Viagra Trial Baby Deaths: Dutch Research Project Called Off as 11 Infants Die

Did Viagra given to pregnant women cause Pulmonary Hypertension in babies?

© Mark Blinch / Reuters

A Dutch medical trial has been halted after the deaths of 11 babies whose mothers were given Viagra as part of a study aimed at helping unborn infants grow.

The research, led by Amsterdam University Medical Center, focused on improving the flow of blood through the placentas of 93 pregnant women. Since the trial ended, some 17 babies have developed lung problems and 11 have died, leading to fears that babies suffered fatal effects from the medication. Between 10-15 women are now waiting to hear if their child was also affected.

“We wanted to show that this is an effective way to promote the growth of the baby. But the opposite happened. I am shocked. The last thing you want is to harm patients,” gynecologist and leader of the research Wessel Ganzevoort told Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant.

Ganzevoort said her team have notified a group of Canadian researchers carrying out a similar study to warn them of the results. That research has now been temporarily stopped, she said.

During the study, 93 women in 10 hospitals across the Netherlands were given sildenafil, a medication sold as Viagra, the erectile dysfunction drug for men. Viagra dilates the blood vessels and is sometimes prescribed for people with high blood pressure. Researchers had hoped to improve the flow of blood through women’s placentas with the drug after seeing some good results in experimental research on rats.

Prior to the experiments, the growth of each of the unborn babies was found to be limited and the prognosis viewed as poor. The study was started in 2015 and was due to run until 2020, with 350 patients participating. It’s feared that the drug caused blood pressure to build up in the lungs, meaning the babies received a diminishing amount of oxygen.

Elevated blood pressure in the lungs is a form of Pulmonary Hypertension. That it has already claimed 11 of 17 babies would indicate that it is an intense form of PH. 

In a statement, Amsterdam UMC said that it believed the trial had been conducted properly, but will launch an external investigation to find the cause of deaths. All participants in the trial have now been informed whether they were given the drug or a placebo.

“An interim analysis by Amsterdam UMC, location AMC, showed that sildenafil may be detrimental to the baby after birth. The chance of a disease of the blood vessels of the lungs appears to be greater and the chance of death after birth seems to have increased,” the statement read. RT has contacted Amsterdam UMC for comment.

Ganzevoort expressed concern that doctors may have been prescribing the medication to pregnant women after hearing anecdotal evidence it may be good for children at medical conferences. “It was buzzing at conferences. Foreign colleagues let slip that they sometimes prescribed it, with good results,” she said.

“I have experienced in my own consulting room that pregnant women asked for it. Whether they have ordered it via the internet? I do not know. Who can know?”

Makes one wonder if Pfizer was behind the 'buzz' at these conferences? Did they subtly push doctors to experiment on their patients? Nothing would surprise me when it comes to pharmaceutical companies.

Do You Know What Pulmonary Hypertension Is?

You might have it and not know it

May 5th is World Pulmonary Hypertension Day
But November is Pulmonary Hypertension Month

This is a horrible, debilitating and deadly disease
and much too little is known about it

Not well known

Pulmonary Hypertension is a fatal disease that many people have and don't know it. It is not well understood by most family physicians, and they will often diagnose asthma instead. Even some hospitals will refuse to treat a PH'er.

My wife has been on a Facebook group with other PH'ers, and we have lost several of them in the past two years. One of them went to her local hospital in a city of 50,000, and they refused to treat her. They sent her on a 5 hour road trip to the nearest hospital that would treat PH'ers. A few days later she died.

Symptoms

The major symptoms are:

Shortness of breath (dyspnea), initially while exercising and eventually while at rest
Fatigue
Dizziness or fainting spells (syncope)
Chest pressure or pain
Swelling (edema) in your ankles, legs and eventually in your abdomen (ascites)
Bluish color to your lips and skin (cyanosis)

Racing pulse or heart palpitations


What is it

Briefly, it is an increase in blood pressure between your heart and lungs. Left untreated, it can destroy your heart in as little as two years. With treatment, you can survive for another ten to twenty years but life will not be easy. There are no age restrictions that apply to PH; anyone is susceptible.

To find out more about this horrible disease please visit the Mayo Clinic.

For support or to make a donation to badly needed research, please visit the PHAssociation

The Agony and Strength of Mothers of Sick Children

Katie's Dream for a Cure

Katie's Dream for a Cure feeling frustrated at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford.
19 November at 12:14 ·

Katie Grace has been intibated for 2 months now.

Katie Grace's mom:
So stinking super frustrated and upset with our team today. Katie Grace finally got to a point they are willing to extibate her yet after 2 month of living like this they don't feel it's emergency to get this gosh darn tube out. Average length of time for intubation is 14 days. Hello people. Why make her suffer and possibly cause more damage We were supposed to do it this week now "maybe " next week

Katie has already endured a lung transplant that was supposed to
cure her PH. It didn't.

Katie's Dream for a Cure feeling hopeful at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford.

15 November at 23:43 · Palo Alto, CA, United States · 

So I was asked this week if I thought what we are doing is what she would want? Katie Grace is by far one of the strongest fighters I know. I am not sure what will happen here. I know my prayers are for a true miracle. Today they had to place another chest tube. 😢. 

Yes she has been doing better but 2 steps forward 1 step back. But tonight Katie Grace surprised us all when she did this while listening to last year's cvchs (high school) doing "Everything is Awesome " always able to find her joy

Progress is measured in small steps

Concord, CA, United States · Edited · 
For all Mothers of children with PH:

"When children come face to face with the Goliath's of disease — cancer, heart defects, cystic fibrosis, brain injuries and many more — it’s their mothers who gather the stones that this child will use to fight the fearsome foe. We often revere the doctors who take care of these little ones, and it’s true, they are heroes. They make the stones so that we have weapons with which to go into battle. But often, there is a forgotten hero: the mother who gathers each and every stone, places it into tiny hands and stands by while her baby takes his best shot.

Mothers who take care of children with serious diseases don’t have the same luxuries that the rest of us have. Every parent carries the nagging fears: What if something happens to my child? Will I be able to give my child all the things they need to help them live a happy, healthy life? How can I help them realize their full potential? And perhaps it all comes back to this question: Am I enough? Am I enough to give my child what she needs?

But, for mothers whose children are healthy, we can put those fears on the back burner. We don’t often have to look that scary monster in the eye and face the reality. We can hide our heads under the covers and pretend that as long as we can’t see the monster, he can’t come and get us. For mothers who are battling a child’s illness, that’s a luxury they cannot afford. They are forced to face the monster head on, and their monsters look like this:

* Explaining to a child why they must face yet another surgery that will bring incredible pain.
*Holding frail little hands as they vomit and lose their hair and cry from the pain and frustration of chemo and explaining why the medicine seems so much worse than the disease.
*Navigating the fine line between protecting the health of your medically fragile child and allowing them freedom to experience the joys of childhood.
*Grieving the loss of the child you envisioned yours would be and coming to accept the reality of the one you have.
*Managing the guilt that you carry for so much of your time and energy being focused on your sick child, knowing that your well children need you, too.
*Talking to your child about the reality of death, knowing that you would trade places with them in a second if you could. But instead, you’re faced with the heart-wrenching task of letting them go on before you.

These are just some of the burdens that the mothers of sick children carry. They carry them around every single day, and the weight is heavier than you and I can possibly know. What is astonishing, though, about this thing called motherhood is that somehow, someway there is still incredible joy. Their pain is deep, but their joy runs deep, too.

They are faced with the harsh, unfair realities so they’ve been forced to clarify what is truly important to them. They know that the most precious parts of their lives may not be around forever, so they’ll appreciate every moment. Their child’s illness has given them a higher calling, a purpose in life that is beyond any desire they’ve ever had. They know exactly what they’re fighting for.

For the rest of us who look at these mothers and think, “I don’t know how she does it,” know this: It’s not their abilities that are superhuman, it’s their love. It is this intense love for their child that pushes them out of bed every morning and forces them to keep going, no matter what odds are stacked against them.

Look around at the mothers who are fighting for the lives and well-being of their children. Let them know you recognize that you can’t possibly understand what it’s like to walk in their shoes, but you know enough to appreciate every single step they take. Share in their hopes, their joys, their triumphs and their disappointments. Listen and learn: Their hard-won wisdom will take you far.

But most of all, love them. Love them well because they have loved others well." by Courtney Schmidt.

Beautifully written, Courtenay. Thank you for sharing. You are my hero today in representing all mothers of PH children and other seriously ill children. God bless you.

Pulmonary Hypertension - The Monster Claims Another

Another Facebook PHriend gone! And 2 little girls fighting for their lives. They need your prayers and they need a cure.

Patricia McFarland-Myers

I don't mean to go all PH on you today. But we've just lost another beautiful phriend to this monster. RIP Lori Rodriguez. Lord we need a cure!

Lori Sobrowski Rodriguez - beautiful, happy, young woman passed away yesterday from PH-related heart failure. This photo is stunning in that it was taken Christmas Day, 2014.



Right - the last photo that she posted. How poignant an you get?


Breathe For Riley
Yesterday at 13:57 ·

Had to call Dr Hanna today. Always glad when he is the one that answers the pulmonary hypertension emergency cell phone for CHOP families.

Riley looked funny (extremely pale, dark nails) this morning so I put her monitor on and her oxygen level was only 65% on 4 liters. He told me to give her extra lasix and keep him posted.

I ran out and bought a scale and she put on over a pound since coming home (all fluid). She then got her dose of steroids and came up to about 80% on 5 liters.

She hasn't really left the couch since coming home. Most of her toys haven't even been taken out of boxes because she hasn't had much interest in anything but laying down.

We have tickets tomorrow for Disney on Ice, and I'm hoping we can have her stable enough to go because she is really looking forward to it.

Riley Buchanan is 6 years old and awaiting a lung transplant at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

http://www.gofundme.com/rileysnewlungs


Hope PHor Aubrie Starr

Sunday morning Prayers for Aubrey please.
Aubrie still has a fever, no word on her test. She still will not eat and sleeping a lot :-(


Hope PHor Aubrie Starr
Yesterday at 04:47 ·

Aubrie is back in the hospital again. Fever was up to 103.5 last night so we brought her to the ER. Aubrie has an infection in her lungs, they are testing to find out why. It could possibly be the Flu, if that comes back negative then it's on to the next test. We are also waiting on blood cultures taken last night. Fever was down last night but back up this morning.

Hope PHor Aubrie Starr
18 December at 20:10 · Edited ·

Today I received a call, Aubrie's case was denied by the specialty center at Chapel Hill. Now I will begin working with her team to find her a good out of state lung transplant specialty center.

Then we will have to send them her case and pray we find someone experienced enough to agree to guide us in her care.

We will begin trying to setup fund raisers to help pay for traveling and extended stay expenses soon. Once we are with a specialty center and she is listed for transplant it is possible we may have to completely relocate until she has her transplant and completes all recovery. Please continue to keep us in your prayers!


Hope PHor Aubrie Starr
2 December at 20:01 ·
Update: Aubrie's breathing has been so much better!!! She is playing again and happy as ever. So glad that tomorrow on my day off I will be able to spend some time with her having fun and not at any appts or with her feeling bad, tomorrow's mommy and me time is going to be great!!

Little Aubrey Starr's Condition Worsens as Doctors Undecided as to What to Do

Hope PHor Aubrie Starr
17 July
Have to leave here in the morning at 6:30am to take Aubrie to the specialty children's hospital to see her cardiologist and PH team. She had some episodes of passing out over the weekend, a couple nights of low stats and has been exhausted more than normal. Hopefully we can finally find out if anything has changed with her Pulmonary Hypertension. I will keep everyone posted!!

Hope PHor Aubrie Starr
18 July
Aubries drs feel that with her condition being so difficult to truly know what is going on all the time it is in our best interest to get a second opinion from a lung transplant specialty team. They will begin sharing notes and information with a team in Chapel Hill. It may be that she is fine where she is right now or it could mean she needs a central IV line or a sub q line. It may be that a transplant is best. Nothing has been decided they are just seeking a more experienced decision. It does appear her condition may progressing. As I am made aware of thing with her care I will let all of know as well. Thank you all for being such wonderful prayer warriors for our family! God's got this, he has a plan laid out etched in stone. The Lord is our strength!

Hope PHor Aubrie Starr
3 hours ago
Aubrie has been so tired today and she hasn't done much except ride in her car that I push and get carried around every where.  She was so exhausted she went to sleep for her nap around 1:00pm and didn't get up until 4:30pm. She was already back to sleep at 9:00pm. Pray for her body to get the rest it needs. With God all things are possible!

The official page for Aubrie Starr a patient diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension and branch pulmonary artery hypoplasia. Please pray for Aubrie Starr!

https://www.facebook.com/hopephoraubriestarr?fref=nf

Alexah, Fighting for Her Life and Getting Very Tired

Toughest Days, 20 days
By Heather Hebert — 6 hours ago

Work woes. Friendship issues. Financial difficulties. None of these experiences hold a candle to yesterday, today, or the next 3 days to follow. I can handle stress. I'm built for it. Heartbreak is a different ballgame. It's a game with no rules, it's always unfair, and no one wins.

If you have been praying for Alexah, keep praying. Pray harder. Pray for her mental strength. Pray she fights physically and mentally.

Today was another trial of clamping the ECMO. Again, it went well. She is still battling her PH. It is still very severe. The remodulin was actually reduced today because she was struggling directly after increases. I believe the rapid increase was also contributing to her sad feelings and overall bad feeling. I am hoping the reduction in the remodulin dose will improve her progress until she is off ECMO. For now, the plan is to TRY and come off ECMO after the weekend, depending on her progress over the weekend.

After the discussion regarding the medical plan, the doctor asked if we could intervene with Alexah and provide a mental outlet for her. During this tear-filled meeting, he expressed that it was important for Alexah to be able to acknowledge and express her feelings about being sick. Knowing that coming off ECMO could go well or poorly, he wanted Alexah to be heard. Alexah will start with her specialist tonight. I pray this offers her some relief.

A clot was located in the ECMO today. A very scary moment for us, but the team, cool as usual, handled the situation before it could become a threat. Part of the line was removed and replaced with new line. These are the dangers of staying on ECMO too long.

As the room cleared out from the replacement, I returned to sit with Alexah. I held her hand. I whispered in her ear that she was going to get better, I was going to take her home soon, and we were going to play dolls and watch movies. She squinted her eyes shut and tears rolled out of the corners of her eyes. She shook her head side to side.....no. Heartbreak.

She can't give up. She can't stop fighting. She can't leave me. Not now. Not because of this unfair game.

Pray. Remember, God answers prayer.

A PH'r Shares Her Struggles and Triumphs

Inspiring words from Trudy Seidel, a PHriend. Trudy is an amazing woman who raises thousands of dollars for PH research, so little is known about the disease except that it is almost always fatal. I wanted to say that Trudy works tirelessly for the cause, but there is no such thing as tireless when you have PH - tired is a way of life. God bless you, Trudy.

Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and I have been enemies for 2 years today. 

Realistically, IPAH had entered my life 18 months prior to this 2 year anniversary. Even more accurate is April 20th, the day I was given the diagnosis of the incurable disease PH (Pulmonary Hypertension). That day means little to nothing to me.

My wife, Pat, and I in shirts
designed and marketed by Trudy

April 15, 2012, was the day I left Vinton, Iowa, by ambulance headed to the University Hospital. 2 years ago today, I left my 4 children, 2 of which were only 1 1/2 years old and 13 years old. I was taken away from them not knowing if I would ever see them or hold them in my arms again. I was so scared and I couldn't get my prayers to God, I felt blocked.

I've been through a lot of unpleasant and scary things, but this was beyond words and I couldn't grasp logic in the fear. I then spent a week not knowing what was wrong or if I was going to live. Then, 5 days later at 11pm, I was told that indeed I was dying, but with treatment I could buy time. My doctor later told me had I waited even 2 more weeks not seeking medical attention, my chances wouldn't have been good and most likely nothing would have worked.

I was released after 2 weeks with a tube coming out of my chest with an IV pump hanging from it. My mom, Bonnie Deutsch, who had sat tireless for 2 weeks at my bedside, witnessed things no mom should see or hear, called constantly on my sister and family to pray and heal me. Without her in my life today, it wouldn't be as livable as it is.

The night I was released my sister and 2 girls came to TAKE ME HOME, well, to my sister's home so she could help me and just be with me, because I needed her. Only about 18 months earlier she also picked me up again from a hospital, when she and my brother in law, my nieces, and daughter Jacey came to take me and newborn Jolie home with them. My sister again knew I needed her. Life is crazy, that was a lot more fun than this more recent hospital discharge.

I was so happy to be alive as my pump of life made noises, I cried off and on as we drove to her house, she's my logic, my person to shoot life straight for me and keep me going, she's my sister, Shawna Kurth. She married an amazing man, Tim Kurth, who had to deal with me the first morning of waking up being out the hospital and starting my new normal. He walked in his daughter's room where I had been sleeping, I was in tears with my medicine bottles in front of me, my pump next to me and I said, "I don't want to do this, I don't know how". He just held me and let me sob for a long, he's my 'strong tower'.

Trudy (right), sister Shawna (left), and brother Josh

Later, I went home with my girls and new normal and tried to figure out this new life I had been given. I'm still not sure of my new normal as it changes a lot or what all this new life holds for me, I don't think it's for me to figure out anymore.

I'm at a place today that I'm okay with really, I'm not always happy and I still feel sick a lot, but it's livable. I've thanked God many times for my life, for letting me stay with my family longer, I've even thanked him for PH in a way, it's shined a new light on me.

I am only able to feel this way about PH, because of a man who fought so hard against PH. I read and seen a write up about Annie Whitaker's son Tim. This man, this angel was whom I wanted to become. I wanted to see the world through his eyes. Tim had already passed away, when I had read about him, but i see him in my mind so clearly.

The afternoon I read of his story, I honestly thought I can't ever get to that point. Granted, I was only a few weeks into the diagnosis and at home alone with a 2 yr old. I'm sure at that moment I walked by my computer, I had just come from getting sick in the bathroom for my 100th time that day.

His story just came, I had gotten lost in a site and he was just there so I read all about him, his hospitalizations, medicines and meds he couldn't get in Australia or that cost so much. I read of Annie's grief in trying to help, more trying to save him as a mom would. He was so close to his family and there was so much love going between all of them.

Tim wasn't a complainer, he was a fighter, a survivor for a long time against PH. He lost his battle to this horrendous disease, but it wasn't just his fight, his mom is still hot on the fight against Pulmonary Hypertension.

Annie is not alone in this fight, it's our fight, it's everyone's fight who has PH, its every person's fight who loves or cares for someone with PH. It's a fight that we won't lose, we are rare, but we are strong and United in the battle for our lives. 

Happy Anniversary PH, I'm still here fighting and I am so much better than I was at our last Anniversary, but not as good as I will be on our next Anniversary.

Please visit here amazing testimonies of Heaven and Healing, and more info on PH.

The picture on the left is Aubrie Starr, the one on the right is Alexah. Both are far too young to have a fatal disease like PH, but they do. There is no cure for PH short of a heart/lung transplant and by the time you qualify for that, it is often too late.

Please pray for a cure for PH, pray for Trudy, and pray for these two precious little girls.        #PH

Hope and Pray PHor Aubrie Starr and a Cure Phor Pulmonary Hypertension

Aubrie Starr is about one year old and suffers from a terrible disease called Pulmonary Hypertension. PH is a significant increase in blood pressure only between the lungs and the heart. Untreated, PH will destroy the right ventricle of the heart within 2 or 3 years resulting in death. Careful treatment can allow some patients to live for ten to twenty years.


The only 'cure' right now is a complete lung transplant, and often that has to coincide with a complete heart transplant. Most doctors and most hospitals know little about PH, consequently, it is frequently mis-diagnosed and poorly or wrongly treated.

There is one other cure not listed in the annals of medicine, and that is prayer. My wife was diagnosed with PH two years ago. Last year, I was pressed by God to take her to an event involving some dear old Christian friends and ask them to pray for her. I did, they did, and my wife was instantly healed - confirmed by two specialists one month and 6 months later.

On her Facebook page my wife has a friend who went into septic shock, died and went to Heaven, but returned to life with no renal damage whatsoever. Read her amazing story here.

So, God is still in the healing business, which is why I am putting these updates from Aubrie's mom on my blog. I'm asking you to take a minute or two and pray for this delightful little girl, and also to pray PHor a cure for PH.

Note: Aubrie suffers from chronic pneumonia as well as PH. She had been in to see a specialist just two days earlier. He, I believe, ran numerous tests on her.

Aubrie's mom:
Well I took Aubrie to get her synagis shot. While in there she began to breathe super fast working hard to breathe. The nurse pulled someone in there to look at her. We transferred to a physicians room. She had chest X-rays and he called her pulmonologist. 

Some of Aubrie's results just came in, literally at that moment. 

Her bronchoscope has already shown she has a bacteria infection in her lungs and she is aspirating into her lungs. We are waiting for the culture to be complete but for now we are treating these with antibiotics for a month and she is going back on antacids. 

God put all this into place at the right moment with the right people! 

My baby's going to be getting better, I know it, I have faith, God's got this!!!

I Love It When People Listen to God

This is a follow-up to: Listening to the heart of God

At a dinner just before Christmas, an amazing young Christian man told me that I was under 'tremendous' spiritual attack. I agreed with him without hesitation. It has to do with my other blog (see the link above), and maybe my soon-to-be-published book, and maybe, also, my wife's ministry with Pulmonary Hypertension sufferers. See: God answers prayer

At any rate, this past weekend it became obvious that the attack had expanded to include some of my children. Two of our children on consecutive days suffered significant trauma in their lives. It became obvious that we needed people praying for us.

However, we were too sick to go to church Sunday, and I was too sick to go to the intercessory prayer meeting that I usually attend on Monday evening. I was thinking that I would have to wait for Saturday night before finding people to pray for us.

Then the phone rang. It was a friend from the apartment building we just moved out of. She and another good friend had felt that they were supposed to call a prayer meeting for Thursday evening to pray for my wife and I and our ministries.

Wow! That's listening to God! 

I am quite looking forward to what He is going to do. God doesn't call a prayer meeting for fun; it's very likely that He plans to do something. I'll report back Friday or Saturday.

Meanwhile, if you could think of us occasionally in your prayers, it would be greatly appreciated.

Amazing Testimonies of Heaven and God's Miraculous Healing

Below is an exchange on Facebook where my wife, Patricia, has a lot of PH friends. My wife was instantly healed of PH when a group of friends and I prayed for her. The story is on the link just below. 

I post it to give glory to God Who still heals today, and to give hope to those who are dealing with chronic problems. Don't give up hope. Whether your healing comes in this world or the next, it will come if you believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.

Meanwhile, please pray phor a cure for PH. There are way too many people suffering and dying from this horrible disease.

Patricia McFarland-Myers -Yesterday as I stood in line at the Post Office I was overwhelmed by God's Grace. 2 yrs ago I could not stand in line. I was in a Wheelchair. 1 yr. ago I had the incurable disease PH (Pulmonary Hypertension).

We moved back to B.C. to be closer to more family...after Gary & friends prayed Drs. are saying they can't find it. See full story.

2 days ago either our son Bob or Hubby & I had no place to live after Christmas. (We are using his small cute apt.) I stood in line at the Post office to send a very modest rent to a young man in England. We will be house sitting his beautiful furnished high-rise apt. for possibly the next 6 yrs. Humbled by Gods Grace. I feel like Tye Pennington had just yelled "Move that Bus!"

For those of you who don't know, my PHriend who posted above Alice Jaehne has a great experience too. She was all but dead 3 months ago. She was on life support...She saw Heaven. 4/5days later she was back at home. God is listening. If you don't think so. .just ask Him.
about an hour ago via mobile · Edited · Like


Alice Marie Jaehne - Hello, I am the ph friend Patricia is referring to.

On Sept 30 my husband called 911 and my last memory was him running down the hall for the phone, next memory I was in a place so bright it was absolutely stunning! I knew I was in heaven, my brother died in 2012, he was with me, he had become a quadriplegic 10 yrs ago when he rolled his big rig to avoid what he thought was a card load of kids! His voice was barely a whisper with all the tubes, but in heaven when he talked to me it was his voice before the accident, I was just stunned, then I heard another voice telling me it was not my time!

Then I woke up and it was 4 days later, I was still on the life support and failed the first breathing test, 24 hours later I passed on day 5 and got off the breathing machine and went home on day 6. I had gone into renal failure and had full blown sepsis shock and the dr. told my husband if they could bring me back I would be on dialysis the remainder of my life. 

We know the Lord was working with those dr's because they were in shock that when I woke they tested my kidneys and today I do not have even 1 percent of kidney damage. PRAISE GOD! I looked up full blown sepsis shock and its not pretty but for me to have full working kidneys and come off life supports also is truly a miracle, not to mention getting to see a glimpse if heaven. 

So for any that are not sure if there is a God or heaven Patricia McFarland and I can tell you there is and the Lord was with us both, Patricia's miracle just touches my heart so deeply, it shows how powerful prayer is and that God listens to us all no matter how big or small! I know that people on here were praying for me, and my husband by my side praying, I want to thank you all because your prayers worked and I am very grateful!


Velma Jean Ettlin God is so great and I do love when we get yes but some times he says no with the same love.
I experienced a miracle healing of a blown disk in my lower back in 1975 and a no when the disk in my neck blew. Later God did heal me thru a dr and surgery. He taught me to praise with a yes and to praise louder with a no. We dont always get a yes but God is in control.
about a minute ago via mobile · Like

Velma Jean Ettlin I write this for those that have prayed and didn't get a yes. Just know God always hears and answers for your best.

More of What God Did

See "God Answers Prayer" in the July archive for the rest of the story.

This is what the Lord spared my wife from when He healed her in March. Many of Pat's PH friends spend as much time in the hospital as they do at home. Many hospitals in the US don't know how to treat PH and some will flat-out refuse to admit them. Despite her sickness, Trudy works relentlessly to raise money for PH research while raising her young children. God bless her and her family.

Trudy Seidel 
As most of you know I was diagnosed April of 2012, with Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, which means the professionals have NO idea why I was "lucky" enough to get it.
It sounds fairly simple, like High blood pressure which is able to be controlled. The problem is it isn't that simple and it cant be cured, not even controlled very easily; however, it can be treated. "Pulmonary hypertension is a simplified name for a complex health problem—continuous high blood pressure in the pulmonary artery in the lungs, resulting in an enlarged heart which can lose its ability to pump.

My current treatment involves the following: I have a Hickman catheter (which I've already had to get replaced due to a defect), which is a intravenous line in my chest going to my heart that provides me with life saving medicine; I have to make my medicine every 24 hours). Besides my IV meds (Remodulin, which bears many miserable and reoccurring side effects so I take more meds to lessen them), I take Adcirca (another lung med again causing side effects, so more and different meds for those), Digoxin, (a drug used to treat congestive heart failure that I now have due to PH), plus a long list of other medicines that I have to take to fight off all the side effects of the PH drugs.

'Come On Charlie Brown, Kick the Football'

My wife has been recovering from knee surgery, Pulmonary Hypertension, fibromyalgea, etc., etc. for several months now, and in that time she has set as a goal to get up in the morning, get dressed, and walk the dog. It hasn't happened yet!

This morning I came out of the bathroom and was getting ready to walk the dog when Pat announces that she will walk the dog. I stand there in stunned silence. Do I believe her? Is this the appropriate time to laugh? I notice that she is already dressed and my heart fairly skips a beat.

"I think I'll go to the mall and graze for Christmas presents," she announces. "But I'm going to take my (brand new never-been-used) walker and I need you to come down to the truck and show me how to fold it up." I'm getting a little suspicious now, but do as I'm asked.

At the truck, she folds the walker with my instructions, puts it in the back seat of the truck, gets in the truck and drives away. I'm standing there with the dog who still hasn't been walked. I'm thoroughly identifying with Charlie Brown as Lucy pulls the football away for the nteenth time.

As she leaves she asks me to pray for her for wisdom. Suddenly, the flesh rises up and revenge fills my heart. "It's pretty early in the morning to be asking God for a miracle," I proclaim, feeling a little smug. She just laughs as I walk the dog.

What God Did

The message on our shirts is to pray for a cure for PH - Pulmonary hypertension. My wife, Patricia, was diagnosed with PH last fall. Read what God did when we prayed: God Answers Prayer (below), then come back and read this update from her Facebook page:

Patricia McFarland-Myers

There are no words to express how grateful I am to God for being tired. Just plain tired from doing so much. We say Pray Phor a Cure, I was blessed enough to get one. With PH ( Pulmonary Hypertension) I was exhausted to the core. Could do very little. Asked my hubby for help with laundry, shopping, dinner, tea, to drive me places, to go with me because I was afraid I would pass out if left alone. Today I am tired, because I did dishes, spent 2 hrs at McDonalds play place again yesterday with the grandkids. Shopped for a sprinkler in 90 degree heat, watched the kiddlets play in it and grilled dinner for the family. (1st time in years) I stop all day long and thank my Lord and ask Why Me? The only answer I get is that He is no respecter of persons and what he did for me he can do for others. We need a cure people, We need you to Join us and Pray for a Cure Please!

God Answers Prayer

This is a copy of a post on my other blog "Save A Child from Sexual Abuse." Thought everyone should read it.

Almost exactly one year ago, my wife, Patricia, had knee replacement surgery. After the surgery she developed pulmonary embolisms (blood clots in the lungs). Over the summer this turned into pulmonary hypertension – a significant increase in the blood pressure as it flows from the lungs to the heart. This causes damage to the left ventricle of the heart, and, if left untreated, will usually kill you in 2 to 3 years.

Pat was diagnosed in October, last year, and as fall turned into winter and winter ever-so-reluctantly into spring, the symptoms worsened. In late winter, I had to take her to emergency because of atrial fibrillation.

In early spring we were in Edmonton. We were invited to a senior’s function at the church we had attended a few years ago. Several days before the function, I felt God impress on me that we should attend and ask some of the seniors to pray for Pat.

On the day of the event Pat was having a very difficult time breathing. As we got ready to go, it was a question of whether we go to the event or to emergency. We decided to go to emergency. As we headed to the truck I was questioning God, "Didn't You want me to take her to the event so to have people pray for her? If you do, then You will have to make it happen, otherwise, we are going to emergency." Immediately, Pat announced that the fresh air seemed to help a lot. So, we went to the seniors function instead, promising to go to emerg if she has trouble breathing again.

Pat was fine through the event but as it was ending the breathing difficulty returned. I asked the remaining seniors to pray for my wife. A half dozen of us, all very good friends and very committed Christians laid hands on her and prayed fervent, heart-felt prayers. During the prayer, Pat felt something in her chest, as though she was doing an interior sit-up. Immediately, she could breathe much better.

What had God done? She suffered very little in the way of breathing problems since but still had considerable fatigue and some other symptoms. So, she went through another battery of tests with a new Respirologist here in Abbotsford. Yesterday, we got the results: Pulmonary Hypertension is completely gone! The symptoms she is still feeling are probably from the medication she is on. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.

God answers prayers, sometimes in spectacular ways. Prayer should be our first resort. Your prayers can make the world a better place. Please pray.

What are We Doing?

These days, my wife, Patricia, does a lot of ministry over the internet to people suffering from Pulmonary Hypertension. She is involved in a closed Facebook group with men and women from around the world who have PH.

PH is an elevated blood pressure between the lungs and the heart. This damages he left ventricle of the heart. If untreated it usually is fatal within 2 or 3 years. If treated, you might get 10 or 20. It affects people of all ages, both sexes, and even little babies. It manifests in difficulty getting enough air to be able to function without great fatigue and dizziness. There are numerous other symptoms involved in PH.

A lot of doctors and even hospitals will not treat PH patients because they know so little about it. The only known cure is a lung transplant. Very often, by the time a PH'r is sick enough to qualify for a lung transplant, they often need a heart transplant too.

Some of the stories of these people, especially the young mothers, are both heart-breaking and, at times, uplifting because of their determination, courage and faith. Patricia offers them a listening ear, a sympathetic heart, and, very often, good, practical advice.

BTW, Pat was diagnosed with PH last fall, and today she is PH free. Read about her miraculous healing at: http://northwoodssaveachild.blogspot.ca/2013/05/god-answers-prayer.html. As I write this, Pat is giving the testimony of her healing to the women's group in the church in which she was healed.


As for me, I have been slogging away at learning to play the guitar. After a year and a half, I am still slogging - at times sounding not too terrible, at other times sounding just dreadful. Nevertheless, I improve slowly and continuously.

I also have to re-write part of the book I finished more than a year and a half ago. I decided it needed a better ending and asked God to give me one. He is doing just that, not only with Patricia's healing, but with the other project that I have been working on.

That project is called, Save A Child (from sexual abuse). After deciding to research the number of children being sexually abused (as I was), the answer was shocking and horrifying. For instance, at least 200 million girls will be sexually molested before they turn 18 years old, most of them repeatedly.

That is one in five girls globally, while some statistics show that in America, it may be one in four. To my mind, this is one of the worst atrocities man has afflicted himself with since the dawn of creation.

Searching the internet to see church involvement in doing something about this horror leads only to the church (Catholic mostly) being a part of the problem rather than a cure.

I'm calling on Christians to pray about this which is the least we can do. Please see: http://northwoodssaveachild.blogspot.ca/2013/06/save-child-from-sexual-abuse.html
for further information.

The blog has been viewed in ten countries nearly 400 times after less than 5 weeks of operation. We need it to go viral for the sake of the children.

God bless

Gary