| Prayer Request for Doug & Dorothea Family Final Word |
| Original Date Prayer Posted: June 7, 2001 |
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| Psalms 91:4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. |
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Doug Fluid continued to build up around and in Dougs chest and lungs late yesterday evening and all night last night. I decided it was time to keep the vigil with Dorothea nightly now as her exhaustion continued to increase. God worked through His Holy Spirit as I and her Pastor stayed with her throughout the night last night helping her and holding her as she continued to watch her husband deteriorate. At 5:30AM we called the house and Doug's brother and sister, and Andrew and Julie to awaken them to come to the hospital to spend some time with their Daddy and brother before the Dr's put him on the ventilator, knowing he would be sedated and unable to communicate. We also called Michael and his new wife from Harrisburg to come home. The family all rallied around Doug and were asked to leave the room for the procedure (the only time Dorothea was ever asked to leave) and as they began to insert the intubation tube Doug's heart stopped beating...it had been working overtime for too long. In the last minutes Doug moaned in pain and Dorothea whispered in his ear to breath easy, that she loved him, and that he needed to rest in the arms of Jesus now...and Doug left this world. His time of death was 6:30AM this morning. An incredible sense of peace and comfort pervaded his room where the nursing staff had prepared him for us to come back in and say goodbye to him, and to grieve...in the Bible it says "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord" and never before in my life have I ever felt it...I had been holding Doug's hand and stroking his perspiring head with a cool cloth and five minutes later he left his body and went into the arms of his Savior. I'm am learning what it really is to grieve as I comfort my sister, Julie, and Andrew....and other family members. Our God is an awesome God and we praise Him for sparing Doug and his family from anymore months of long agonizing pain and medical treatment but yet we grieve the loss of of hubby, a daddy, a brother, an uncle, a brother-in-law, a neighbor, and a friend. Your prayers have sustained us...remember my sister and family in your prayers during this greiving period. Doug will be creamated and a memorial service will be held at their church in Newark, Delaware on Saturday, June 16th...keep us close in your thoughts. Your prayers have sustained us and we've watched God work hour by hour through this whole ordeal. I can't wait to be with you all again and share the beautiful moments God has allowed me to experience. There is no peace like the peace of knowing that Doug believed in God, he believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and came to earth to die for our sins so that we could spend eternity in heaven with God and "whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life" and we expect to see Doug again in heaven. I can't imagine a more terrible tragedy and sorrow for someone I love to die without knowing and believing in Jesus...my grief would be insurmountable! I love you all and thank you for letting me share my heart and sorrow with you. Debby |
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