How To View The Funeral

Here are some details about how to view the funeral if you are having problems.

1. Type in the website, www.westcog.org

2. Scroll down to right below the green box about half way down that says welcome.

3. You will see the the words Rheba Livingston Funeral. To the right of it you will see a little video camera icon (looks like a square and a triangle).

4. Click on the video camera icon and the video should start.

5. If you would like to view the video in a larger format, at the bottom of the video on the right will be a little square on a big square. Click on that icon and you will have a new window open up with the video larger.

6. A question will come up about whether you want to open a new window, click OK.

7. If you would like to see it in full screen, at the bottom of the video screen on the right is a small square with four dots in each corner. Click that button and you will have the video become full screen.

I hope this helps. The church did a really nice job in recording it. I want to thank Mike, Chris, and Scott for all their help.

Please be Patient

I know many of you are trying to see the service, but please be patient. It should be available by 4pm at www.westcog.org

Webcast of the Funeral

We will not be doing a live webcast of the funeral. However, at about 3pm EST, the service wil be available to watch at your convenience at www.westcog.org.

If you have any problems viewing it, please email me at mdlivingston@yahoo.com.

In Lieu of Flowers...

We are asking for donations to the following:

Johns Hopkins University
Comprehensive Transplant Center
600 N. Wolfe St.
Baltimore, MD 21205


Thank you.

Details for the Funeral

Funeral Arrangements for Mom will be as follows

Monday, September 8th
Viewing at Pritts Funeral Home (www.prittsfuneralhome.com/)
6-8pm

Tuesday, September 9th
Viewing at Westminster Church of God (www.westcog.org)
2-4pm and 6-8pm

Wednesday, September 10th
Viewing at Westminster Church of God
10am
Funeral Service at Westminster Church of God
11am
Graveside Service to follow at Evergreen Memorial Gardens


Also, we are 99% sure that we are going to be able to have the funeral service broadcasted live on the internet for those that will not be able to make the service. I will have more information about that on Monday or Tuesday.

Again, thank you for all your kind words and support. Mom was a remarkable person that touched so many lives. We love you all and appreciate your support.

Preliminary Funeral Arrangements

We first want to thank everyone for their comforting words and prayers.

Our preliminary arrangements are to have viewings at Pritt's Funeral Home in Westminster on Monday and Tuesday with the service being Wednesday at the Westminster Church of God (www.westcog.org) at 11. This is still tenative and we will give an update as soon as things are finalized.

Mom received her healing

It is with sadness and joy that I tell you mom's progress ended tonight as she received her ultimate healing as she went home to be with the Lord. I will post more info later. Please pray for us the family.

Mom Moving To ICU

They just moved mom to the cardiac ICU. They have her hooked up to the maching that does the breathing and pumping of the heart for her. They want her heart to rest through the night. We are praying that God will strengthen her heart through the night and that by morning, her heart will be strong enough to beat on its own. Please pray for my family. Everyone is struggling terribly. Pray that we get some rest and that God's peace will cover all of us.

Thank you for all your prayers and words of encouragement. This will probably be the last post of the night, unless we get some startling news.

God bless you all.

Urgent Prayer Needed Again

We met with the head surgeon. He said the liver is done and fine, but the heart has been hurt tremendously. In fact, the heart stopped in surgery again. They have her on a heart machine now to pump it for her. They say the next half hour is critical. If it does not pump on its own, they will need to put a heart pump on her throughout the night and keep her in cardiac critical care. They say she has maybe a 20% chance of making through the night. We know God can do a miracle, so pray that God will do it.

Details on what happened

Now that we are a little pass the scare, here are the details.

The doctor called us into a private room (that is not a good sign right there) and proceeded to tell us that she developed a large blood clot that went to the heart. They were actually able to see it enter the heart. It filled the complete right side of the heart. She said that they were amazed that her heart did not even flinch. As the clot enters the heart, that is when it is most dangerous and she did not even flinch!!! The doctor said she had a very strong heart.

Because of the clot, they had to suspend the work on the liver and kidney and immediately call in the cardiac surgeon to cut open her chest, place a whole in the heart and try to remove the clot. It was a very critical procedure (you are probably saying, well, duh!!!!). There other concern was that since the new liver was not completely hooked up, the liver could suffer damage enough, that her body would not be able to function with it. They had to get the clot quickly. Finally, because of this complication, their goal became to get the clot, hook up the liver, and get her stable. They will patch her up temporarily and stabilize her overnight in ICU under heavy sedation. Then, in the morning, go in and replace the kidney and finalize the surgery.

The doctor also said that she has done over 50 of these and she has never seen the liver that was removed look so bad. She said is was smaller than her fist and shrivelled up. She was amazed that mom was even walking before the surgery.

Well, we know that God has answered prayer in SOOOOOO many ways. The clot was removed within 15-20 minutes and they began to immediately hook the new liver up. We are waiting for the good news from that now.

Then, they will get her to ICU for the night. Thank you for all your prayers. The doctor says she is stable now but there are still many risks. Continue to pray.

Again, thank you.

Praise the Lord

They just called and said they got the clot out and are back working on attaching the liver. It is still serious but praise the Lord for the answer to prayer.

Urgent prayer is needed!

I am having to give the quick version here, but mom has developed a blod clot that has gone into the heart. They have brought in the cardiac surgeon and are trying to remove it now. Please pray. This next hour is critical.

Correction to last update

We found out that they are actually working to put in the new liver, not the kidney yet.

5:30pm update

Got an update. They said they were putting the kidney in butthe timeline did t not seem right so we are waiting to hear back as to exactly where they are. Wanted to give everyone an update though.

The pics are of us just sitting around trying to past the time.

Latest Update

The doctor came out and told us that things are going well. They are still taking out the old liver and said that it is a slow process and that we can expect a long night. He said mom was doing good and that it was going better than they expected. We praise God for he good report.

Noon Update

We just got the update that the surgery is still ongoing and that mom is doing well.

Just Starting Surgery

They just let us know that they are just starting the surgery and that she is doing fine.

Things are moving fast

Well, things have moved fast. They came to get mom for what we thought would be pre-op. However, they took her to the operating room so we had to say our goodbyes. She is in the Lord's hands now. Please pray for her.

They said they will give us updates every two hours.

Waiting for them to take mom

Sitting in mom's room waiting for them to take her to surgery. So far everything is a go. I will update the blog everytime something new happens. Keep checking in frequently.

Surgery will be in the morning

We have not seen the doctor yet, but they did bring mom a clear liquid dinner and told her that the surgery would be in the morning. So tonight we will pray and try to get some rest.

The doctor came in while I was writing this and told us that the person is a normal size young person that is a perfect match. Their concern is the size again. It looks like things will be ok though. She will begin at 6am and the surgery will start about 8am and last about 12 hours. They have shared with us that with this being her 3rd transplant that this is the surgery equivalent of high stakes poker. The liver is going to be good, but the complications of surgery can be difficult. Please pray.

Checking In

We are at the hospital and have gotten checked in. Mom is in Nelson 754. Waiting to hear from the doctor now.

We got a call from Hopkins

Mom got a call just a moment ago from Hopkins that they have a liver and kidney for her. We are heading down today. They said the surgery will be either tonight or tomorrow. They are trying to get the other organs that will be donated lined up with others.

So, we are asking for your prayers. I will keep you updated as things progress.

Mom made a decision

Mom talked to Memphis today and told them that she is going to wait here for Hopkins. If nothing happens in the nex few weeks, then she will reevaluate.

Asking that you pray for mom to have peace in the decision she made.