Steady Recovery

I received an e-mail update from Kevin Diller about his visit with Jeff on Tuesday.

I'll let Kevin give the update:

A few of us had the opportunity to visit with Jeff Tippner yesterday at the
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

As of yesterday he was still in the High Dependency Unit (HDU) primarily due to low oxygen levels. One thing that Jeff did not expect after the surgery was to have difficulty with his breathing and congestion in his lungs. This was discouraging for him, though he felt that he was making progress on that front and was looking forward to being moved out of the HDU.

Jeff appeared to be doing quite well. He had his typical Tippner wit
about him, he was eating full meals, walking and talking. He even mentioned
feeling that he could already sense some of the benefits of the surgery.

Visiting hours are 2:30-8pm and visitors may visit with Jeff in pairs. He really
appreciated seeing a familiar face.

Tuesday Morning

Mrs. Priest called and spoke to Jeff this morning. He is still in HDU (ward 112) and still having difficulty with his breathing. He will have to stay there until his lung clear.

The number for Jeff in the HDU is 011 44 131 242 1121.

Jeff's feeling a bit glum lately with the slow and difficult pace of his recovery and I know he would appreciate your prayers during this difficult time.

Out of ICU

On Sunday, Colleen and I and Kate and Ben went to visit Jeff. When we arrived, we were informed that they were just moving him from ICU (Intensive Care Unit) to the HDU (High Dependency Unit). [a good thing]

In the HDU patients are only allowed two visitors at a time. Kate and Ben went in first and spent 15 minutes with Jeff. They had a good conversation and Jeff said that he was very happy to receive company and said that he was looking forward to having more visitors.

Colleen and I went next and spent about 10 minutes visiting, as Jeff tired quite quickly. He was in good spirits and very lucid. He said that he was feeling much better on Sunday than he had on Saturday. As I mentioned earlier, Jeff was having difficulty with his breathing after surgery (hence the extra days in the ICU). The initial recovery appears quite draining.

I passed along all the good wishes and prayers that friends had forwarded and Jeff was very touched.

I expect that we will visit again later this week and I know that some of Jeff's friends from Divinity will be visiting him on Tuesday and friends from St Andrews church will see him on Friday.

I'll be sure to update soon.

Good Friday

As of Friday, Jeff is resting comfortably. The nurse said that he no longer needs the respirator and is breathing on his own. They expect to move him from the Intensive Care Unit back on to the ward where he'll stay for the first part of his recovery.

Surgery Went Well!

We received a call from Mrs. Priest yesterday evening.

She called the ward and the nurse told her that everything had gone according to plan and that Jeff was out of surgery and they were letting him sleep. Great news!

I'll post more information, as it comes in.

Maps!

Thanks to Kevin Diller, we have maps to the hospital.

Visiting Hours

For those of Jeff's friends and colleagues in this part of the world, I thought I'd post information on when and where to visit him post-op.

Jeff is allowed visitors beginning on Friday (the day after surgery).

He will be located in:

Ward 102/103 of The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
Little France
Old Dalkeith Road
Edinburgh

Visiting hours are from 2:30pm to 8:00pm, but avoid the dinner hour from 5-6pm.

The phone number for ward 102/103 is 011 44 (0) 1312421028.
For overseas calls: We are at Eastern Daylight Time (New York) + 5 hours.

Guest Blogging

Hello all,

I'm Ryan Parks and Jeff has asked that I post updates on his blog while he's in the hospital. If anyone out there has contact with Jeff and has an update that they would like me to post here, please e-mail me at rwp1@st-andrews.ac.uk. I should be getting updates on a daily basis and I will post them here as they come in.

Colleen and I had breakfast with Jeff Wednesday morning before he caught his train for Edinburgh. He was in great spirits and, as he put it, "looking forward to this adventure."

I will post more information as it becomes available.

Into the Silence

For more than three years I have developed certain habits of
the heart that I believe are critical for me as a Christian believ-
er who does academic biblical and theological research. It has
been important to me to grow in faith as well in stature as a
scholar.

Along with my own devotional time and involvment in the life
and ministry of a local church, I have made a habit of Morning
Prayer during the weekdays and the Thursday night Compline
service. I have participated in these ever since my first term
started way back in September, 2003. More recently I have
been enriched by Evening Prayer during the weekdays.

Each time of prayer takes place in an ancient and historic
church or chapel, but I always sense a fresh breath of the
Spirit. Day by day, week by week, I and various numbers of
companions seek the Lord by means of praise, prayer, saying
the Psalms, hearing Scripture, sometimes singing and hearing
the Scriptures sung, and silence. All this satisfies my unquench-
able hunger for God.

I can't get enough, so I always go back for more, day by day,
week by week, and even year by year. I have enjoyed my stud-
ies so much, but the various times of prayer have been the high-
point of my time here in St. Andrews. The times of prayer and
praise give a sense of order and structure to my day as well as
my life. Over the past three years, I sensed the slow but steady
effect of hearing the Word and praying to the Word in shaping
and molding my life. More like the steady drip of water than
a cascading torrent of water, the Word has changed me in ways
I do not always sense.

Where I sense this the most is at Compline, each Thursday
night at 10pm in an ancient medieval chapel. Through praise,
prayers, Psalms, thanksgiving, and Scripture we are able to
cry out to God and experience God's deliverance. It all ends
with two minutes of glorious silence, and then we leave in
silence. It is such blessedness to me. I yearn for and desire
such times of rich and hearty silence.

As I am on the eve of my surgery, I realize that I am eager
for it because I am going into the silence, a rather long, deep,
yet rich silence. I really can't wait. The past three years have
been shaped quite profoundly by Morning and Evening Prayers
and Compline. As a result, my heart is eager for the silence. Each
of the prayer services have times of silence built into them. So
my heart has been prepared for entering the silence.

What excites me is that my surgery is scheduled for Thursday,
a full day of Morning and Evening Prayer and Compline. My
heart has been shaped by the rhythm of Thursdays for over
three years now. At Morning Prayer, I should just be entering
surgery; during Evening Prayer, I should be out of surgery;
and during Compline and its final two minutes of silence, I
should be out of the surgery ordeal and entering into my own
time of silence. Pray for me, that I may enjoy a peaceful, rest-
ful, restorative, and redemptive period of silence, that I may
encounter our Lord, even in the silence.

Shalom, Jeff

The Heart of the Matter II-Surgery Date

Last night I arrived home still savouring a discussion on
grace at home group, and saw that I had received some
mail. In one packet I found a letter stating that the Car-
diac Surgery Staff was looking forward to welcoming me.

I am asked to report to the Cardiac Surgery Unit at the
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at 1:45 pm on Wednesday
18 October, 2006. Surgery is scheduled to take place the
next morning and could last into the afternoon.

I wondered how I would be notified; now I know. I will
share more in the days to come.

Shalom, JT

The Heart of the Matter

I will soon be undergoing serious open heart surgery.
After consultation with a cardiac surgeon in June my
name was placed on a waiting list for surgery to replace
the aortic root valve in my heart. Recently I was notified
that I can expect to be admitted to the Royal Infirmary
(that's quite an impressive name!) in Edinburgh, Scot-
land, in three or four weeks for the surgery. It is serious
open heart surgery but it is my breast bone, not the heart,
that will require six to eight weeks to heal. They have prom-
ised to have me up and walking two or three days after
the surgery.

The need for such surgery has not been unknown to me.
For more than twenty-five years doctors have told me
that I could expect to have my heart valve replaced some-
time in the future. It was never if I would need surgery,
but when. Recent tests revealed that my aortic root valve
has been dialating so rapidly within the past year that it
could put me at risk shortly. In June a heart surgeon to
whom I had been assigned looked at my test results and
strongly encouraged me to have the valve replacement sur-
gery as soon as possible.

In July I was notified that my name had been placed on
a waiting list for open heart surgery. The surgeon had
requested that I have surgery in August, but that month
came and went without any notification. Priority was giv-
en to people needing bypass surgery and emergency atten-
tion. It has been a bit hard waiting all this time for some
type of word.

On 4 October I was invited to the Infirmary-with-a-Sense-
of-Royalty for a pre-operation consultation. I was at the
brand new hospital for three and a half hours and received
an overview of what will happen during my surgery and re-
covery. I also took several tests that help them prepare for
my operation (I dutifully shared with them that I tend to
heal faster when I am well supplied with large quantities
of Dr Pepper and Mars bars).

I was very impressed with both the sense of competence
and professionalism of the medical staff as well as with
their care for the patients. I firmly believe that I am in
very good hands. Even though I left the hospital without
knowing a date for my operation, I was informed that it
should be within three or four weeks. But, again, I can do
nothing but wait. I am confident about having the surgery,
but I feel a bit overwhelmed by all that will soon be hap-
pening to me. I will be sharing more about this in the
days (or weeks?) to come while I await word about the
operation.

I ask for your prayers

Peace, Jeff T.

The Constant of Morning Prayer

As I start my fourth year here at the university I have ex-
perienced varying circumstances and various changes in
my life. But since only my second week here at the uni-
versity there has been one constant in my life; that one
constant has been attending Morning Prayer at the Uni-
versity Chapel.

If the university was in session and if I was in town, with
few exceptions, I was there at 8:45am, Monday through
Friday, for ten delightful minutes of Scripture reading
and prayer. Just as I need three meals a day for me to
function in life, so I need the ten minutes in prayer day
by day for me to carry on with life. It is my daily bread.

For the past two years the university Chaplain and I us-
ually have been the only daily attendants at Morning
Prayer. There are four or five others who come occasion-
ally. But I often have the sense that we are in commun-
ion with women and men who have prayed and worship-
ped in that beautiful Gothic chapel over the past four and
a half centuries. I had that sense ever since I first attend-
ed Morning Prayer in September, 2003, and I still feel it
to this day.

One of the reasons that I go to Morning Prayer is be-
cause I believe that prayer and praise should be offered
up daily at the the center of the university. The Chapel is
considered by some to be the hub of both the university
and the town. The Chaplain and I have committed our-
selves, as we are able, to lift up prayer and worship to the
Triune God from the very heart of the University and com-
munity. For me, that is just as important as writing my
dissertation. I have an abiding sense of calling to be there
while I am at the University.

And so we join in prayer with countless other people over
the centuries who have prayed that the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit would be at the very center of our lives, the
university, and our community. In the next few posts I
will share other reasons why I find it important to be at
Morning Prayer at University Chapel.

Shalom, JT