Dear Family and Friends,
I have some bad news and some good news. So, I want to give the bad first. Lorry had a heart attach Thursday morning at 1am. He woke me up at 2am and said I think we need to go to the hospital. His left shoulder and left arm had pain shooting down it. He was also sick at his stomach. We had curry for dinner that night and he thought at first he had indigestion. He would not let me call an ambulance and he would not let me drive. We are about five minutes from the hospital. They had a new person at the front desk and she wanted the paper work filled out before they would take him back. They also had an ambulance sitting there when we arrived and they had brought in a man who had been shot five times. They started with the cardiogram and then took blood for testing and then put in an iv. He was moved to a ward because they had no beds in CCU. He was moved to CCU about 8am. They gave him aspirin, blood thinners and Lorry said he felt the blood clot move on through. They said they wanted to stabilize him and then take him by ambulance to Durban. We went to Durban Friday at noon. I followed the ambulance in our car. When they were getting ready to take him by ambulance they told me I would need 12,000ran when we got there. I said I don't have that much and I can only get 3,000ran out a day. Surin who works at the hospital and has join the church said don't worry I will take care of it for you. I know just have to go in and pay the bill once I can get it all out of the bank. They would not take the credit card. I had to give the hospital here 10,750ran that same day. Then on Friday the wanted another 25,000ran. I have to see if we still owe more. Everything here is cash. When we got to Durban the hospital there wanted 69,000ran. They finally took a letter from the mission President that guaranteed payment. They will now bill the insurance company. The hospital in Durban is only three years old and is up to date. Lorry went in and was never out for the procedure. They go in the femur artery and once he had a look he put in two stints and brought him back to the room. I knew then he was going to be just fine. This procedure was only one hour. They kept him until Sunday because we were so far from Durban. His doctor was Dr. Khan. I drove him back yesterday. We got here about 1pm. We both took a short nap and just sat around. I have him taking a nap now. Now, the good news is he is going to be just fine. We go back April 25th for the doctor to check him. He can't fly for six weeks. He looks good and he is still cracking jokes. I told the ambulance driver not to loose me in Durban because I didn't know my way at all. He slowed down there and I stayed right close. When we went through PMB, they were doing road construction and I really got separated from them. I had a semi in front of me and he was going very slow. It took me a long time to catch up.
The senior couples in Durban were practically fighting over caring for me. The DeLaMar's had gone to Richards Bay and let me stay in there place. Sister Sweifel made breakfast for me Saturday and the Henninger's made breakfast for me Sunday. They took me to the hospital and brought me back. The Gunderson's brought me back Saturday. I felt like a princess with so much fuss.
The best thing is how blessed we were through this whole deal. Having Surin at the Ladysmith hospital helped Lorry received special attention. We had met a friend of his and we found out she is the head nurse in CCU. She never left his side for two hours. Making sure things were being done right. I called President VonStetten from PMB and he said where are you staying. I said I don't know I am just getting to Durban. He said don't worry we'll take care of it. Since DeLaMar's were going out of town they offered me their place. The Lord prepared a way for both of us.
Lorry had no warning. He has felt great. We thought because of all the test he had before we came on our missions he was fine. The doctor in Durban said the test do not always show any problems. He has doctors with a really good bed side manners. They have talked with him and explained everything. After the stints were put in he said I think in time your heart can heal itself. When he check out, the doctor said it was already showing signs of healing itself. The attach was on the right side of the heart.
That is the best I can explain what has been happening. Lorry said he was going to drive home. I told him we were going to have our first fight and it was going to be a big one because I was going to win. He didn't push, he got in on the passenger side. I hope he continues to be that good of a patient for me.
I went grocery shopping today and have bought chicken, vegetables, and fruit. We will have our big meal at lunch and a light meal in the evening.
We have to get a young lady down to Ladysmith on Wednesday for the President to set her apart for her mission and then put her on the bus to Joburg.
We bought her bus ticket today. I am still driving and I will drive tomorrow.
We are truly blessed at we have served our mission here in South Africa. We are protected everyday we drive anywhere. They drive worse than in the state of Washington. They seem to never obey any traffic laws. Plus the police can see them do something and not even stop them. They don't get out of the way for the police or the ambulance. It is scary sometimes. The pedestrian does not have the right a way. The cars have the right a way. You get in the middle of the street and hope the traffic will pass by so you can get on across the street.
It is transfers tomorrow. Guess what, we are out of transfers this time. The President said it is already arranged and you are doing nothing. We have one Elder going home to the states. He flys out tomorrow. We are getting three Elders and two are just getting moved. The work goes on, no matter. It is so fun to interact with the young Elders. They have loved Lorry's cooking and his jokes. They stopped by today and were so glad he still had his sense of humor.
I am not going to let him read this news letter. He might delete it. I am going to finish and send this one off. We love you and know the Lord Blesses us when we obey his commandments.
With Love,
Elder & Sister Hudson
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