, they drill 3 triangular titanium rods into my SI joint, this will stabilize this joint and allow my bone to grow around the rods. So please keep me in your prayers as God prepares me for surgery, the surgery, and recovery. They say it’s a 6-week recovery and at least 2 weeks of in-home PT. Not sure what to expect but I’m in Gods hands and they are the best hands to be in. Thank you in advance for the prayers."  

UPDATE 11/7:  The surgery went well, but Wendy is in a tremendous amount of pain. 

Pray for Amy M.'s upcoming surgery.  On Nov. 9 Amy will be having a very delicate carpal tunnel surgery on her wrist (at the office where Carol J. works!).  She is expecting recovery from surgery to take a number of weeks. 

UPDATE 11/15:  The surgery went well, although the doctor had to cut an additional muscle tendon that usually is not part of the surgery.  Pray for healing.  Amy had been experiencing some lingering numbness, which was concerning, but that has been getting better.

Pray for Don F.  Don is currently just east of Panama City in Callaway, FL at his friend Wanda's home.  The home is in an area that has not been under mandatory evacuation, and they have the home prepared for the hurricane.

UPDATE 10/17:  I spoke with Don last night, and he IS now back home in Murphy as of a couple of days ago (and very glad to be back!). His daughter-in-law Kayla, and his grandson's, Liam (8) & Alec (4), are up here staying with Don. The roof was blown off their apartment (while they were in it). They will probably be here for some time. He said that his son lost an entire side to his house. Don had much to say about all the devastation down in Panama City. Give thanks to the Lord for bringing them all safely through it!  Wanda's home had a couple of pine trees fall on it, but it seems to remain structurally sound.

Pray for Mike (co-worker of Dale's at Moog) -  Because of a recent experience Mike had, he's interested in doing a Bible study.  Ask the Lord to continue to work on him (and on his wife), that he would continue to see his need for the Lord, and that we would be able to share God's Word with him.

Please pray for Wil's uncle Sam.  He will not be undergoing any more treatment for cancer, and will be under hospice care with possibly only a few weeks remaining.

UPDATE 10/10:  Wil's uncle Sam Larsen just passed away, so the Meiners will be traveling up to Pennsylvania 11/1-11/5 (Thur to Mon), so please pray for their trip and for their time together with the family and friends attending.

Pray for Hannah Sexton (John & Elizabeth Sexton's daughter).  From John:  "We wanted to let you know that our daughter, Hannah, has been in the hospital again. As you remember, in June she had "ischemic colitis" and was hospitalized for 6 days. She fully recovered, but on Tuesday night, she came down with similar symptoms. The CT scan showed that she has it again.  Please be praying today as she undergoes more testing. If it is truly ischemic colitis, then pray that they can find the cause and prayerfully a prevention.  Despite the years of the debilitating migraine headaches and now this hospitalization again, she has never complained, blamed God or been angry. She is quite the example to us."

UPDATE 9/22:  Hannah went home from the hospital today. Tests showed that it was most likely ischemic colitis again, but much less damage than before. Thank you for all your prayers and messages. They are going to be doing follow up testing to see if they can find the cause for this problem. Please remember her in your prayers that she would not suffer more of these attacks and that they will find how to prevent them.

Please pray for Carol Sutton's sister-in-law:  "My sister-in-law, Julie Dazel Gilbert fell last night and broke her hip in two places and her left arm. She will have surgery today (Monday) to install pins. Please pray for her as she has other health issues that complicate things as well."

UPDATE 9/17:  Also received the following from Carol:  "It was, apparently, a terrible fall. She's out of surgery with 3 pins in her hip. Has already been up walking, though *not* liking it. She's left-handed and has also broken her left elbow which will need a sling and time to heal. Thanks for your prayers."  

UPDATE 10/2:  Carol reports that Julie will make it out of the hospital today (Tuesday), and she now seems in far better spirits.  In the middle of all this, she had come down with shingles, but that is much better now as well.

Update from Don (Panama City, FL):  "Pending approval from Humana, I will have my left knee's meniscus surgery Thursday. Do not know how long any physical therapy will last or how long before I'll be able to drive back home. I am in quite a bit of pain with really nothing to alleviate it. Thanks for all thoughts and prayers."

UPDATE 9/17:  Steve spoke with Don Fouraker yesterday, and he said he has not yet had his knee surgery, because of a hold-up with his insurance company. He is working on getting that issue resolved, and is hoping right now that he will be able to have the surgery next Thursday (9/27). Meanwhile, the pain has continued. Please pray that he would be able to have the needed surgery soon, for continued perseverance, and that God would sustain him.  

UPDATE 9/26:  Don will be (finally) having his meniscus surgery tomorrow (Thur.).  Pray for the surgery and for quick healing following it.  Don said, "so tired of hurting and limping around. I will start rehab Friday morning."  

UPDATE 10/1:  From Don:  "I got the staples out this afternoon. Doing quite well, some limp but improving hourly. Rehab tomorrow morning and I expect each day this week."  Don said that after he goes to Jacksonville for his Navy Ship reunion, he will return to Murphy on Monday, 10/15.

The Yount's just got word that their grandson Eli in TX, 6 yrs old, had his appendix burst and an infection has formed, so they will be traveling out to Dallas on a flight this afternoon. Eli's body has evidently "walled off" so that the infection shouldn't spread, so the doctors will be waiting a number of weeks (until the infection heals) before performing surgery for removal. Pray for wisdom, for healing and protection, and for the Yount's trip out there.

UPDATE 9/3:  Good news from Mary (Dallas area) yesterday afternoon. Continue to pray for Eli's healing:  "Thank you all for the prayers. Our grandson Eli has been discharged in good order! He will most likely have his appendix removed in the next several months."

Please pray for Daniel Just received this from Dale:  Daniel will be having surgery tomorrow to remove his dialysis catheter because of an infection. He will have a hemodialysis catheter put in. Surgery should take about an hour. Probably home Sat.  The infection is just in the catheter. He is feeling fine. He will have to be taken to a dialysis center 3 times a week for 3 hours, which will be about 6 hours with getting there and back. Amolia (Daniel's baby sister) won't be allowed to go, so a whole new set of difficulties. Thank you for your prayers. Quite stressful for Jacob and Hallie.

UPDATE 8/17:  Great news from Dale:  "Surgery was successful. Daniel is back in a room with his family and hungry! Hopefully go home tomorrow."  Please continue to pray for healing, as well as for Jacob & Hallie with the challenge that they have ahead, with long trips to the dialysis center."

Shortly after 8pm tonight, Brad was bitten by a copperhead while out gardening. Terry & Marilyn took him to Murphy Medical, where he is being monitored to see whether or not he will need anti-venom. His left hand where he was bitten, and arm, are very swollen with a lot of pain from the swelling. Jackie is on her way back from FL. Please keep Brad (and Jackie!) in prayer.  

UPDATE 8/16:  Please continue to pray - just received this word from Jackie:  "Got to the hospital about 10am....long 14 hours getting here. He is in ICU now, getting his 7th and 8th vial of antivenom as I type. Now having some chest pain so they are treating and testing to make sure it isn't cardiac. Nathan and Jocelyn have been with him all night and they say he is resting better than he was."  

UPDATE 8/17:  Good news to report...just received this from Jackie:  "Just wanted to say thank you to all of our wonderful church family for the prayers, thoughts, words of comfort and visits during this whirlwind 40 hours. Brad was discharged from ICU and is now home, exhausted but resting. A bit of recovery yet to do but happy to be home 

Don Fouraker has a procedure in Blairsville on Friday to help with removing kidney stones. He developed a fever earlier in the week, which has subsided, but he's continued to have some pain. Ask the Lord to sustain him and pray for Friday's procedure.  

UPDATE 6/30:  Don had the procedure on Friday to remove the kidney stones, and although it was successful in taking care of part of the problem, they were unable to get everything. As a result, his discomfort has continued, and there's uncertainty about how soon he'll be able to have another procedure. This has made things difficult, so please ask the Lord to sustain him through this.

Carol Sutton is still in San Diego with her friend Vernon who has advanced Lymphoma. He has recovered some physically, and it is likely she will be traveling with him into Mexico for treatment. Pray for wisdom and the Lord's provision.  

UPDATE 6/30:  Carol's friend Vernon passed away last night.  They had just made the trip down to Mexico to the treatment facility.  Please pray for her as she works through all the arrangements, and for the process of getting back across the border.  She should be headed back home within a couple of days.