ASHEVILLE, N.C., Feb. 13, 2008
Doctor: Billy Graham Alert After Surgery
Evangelist In Fair Condition After Brain Surgery At North Carolina Hospital
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Billy Graham, right, arrives with his son, Franklin Graham, left, for a memorial service for Ruth Graham in Montreat, N.C., Saturday, June 16, 2007. (AP)
Graham was listed in fair condition at Asheville's Mission Hospitals after the 28-minute procedure. "He's on a soft diet tonight, will be on a regular diet tomorrow and should be up and walking around," said Larry Ross, Graham's spokesman.
Dr. Ralph C. Loomis installed a new valve in the shunt on Wednesday that can be programmed externally to maintain desired fluid levels and pressure.
Graham was expected to remain there until doctors are able to program the valve to properly regulate the pressure.
"He was bright and alert and conscious immediately after surgery and called me by name," Loomis said in a statement.
The charismatic Southern Baptist minister has a variety of health concerns that have confined him largely to his mountainside home in the hamlet of Montreat for several years. Among the concerns was hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid within the brain that can cause symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease.
In 2000, doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., installed a shunt that drains excessive fluid from the brain through a small tube. The tube runs down into the abdominal cavity, where the fluid is absorbed by his body. A recent checkup found the shunt was no longer adequately controlling the fluid in his brain.
Graham, 89, was hospitalized at Mission for nearly two weeks last year after experiencing intestinal bleeding caused by an arteriovenous malformation, a tangle of small blood vessels in the lining of the colon. He also has suffered from prostate cancer and macular degeneration.
His wife, Ruth Bell Graham, died in June following a lengthy illness.
Several of Graham's children, including daughters Anne and Ruth and son Franklin, were at the hospital with their father on Wednesday.
"Everything I've seen is just gratitude that things went so well," said Mission Hospitals spokeswoman Merrell Gregory.
Graham has preached in person to more than 210 million people worldwide in a career spanning six decades. His crusade-based ministry packed stadiums with believers and put Graham in place to befriend every U.S. president since Harry Truman and become a confidant to many.
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- everyone clings to life here as long as they can because no one really knows what it is like on the other side of this life...only what the Bible tells us and it sounds heavenly!
Posted by dtsingin
Do they allow dogs? It won''t be heavenly without dogs. By the way, I agree...NO ONE REALLY KNOWS! - Reply to this comment
- We would have all lived forever here on this earth if it hadn''t been for the garden of eden...everyone clings to life here as long as they can because no one really knows what it is like on the other side of this life...only what the Bible tells us and it sounds heavenly!
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- Billy Graham has led more people to the Lord than any other minister in modern history.
Posted by singinrick
He should be arrested! - Reply to this comment
- I can''t wait to hear how much money God told Billy he needed to collect while he was under.
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- Why didn''t Benny Hinn just lay his hands on him and cure him? Benny can heal any ailment you have. He does it on TV all the time.
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- If heaven is real and such a great place, how come people like Billy Graham and other christians try so desperately to hang on to life on earth? And isn''t it funny that when they pray for someone to get better they thank god if he(s) does and say it''s "god''s will" if he(s) doesn''t...so basically if everything is "god''s will" why waste time praying if he already has everything planned out? Religion is for those afraid to face the reality of non-existence after death.
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- No, I don''t really believe stuff like this, I just think conspiracy theories are funny.
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- Oh, really? Check this site out:
http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/deception_billy_graham.htm - Reply to this comment
- Billy Graham is the only Christian Minister that truly lives what he preaches...no one has ever dug up any dirt on him..he is truly a Godly Man.
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- I wonder if Blue Cross/Blue Shield, will cancel him out for this pre-exsisting condition?
Probably not,,even though, he has more money than God, And could afford it out of his own pocket! - Reply to this comment
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