Prayers, Family and Hope

My cousin was admitted to the hospital  last tuesday 

(after coughing up blood all night)

it's been a roller coaster of a week

we almost lost him wednesday night

below are the updates from Lexi (his sister in law)

we are grateful for the hospital staff who are tending to him,

the prayers that have been given on his behave,

for the opportunity we have to spend time with family during this time

For those of you that don't know, Ben has been diagnosed with Wegener's disease, which is an autoimmune disease that mainly attacks the lungs and kidneys. Thankfully it hasn't attacked his kidneys yet, so they are going to put him on dialysis to prevent that. However his body has attacked his lungs with full force. He was on an oxygen mask until last night when his oxygen levels kept dropping. They had to quickly go through his side to put a tube in his lungs to drain some fluid out. They also sedated and intubated him to help bring more oxygen to his lungs. They have put him in a prone bed, which is a bed that rotates, hoping to move the liquid around in his lungs to create more room for oxygen to come in. That, along with putting him on nitric oxide, seems to have brought his levels back up to nearly where they should be. As far as today, they are doing a plasma exchange, hoping to take out some of the bad antibodies and put in good ones that won't attack his lungs. They will also try to ween him off nitric oxide. He is in critical condition and needs all the prayers we can give him.


Ben has been pretty stable all day today. The respiratory therapist is still very concerned about his lungs. There really hasn't been much change. Please continue to pray for him, and especially for his lungs to heal. Ben's sister Nora and her husband Josh drove down from Moscow, Idaho to be with us and Ben. Thank you so much for your love and prayers! Again, we feel your love, and we know Ben does too.


Thank you so so much everyone for your prayers, love, and support. It is nice to know Ben has so many supporters and cheerleaders! As far as an update, he has started some chemotherapy. The nurses have said each day will be a rollercoaster from here on out. He will make some progression and also take some steps back. He will remain on the rotoprone bed for the next several days. He's still not in the clear yet, so please keep praying. Also know that he cannot have any visitors. To be thoughtful of the hospital staff, we ask that you either call one of us, or just keep checking this page for updates. Again, thank you so much. We feel your love.

On Tuesday March 26 Ben was admitted to the hospital. For several weeks he had a cold that would not get better and then he had some joint swelling and pain all over his body. He has been diagnosed with a very rare autoimmune disorder called Wegener's disease. His own antibodies have been attacking his lungs and caused severe swelling of the blood vessels in his lungs. He is in critical condition as they have him on a ventilator to assist him in breathing. They have begun treatments on him to stop the antibodies from attacking his body. It is going to take some time and the doctors tell us he will have lots of ups and downs during the next several days. Please join us as we unite together to support Ben during this time. Thank you all so much! Ben really can feel all your love and prayers.--- Ben's Family

Saturday night, March 30: Today Ben stayed pretty stable throughout the day. It is still going to take several days for them to see if the treatments are effective. It is still very serious for Ben. Everyday for the next little while will be a rollercoaster for us and him. The nurse said that Ben is the most critical patient in the hospital currently. Please please continue to fast and pray for Ben.

Sunday night, March 31: Ben's family has been feeling more hopeful and optimistic for his recovery. He is making very small baby steps in the right direction. There is positive indication that the treatments are beginning to work. They will be doing more testing this week. We thank all of those who fasted for Ben today and the past few days. His family really appreciates that and has felt encouraged from those prayers. 

Many of you have asked what you can do to help. We think it would be a great thing for Ben to wake up to a huge pile of notes and letters encouraging him. He won't wake up for several more days or even weeks, but when he does he will know how much we love him! So if you would like to send Ben a card or letter, we will be collecting them by hand, email, or you can send them to us. If you would like our address, please contact me.