Although Rochester, Minnesota, isn’t a big city, there is no day without the sound of sirens and helicopter rotor blades. And they all say Mayo Clinic on the side. These are welcome sounds because they indicate that some very sick people are being transported to the help they need.

After a 911 call last Thursday after midnight, Nelson was ambulanced to the people and medical equipment he needed. Today the doctor told Ann Sophie that the single most important factor in saving Nelson‘s life was that our apartment was only five minutes from Mayo Clinic.

This helped the EMTs get him there in a hurry. We were speechless in hearing this, since it’s the second time God has stood in the way of death to let Nelson live.

Today included more sibling visits as the clinic continued to listen to, and act on our pleas to be near Nelson—beneficial to both patient and visitors. He was much like his old self today, though still in need of morphine to eliminate pain that would otherwise be unbearable.

Several doctors said they were shocked by Nelson’s rapid improvement. After all, it’s been only 2 1/2 days since he was in a very bad way. The plan had been to let him stand by his bed for a few minutes today. But as usual, Nelson pushed the envelope and did three laps around the nurses station instead. The walker, the two nurses and Ann Sophie accompanying him, were there mostly to tote the equipment. 

Nelson worked up a little sweat during his walk but was glad to be back on his feet. Best of all, he did it without the warmed, humidified oxygen he’s been using in the ICU, though he still needs a high concentration through the smaller cannula.

Then, at about 4 PM, the catheter into his heart was removed—no longer necessary. All of his heart numbers have stabilized.

By 5 PM the hospital let us know he would be moving from the ICU into a regular hospital room, and by 7 PM, he was there. Knowing Nelson, his first question for the doctor will be, “When can I go home?” 

“Nothing will be impossible with God.“ (Luke 1:37)