Update
Sorry to keep you in suspense. I had the flu Saturday, Sunday and Monday and struggled all week to catch up with work left undone while ill.

My relative had surgery last friday to repair his cheekbone and jaw. The surgery was quite long, but the doctors were relieved to find that his cheekbone was not shattered by the gunshot, but just fractured. They put the bone to rights using plates and pins. He will have his jaw wired for nearly a month so the bones can heal.

Right after the surgery, two of my siblings went to see him and said they were amazed that he did indeed still have a face. He was very puffy and bruised, but far more intact than they expected, considering the nature of the injury (birding shotgun at close range). He wrote notes begging for doughnuts and hoagies and other treats he won't be able to have for some time. The doctors are unsure of whether he will be able to chew again or will need to be tube fed indefinitely.

This week, he was moved out of the ICU and is on a trach that enables him to talk. Meetings with a psychiatrist have begun anew.

Please continue to pray for his physical healing, and especially for emotional & spiritual healing and renewal. His wife and daughters are devastated emotionally and also covet your prayers as they cope with the long-term ramifications of his mental illness.