My father has passed on to be with the Lord. For those of you interested, I share with you the following details. I'm sharing from my heart my personal feelings and thoughts to my friends who care to know what happened.
I mentioned to many of you several weeks ago that I was going to bow my head and pray at 3:03 pm on 3-3-03 because an Internet-wide email suggested for everyone to do this. I was doing it primarily because it was my birthday, and if so many were going to be praying at this time, I would too. I went to New Orleans to preach at Mardi Gras, and as I stood on Bourbon Street holding my large banner at 3:00 pm, I bowed my head to say this prayer. As I did so, a man rushed upon me and pushed me violently against a wall, almost knocking me down, but two police officers had come to stand by me just one minute before this happened. They immediately grabbed the man and bent his arm behind his back and pushed him against the wall next to me. Unknown to me was that at this very moment, my father was passing away to be with the Lord. About an hour and a half later, I sensed the need to check my cell phone for calls. The day before, I had spent 3 hours visiting my father in the Intensive Care Unit of Ocean Springs Hospital in Mississippi. As I went to dial to check my messages, my twin brother phoned through. I answered his call and received word that my father had passed away. He was with my mom in the hospital and I talked with my mom also. I immediately left New Orleans to be with the family, and so I have been away for all of last week. I realize that this may be a surprise to many as the last report was that my father no longer had leukemia. Indeed, in February, my father's blood tests showed him to be better than ever, within normal levels for everything except red blood cells and platelets, which were a little lower than average, but still good. So what happened? Well, around Christmas time, my father sent out a letter to everyone expressing thanksgiving and relief that his ordeal seemed to be conquered. About a month later, my father's doctors called him to find out what was happening with him. My dad thought they would call him if his weekly blood tests showed any problems. His doctors were expecting my dad to call them. Anyway, the doctors said that although his leukemia was in remission, they wanted to treat him with Chemo-therapy "just in case." They felt that it would ensure his long term survival. I discouraged him from doing any of this, but it was his choice, not mine, and I supported him in whatever he chose to do. As some of you may know, Michael Douglas had fasted and prayed in agreement with me for his healing. We set a specific date, a Tuesday, when we believed that the doctors would test for the cancer and not find it. That specific date was indeed the date when a bone biopsy surprised the doctors in that they could not find any cancerous cells in his body, and they declared the leukemia to be in 100% remission. This particular leukemia is very aggressive. From what I have been told, nobody with this sickness had ever gone into remission, and nobody had lived as long as my father had. I have been told that there have been only 60 people in medical history to have had this kind of leukemia (plasma cell leukemia). I encouraged my father to take this remission as a sign from the Lord to press on without the doctors advise for chemo-therapy, but in the end, he trusted his physicians to know what was best. They had done another biopsy a month later where they found two blast cells. A blast cell is an immature white blood cell that is normally found in the bone marrow as a precursor cell, but in leukemia patients they become proliferated in the blood stream and keep mature cells from being able to proliferate and function. I did not consider this significant at all, not only because they only found two, but also because I understand from experience with examining biological samples that sometimes mistakes are made. In any case, my dad felt he should continue to do whatever his doctors suggested. He went for a chemo-therapy session that lasted five days. The effects of chemo-therapy are felt greatest about 7 to 10 days later as the chemicals kill your good cells as well as any bad cells. On the 7th day of this period, my dad went to get a daily shot they give to boost white blood cells that are killed by the chemo-therapy. They discovered a build-up of fluid around one of his lungs which made it difficult for him to breath. They admitted him to the hospital and did a surgical procedure to remove the fluid. They removed about 1.5 liters of fluid which had blood in it. In recovery, they discovered a problem with bleeding where the surgery was done. His platelets were down to zero from the chemo-therapy and so his blood was not coagulating. This caused them to move him to the intensive care unit. They still expected to release him from the hospital the next day as soon as his pulse rate slowed down. When I visited with him on Sunday, his heart rate was at 150 beats per minute. They were trying numerous chemicals to get his heart rate down. They finally succeeded in getting it down to 90 by the next day, but unfortunately, it kept going down, first to 40 bpm, then 0. His heart could not take it and so he died of cardiac arrest while my mother was holding his hand. Ironically, the day before (on Sunday) my mother was optimistic and had asked me if I thought the Lord would get any of the credit for my father's recovery, or would it be the doctors who got the credit. I answered her that the doctors were going to get ALL the credit for what was happening there, and not the Lord, especially when my father went to be with the Lord because of all this. I said this in front of my father, and my father laughed with me as I said it jokingly, but my father understood what I meant. I have a hard time mixing experimental medicine and faith, as those of you who privately pray with me and communicate with me know. Sadly, I did not realize at the time how prophetic my words would be. I was hoping for yet another chance, and I prayed with my father for his recovery. During my visit I urged my father yet again to refuse additional chemo-therapy. I could not believe that they planned more of these chemo-therapy sessions when he was in remission. My mother even asked the nurse how my dad should tell the doctors that he did not want chemo-therapy, and the nurse carefully explained how he should just tell the doctors that it was his decision not to do chemo-therapy anymore. I am going to miss my father very much. I have grieved for him all this last week, but I also take comfort in knowing without any doubt that he is with the Lord. I spoke at his funeral and was blessed by the hundreds of people who came to remember my father and express their sentiments. My father was a very righteous man, the most righteous man I have ever known. He was loved by many, he was the salt of the earth, a rock, and a humble servant to all. He was one who always took the low seat and never sought to have preeminence in anything. I have never known my father to have an enemy. He was a true man of the Word, who lived and spread the gospel by being a living example. Following is his obituary as published in the Mississippi Press. ----------------------------- http://www.gulflive.com/mississippi/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.x sl?/base/obits/1046862974140400.xml MILLER 03/05/03 John Wesley Miller, 65, of Gautier, Miss., died Monday, March 3, 2003, in Ocean Springs Hospital. He was born July 12, 1937, in Youngstown, Ohio. He was educated at Asbury College, Cooper School of Art, Kent State University, and University Southern California, majoring in Architecture. He lived in Los Angeles, Calif., and was transferred by Litton to Jackson County in 1972. In 1997, he retired after 27 years from Ingalls Shipbuilding as a Designer Specialist in the Engineering Department. He started the Conference Room Bible Study at Ingalls during the employees lunch hour. After retiring, he became a Master Gardener and volunteered with MSU Cooperative Extension Services. He participated in the U.S. Census in year 2000 and Gautier Voting Polls. He was a member of Abundant Life Christian Center in Gautier. He was a former member and adult Sunday School Teacher of Cedar Lake Christian Center in Biloxi and was instrumental in remodeling the church and designing the Cedar Lake School Academy. Survivors include his wife of 46 years, Maria Voce Miller, Gautier; daughter and son-in-law, Dr. Teresa Szabo and Dr. Alexander Szabo, Denver, Colo.; two sons and daughters-in-law, Mark Primo Miller and Pam Miller of Gautier, David Emmanuel Miller and Caroline Miller, Beverly Hills, Fla.; two sisters and one brother, Ruth Hess (Rev. John Knox Hess), Sarasota, Fla.; Alice Wheaton of Port Clinton, Ohio, Rev. William George Miller, III, (Lois Miller), Missionary Village, Bradenton, Fla.; numerous grandchildren, Christine, Leisa, Elisha, Jennifer, Sarah, Benjamin, Paul, Luke, Daniel, Erin, Maria, and Charla. Visitation will be Thursday, March 6, 6 to 8 p.m., at O'Bryant-O'Keefe Funeral Home, Pascagoula. Funeral service will be Friday, March 7, 10 a.m., at O'Bryant-O'Keefe Funeral Home, Pascagoula with Pastor Jim Moore officiating. Memorials may be made in his memory to Our Daily Bread in Pascagoula and Gideons International. Interment will be in Machpelah Cemetery, Pascagoula. Arrangements made by O'Bryant-O'Keefe Funeral Home, Pascagoula, Miss. -------------------------- Thank you all for your prayers and consolation during this time. Peace be with you. David Miller, Beverly Hills, Florida USA ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." 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