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Update on Dan and Shelley Berry's Condition. |
As many of you are aware, our District Superintendent, Dan Berry, and his wife Shelley were involved in a SERIOUS car accident on September 10th around noon. Many have called in to check on them. Check back here to find out the latest, so that you can pray. Thanks in advance for your love and prayer.
Monday, 17 September 2007
Dear Friends:
This is the first day that I have been strong enough to catch up on my emails and check out the Caring bridge responses. I am deeply indebted to my brother Mark Berry and his wife Debbie for establishing this communication vehicle that permits you to keep apprised of our needs and focus more in your prayer time.
Needless to say, I don't get much sleep at night. This morning at 4:30 AM I was wide awake with my thoughts and prayers focused on Shelley's full healing. My son Jason told me about the numerous responses from around the country. At 5:30 AM this morning I begin to read your prayers and support for Shelley and myself during this crisis. I was more than moved - I was invigorated with fresh faith.
Keep praying and keep believing in God's full healing for Shelley. At every challenge of life God has given me sustaining verse for the days ahead. The verse that God has given our family during this time is Jeremiah 30:17 "For I will restore health to you. . . says the Lord.".
Pray for Shelley - tomorrow the doctors will do a traceodemy. This 20 minute procedure will help alieviate discomfort and prepare her for awakening without constrictions.We are still awaiting her to awaken from her coma. In fact, yesterday was the first time that Shelley's pupils began to react to light which is a definitive step in the right direction. Praise be to God! Keep praying for Shelley to awake to a FULL recovery!
Sunday, 16 September 2007
We were thankful today as Shelley continues to be watched over by her heavenly Father. Jason and Dan’s brother Steve spent 45 minutes with Shelley, praying, reading scripture and encouraging her to continue to fight. While they were in the room Shelley’s nurse came in to do his normal rounds. He told Jason that Shelley had been responding to pain in her feet/legs, but not in her hands or upper body. The nurse pressed on Shelley’s toes and she pulled her legs back from the pain as she had been doing. But, Jason and Steve asked the nurse to just try and see if she would pull her arms back in the same way. So the nurse pressed on Shelley’s fingers and for the first time she pulled back her arms from the pain. The nurse was shocked to see her make this progress. Then the nurse said that if she is responding in her arms, maybe he should check and look for other progress. He lifted Shelley’s eye lids and shined a flashlight in her eyes. Her pupils began to react to the light. That again was the first time that her brain has progressed to that point of ability since the accident. The whole family was encouraged to see how God was continuing to heal Shelley.
The verse that God has brought to us is Jeremiah 30:17..begin to read this as your pray for Shelley!
Friday, 14 September 2007
Dr. Berry went home (to Jason's house) this evening with mixed emotions. He is very thankful to God that he is well enough to take this next step in his recovery. However, it is very difficult for him to leave Shelley.
Shelley had a successful surgery on her hip.
Your prayers are working ... keep it up. Pray for Dan tonight as he spends his first night away from the hospital. Jason is already working out the first time Dan can come back and see her.
He was able to see her this evening after her surgery to say goodnight.
Friday, 14 September 2007
AN UPDATE FROM DEBI BERRY (Dan's Sister-in-Law): We just got off the phone with Dan and Shelley's son, Joshua. Shelley is presently in surgery to have pins placed in both hips. That means, the doctors have confidence that she is strong enough to undergo surgery. PTL! Keep praying. Everything is positive, but is still moment by moment. Shelley had a good night and her liver count is up. Wonderful news! She is healing...thank you, Jesus!
Joshua and Misti will return to Indianapolis this weekend. Josh will attempt to catch up with his studies and take a test. Please pray that he will have the ability to concentrate and pass the test.
Dan's parents will arrive on Saturday to help him in the recovery process. Dan is doing much better today and will go home either today (Fri) or tomorrow (Sat). The boys (as the family still calls Jason and Josh!) are more encouraged at their parents' progress. Pray for Jason and Joshua as they are handling a tremendous amount of paperwork on behalf of their parents. This is a challenging task for a 24 and 25 year old. They are sharp young men and are very capable.
Keep Jason and Amber in your prayers. Amber is due to have the Berry's first grandchild in October.
Friday, 14 September 2007
Shelley will have surgery to place pins in her hips today (this may be postposed, but we'll let you know via the website). She is stable enough to do so. They are weaning her off sleep meds and her BP remains stable. PTL! She is doing well considering the extent of her injuries. We'll not know the full affects until all sedation is removed in a few weeks. We're praying and trusting God for a MIRACLE! Dan goes home today or tommorrow to recover. His parents will fly down on Saturday to help care for him.
We hope you'll take the time to sign the guestbook. Dan will visit the site once he returns home, so we hope that many will have sent greetings and words of encouragement by that time. This site will be a wonderful source of blessing to the family. THANK YOU for taking the time to do so. And, thank you, if you have already sent a message(s). Thanks to Mark and Debi Berry (Brother and Sister-in-Law of Dan) for setting this up!
Thank you for the overwhelming response to the prayer and fasting. As of 12:45 today, 468 meals have been pledged to be fasted. That is the equivalent of 156 days (three meals a day) worth of fasting or 11 people fasting each meal for the next two weeks. Wow! Praise God. Keep praying and believing in miracles.
Thursday, 13 September 2007
Shelley had a good night last night and continues to progress in the right direction. She has been scheduled to have surgery on her hip and pelvic area tommorrow (Friday). Dr. Berry will likely be coming home Friday or Saturday to begin his journey of rehabilitation. Be sure to read his message to everyone in the previous post below.
Wednesday, 12 September 2007
Dr. Berry is feeling much stronger and is looking forward to coming home in the next few days to begin the process of rehabilitation. Shelley has had a good day. She has seemed to respond slightly to some of the family. It is baby steps for sure, but it is progress and for this we praise God!
Dr. Berry wanted everyone to know that "Everything turned a corner around 11:00 this morning (Thursday). I started feeling so much better!," he said. He said the day had started out very difficult for him. The pain level was greater than it had been yet. Meanwhile, he had told the Lord that he was going to fast every meal until he saw Shelley's eyes open. Not too long after this, the nurses came in and said that he had to eat something to help him gain strength to heal. His heart sank as he thought of the promise he had made. He told his sons what he had said to the Lord and they said, "Dad, you don't need to fast at a time like this, you need to eat and gain your strength. We will fast for you." After much protest from Dr. Berry, Josh and Jason won out and fasted lunch and supper today in his stead. "After I ate something for lunch," said Dan, "I started feeling so much better. That was around 11:00 am. Now, I feel great and am looking forward to going home. Praise God! I can sense the prayers of the people and it is working. I am overwhelmed and humbled by the outpouring of support from everyone. I just want to say a big, 'Thank You' and ask you to keep praying for Shelley."
NOTE: A CALL TO FAST: Many of you have asked, "What can I do?" Well, here is your chance. You can join Josh and Jason in fasting in Dr. Berry's stead. For every meal we are willing to fast, Dr. Berry won't have to. He needs his strength and needs to eat and we can be his Aaron and Joshua and lift his hands until he sees Shelley's eyes open. Are you in? If so, send an email with the subject FASTING to pastorphil@newrockchurch.org and indicate how many meals you are willing to fast over the next two weeks or until Shelly's eyes open.
Wednesday, 12 September 2007
On behalf of the Berry's and our District, I want to thank so very many of you who have written in to express your heartfelt outpourings of love for Dan and Shelley. I am certain they feel your love, concern, and prayers. Please continue to lift them up before the Lord-- particularly Shelley.
I spoke with our Associate DS today, Mark Atkinson, from Macon, and he has come up to Atlanta and has been at the Berry's side all day long, along with Phil Spriggs, our E&CG director here in the SCD. I informed them of this blog, adn they thought it was a great idea, and have embraced it as our primary source of communication to those who would like to be kept posted on Dan and Shelley's condition. They promised to give me regular updates so that the many of you who are praying and following this with your hearts, can stay in the loop and updated, so you can pray. Please begin to use this as your primary means of finding out information, as the number of calls to Mark, particularly, have been quite overwhelming-- and we want him focused on meeting the needs of the Berry's while he is there at the hospital with them.
There is a bit of good news today, as the hospital is beginning to talk about the possibility of Dan being released in the not-too-distant future. He does have a cracked pelvis, as I understand, and will not be mobile again for another 6-8 weeks, as I understand. The hospital is making arrangements for a special bed for him that can be delivered to his home, during his recovery period.
I wish I could say the same was true for Shelley. There has been no change with her today, which means that she is hanging in there. At present, she is still in a drug-induced coma, as the medical staff feel her initial recovery would be better served with her out, as her injuries are so severe that she would be in sever pain. The last I had heard, the extent of her injuries were: 8 broken ribs, two collapsed lungs, trauma to the head and with some bleeding on the brain, and liver damage as well. I was also told that she had a crushed pelvis. She is still quite critical-- please don't let the passage of time keep you from praying for her. Her life is still very much in jeopardy, although at the moment she is stable.
Thank you so much for being engaged in the warfare for the Berry's in prayer. We need you, and thank you for so graciously standing in the gap for Dan and Shelley.
Peace and Grace,
John Lehmberg
Village Church and SCD Webmaster
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