By Lori Ehde
While many families are hoping everyone will like their gifts this year, Pastor Tom Mabe's family is hoping for one thing: that he can be out of the intensive care unit by Christmas.
Mabe has been fighting for his life in Sioux Valley Hospital since he collapsed in his home Dec. 6 from an aortic aneurysm.
According to his family, he's still very weak, but he's making "baby steps" toward improvement.
"Anything's better than the roller coaster we were on last week," said Mabe's daughter, Shanna Golden.
After surgery on Thursday, Dec. 7, to bypass the damaged aorta, Mabe improved quickly, and his family was encouraged by the weekend.
But by Monday, he was back on the ventilator after his lungs filled with fluid and his organs started shutting down.
Gaining strength from the ventilator, he quickly improved, and by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, he was strong enough to breathe on his own.
That lasted until Friday, when it became apparent his body needed help breathing again. He was placed back on the ventilator until Wednesday.
Doctors can't make a long-term prognosis for Mabe at this point, but his family does understand that when he's off the ventilator, he's strong enough to make it on his own, and when he's on it, that means he needs help.
"They told us it was going to be like this," Shanna said. "They told us we can't be discouraged about the ventilator. He just needs his rest, and he breathes easier this way."
The good news, though, is that he doesn't have a temperature and all his organs are functioning normally.
The ventilator at first was providing 100 percent oxygen for Mabe's blood, but that soon dropped to 45 percent, and now heÕs using it only to help expand his lungs.
Shanna said the family is learning more than they need to know about modern medicine.
"There are so many complications that can come up," she said. "The human body is so intricate. This affects the kidneys, and that affects the lungs ... It's amazing."
He did undergo a minor surgery over the weekend to drain a pocket of fluid that was pressing on his left lung and part of his heart.
Doctors can still hear some fluid in his lungs, but Shanna said that procedure has provided some relief.
She also said he's received more blood as well, to help bolster his strength.
When he was admitted to the emergency room, he received so much blood, that Sioux Valley approached the family about seeking volunteer donors with O-positive blood to replenish the supply at the regional blood bank.
This is reportedly routine when any patient requires a substantial blood transfusion.
When the call went out to the First Baptist Church congregation, word also got out to the Luverne community, and more than 100 volunteers have signed up to give blood.
"One of the nurses said to me, 'On behalf of the Sioux Falls Regional Blood Bank, we want to thank you for helping us out.' It is a wonderful thing," Shanna said, "because obviously this is the time of year they run very low on blood."
The Sioux Falls Regional Blood Bank team will be in Luverne on Dec. 27 to accept donations.
Shanna said the family continues to hinge hopes on the tiny steady improvements, and she said her dad is still overwhelmed by all the prayers and support from the community.
"He's getting lots of cards - Christmas cards and get-well cards. People have been so wonderful," she said. "Mom will read a few to him at a time, but he gets choked up, and he'll motion to her that that's enough for now."
As long as he's in intensive care, Shanna said the family has to be careful not to let his blood pressure rise too much, and anything that makes him emotional will do that.
"We're praying he's out of intensive care by Christmas," Shanna said. "The nurse said that's a good goal, but they're not guaranteeing anything."
A fund has been set up locally to help defray medical expenses for Mabe and his family. Donations are being accepted at First Baptist Church, Minnwest Bank, First Farmers and Merchants Bank and First National Bank.