Jim needs serious prayers and I ask you to please make your congregation aware of this need. When he was active duty for the first 14 years, he was exposed to a deadly chemical called Trichloroethylene (TCE) and now has full blown Cirrhosis and will need a liver transplant in the very near future. He almost died twice due to bleeding out and has had many surgeries to correct it and blood transfusions. We went to a transplant class yesterday and he will be put on the list for the transplant probably next month. The wait for a liver is 3 to 6 months! This is the greatest challenge of our lives so please pray for him and me as I struggle with this everyday. He is by far my best friend and I hate to see him suffer. He is now considered "Unemployable" and not permitted to work. We are trying to get his VA disability as it was already denied once. Hard to believe, huh? After 20 years serving his country we have to fight for this right. It hasn't been easy. We are loosing our home and will move in with my sister for a while until after his disability comes in which could take a year. I lost my job after 5 years working front office administration for an Ob/Gyn private practice that was going through financial difficulties. They had to let the last two people hired go and I was one of them. Now I stay home and take care of Jim and take him to his weekly many doctor's appointments and procedures. I have Fibromyalgia and it has flared up so bad in the recent months causing me a great deal of pain mostly in my legs and back where I had my surgery.

Brenda Sandefur Leonard
Abingdon, VA