Monday, February 1, 2016
Perry’s body has undergone so much over the last 56 years & especially during the last 6 months post-transplant. He has given it his absolute all each & every single day of his life & unfortunately his body & strength have been wearing down & weakening for quite some time. This morning, Dr. Mehta talked with me & at this point he (the team) doesn't think/feel that putting Perry through the diaphragm pacer procedure will prove to have benefit at this relative to the degree of atrophy of his diaphragms & not having seen effective results in cases of such degree of atrophy. He said I'm not to bear or have any burden of guilt for how things have turned out that they will do that & that they are deeply saddened. In his words, he will require a miracle. He said he has witnessed miracles with Perry as he & the team never expected him to live past the events which occurred on 8/5/15. I love Dr. Mehta & I trust him.
Perry has decided it is time soon to be with his Holy Father, & he has asked me to honor his wishes. He was able to do the same with our sons & his brothers in the previous weeks.
Dr. Mehta came in this evening & explained the dying process to Perry & the plan to provide him with comfort measures. He will no longer receive dialysis. No labs will be drawn. He will take him off all unnecessary medications & keep him on his anti-rejection medications & prednisone. He will be started on a morphine drip, & see to it that he has no pain throughout his dying process. They are NOT going to take him off the ventilator as it would be too distressing, but they will not make any ventilator pressure changes. He will continue receiving formula feeding. Perry understands & is aware of all of the above & is in agreement. It will most likely be ~48 hr-4 day process unless God should reveal another miracle for Perry.
He loves & has loved each & every one of us. He does not want to leave us, but he will greet us all when it’s our turn to be called. Thank you each & every one for all of the prayers, love, & support you have shown to Perry, me, our families & to all of the staff involved in Perry's care. Our prayers, love, & support will follow each of you on your life's journeys as well. We will forever be grateful to his donor & his donor’s family for having given us several more moments of life & time together that have been so precious & cherished. This will be even harder for them, & I ask that you keep them in your prayers as well. Keep the faith & continue to believe that God's will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Comments (30)
Oh my God, sweet Misty and amazing Perry. God is calling him home. As my heart breaks, I cannot believe the strength and devotion to God that you both have shown. Please tell Perry that I love him and that his neighbor down Promethian Way is praying for a peaceful journey. I have never been prouder to be a friend of anyone. I wish for a miracle but if that is not God's plan for Perry then I will accept it and pray for the donar's family as Misty has asked. God bless your entire family. Love and hugs from Perry's "heat lightning" friend. ❌⭕️🙏
May God be with all of you and continue to give all of you strength.May you feel His love more than ever. We love you all. I believe His will be done, Caleigh will be lighting a candle at the Grotto at The University of Notre Dame. Please tell Perry we love him. God's peace, Cathy, Tim & Caleigh
My dear sweet and incredibly strong friend Perry (and Misty) ... I love you and am honored to have had you (and Misty) in my life ... Travel peacefully on your final journey home, our Lord will welcome you and wrap his arms around you when you arrive ... My heart is very heavy ... You have fought a strong fight, you have shown many of us what hero can do ... You (and Misty) have taught me so much these past 6 months. You have lived and shown us grace Perry ...
God be with you all.We love you all and we feel so sad .Perry has given more than most could ever give.Perry will be with his family and will be well again.Mircles do happen. Perry only God our Father knows.Prayers..
My dear friends my heart is breaking for both of you as I know how hard you have been working to make things better! But God is giving you another direction! I hope Misty that you can tell Perry that Lisa and I will be here for you and will listen and cry with you! And Perry oh Perry how you have fought! I have been so prid of all your hard work! And that wife of yours well she is just amazing but you've always known that! I want you to know that there wasn't a day that went by without me thinking of you and praying for you! Please know that I love you both so much! I am praying for a peaceful journey to heaven! Love you both so much!
Much love and prayers to the both of you and to the entire family. I am proud, honored and thankful that I have known and worked with Perry for many years. Perry, It is with much joy and tears to let go of you and I will miss you. I know that I will see you again with our loving God and Saviour. We love you and ask God to be close to you all.
We love you all... God Bless Ron, Patii, Matt, Mike & Patrick
We were very sad to read this news today. We pray his passing will be peaceful and that you all have the strength to help him on this final journey. Our prayers go out to all the family and especially to you. You have been a rock through this entire process and I know God will welcome Perry into his arms where he will once again be with his Mom. Our love to all the DiGiovanni family, Michael and Gayle
Words cannot express all the feelings and emotions running through me as I realize that Perry is ready to start his final journey for I know you and his family are not ready to let go. What a battle he has fought for so long. Who knew his soulmate would be his top general through this battle and one of the main reasons he has had this extra time with all his loved ones. However, now it’s time to Let Go and Let God. I am so very thankful you both have super strong faith so this final step on earth is only in preparation for Perry’s eternal life with no pain and no tears. He will be watching over his loved ones and waiting for them to join him some day. I am so very sorry I never had the opportunity to meet this man of steel in person. My heart is heavy yet I will rejoice for Perry’s release and renewal. Just think, very soon he is going to be face to face with our Lord and Savior! Peaceful journey. Praying fervently and sending e-hugs. Love, Joni & Ken
I always look for your posts before reading other e-mail. My second one is Greg Lauie's Daily Devotion and I have to copy/paste it for you today: What to Do When You're Worried Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. —Philippians 4:6–7 Martin Luther once wrote in a letter to his wife, "Pray, and let God worry." God isn't going to worry, of course. But we still need to pray, because we worry about a lot of things. And sometimes we even will elevate worry as a virtue, saying things like, "I worry because I care." But is worry actually a virtue? I don't think so. In fact, I think worry can be a sin. I'm not saying that all worry is a sin, but I am saying that it can be. And I would readily admit that worry is a sin I have committed. I've unnecessarily worried about things. I've fretted and have been filled with anxiety. So why is it potentially a sin? Because it's a lack of trust in God. When we worry, we're essentially saying, "God isn't in control. He isn't taking care of me in this situation. I'm not trusting in the providence of God." But if you are a real Christian and believe the Bible, then you will know that God is in control of all circumstances that surround your life, and there are no so-called accidents in the life of a believer. That is an important thing to remember, because worry doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength. Philippians 4:6 tells us, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done." Turn your worries into prayers. The next time you are gripped by fear and worry, turn it into a prayer like this one: "Lord, I don't know what to do, but I trust You. You are in control, and I commit this to You right now." Look to the Lord, and let Him give you His peace.
God bless you Perry & Misty. My heart is heavy, but my memories are strong! Love & Respect. God Speed DiGiovanni. AEKDB
I am so very sad to hear this news and can only imagine what all of you are going through. Perry was and will always be a big part of our QCenter community. We have followed his progress from the beginning and this news comes as such a shock. I am thankful that I got to say Hello recently on Facetime. Thank you Misty for arranging that. I will say prayers for guidance and strength for all of you, and possibly one more miracle. Love to Perry and love to all of you. You all will be foremost in my mind.
I am so very sad to hear this news and can only imagine what all of you are going through. Perry was and will always be a big part of our QCenter community. We have followed his progress from the beginning and this news comes as such a shock. I am thankful that I got to say Hello recently on Facetime. Thank you Misty for arranging that. I will say prayers for guidance and strength for all of you, and possibly one more miracle. Love to Perry and love to all of you. You all will be foremost in my mind.
My prayers with all of you and tell Perry I love him dearly
While we have all prayed for a different outcome, I picture Perry strong and healthy. Able to run and dance and laugh. No pain. No tubes. No fear. I know he can't have that on Earth, but will when he is called to his real home in heaven. May each of you feel peace and strength as you accept this difficult time. Keep your faith and trust that Perry will be there when you are called home. He will be waiting just on the other side.
I only knew Perry through our working relationship, but he was such a great guy! I think of him often and he has been in my prayers. I wish I could have had the chance to visit with him - his smile is infectious. I am sure he knows that Q Center loves him and misses him. It will be a relief when he has no more struggles or pain, but I know there will be an emptiness without him - Will continue to keep you and your family in my prayers. Give Perry our love! Chris Williams - Q Center
My heart goes out to you and your beautiful family. The love and strength you've shown is nothing but amazing. I pray for peace and support throughout your lives. Perry is such a wonderful man and was blessed for having family and friends that loved him. Mary Tsantis-Owens
I remember Perry with fondness from Rich Central and working together at Carson's at Lincoln Mall. He was great friends with everyone! Although I have only seen Perry and Misty a few times since college, I saw what a beautiful family you had become. My prayers are with you all during this difficult time. Annette Murray Sullivan
Perry, You have been a warrior and an inpiration to all who know you. You have a wonderful family who love you dearly. Our prayers are with you. Please be at peace. Tim and Erin Breakey
Misty, words cannot express the sadness felt by Perry's Q Center Family. We are all better people for knowing, working with Perry and having him in our lives. We pray for strength for you and all those involved in this journey and we also pray for acceptance in what will be God's will. You have never been far from our thoughts. God Bless you all.
Dear Perry, Misty & DiGiovanni Family, My heart is sad & heavy hearing of Perry`s condition through a mutual friend. Perry is an old buddy from our high school days together. I just wanted to reach out & extend warm thoughts, words & love to you all during this difficult time. I knew Perry as such a nice teenage kid, fun loving school mate & good person. I`m sure he is fondly remembered by the many friends, he touched many lives. He courageously faced his serious medical issues & I pray his final journey brings him peace. God Bless, Scott Reed
Perry will be remembered fondly by all. I am keeping you and all your family and friends in my prayers.
There are no words. My heart breaks for the entire family. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to make this decision and to say goodbye at this point, but we must remember to treasure every moment, until we all see one another again. Perry has left his mark on this world with the gift of 2 amazing sons and wonderful memories for everyone who knows him.. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
This is news we were hoping not to hear. Our prayers have been and will continue to be for God's will to be done. We had hoped that will would have been to restore Perry to his family and friends. We guess that old saying of "Only the good die young" has a whole lot of truth in it. Bob & Joan Goldin and family
Bob and Lisa are praying for you, Perry, as well as for your family, your donor's family and your medical team. You and Misty have been an incredible inspiration and example, to all of us, of great faith and great love. May God hold you in the palm of his hand on your journey. We will see you again friend. The Carreras Family
Though I have not seen Perry since our days at Rich Central, I can easily picture his easy smile and good nature. God speed. Dick Sittig
I have come to read this through posts from friends, and I am humbled and inspired by Perry's, and your, faith and strength. May God's hand be upon Perry as he travels through this valley. For the table has been set, and his victory is set. May God wrap His arms around you both, shield you from pain, easing the pain and suffering, and granting you peace. May you celebrate Perry's time together with his family and friends here on earth, an rejoice in his Heavenly homecoming. May God be Gracious and merciful, and may you know His everlasting love. In faith, with love and through praise, we pray in His Holy name. Amen
I also came across this very sad news through social media. It has been years since Perry and I were in Jr. High together, but I can still remember your warm smile and how you always had kind words to share with me and many others. May God grant you all strength at this time. Perry will be in a wonderful place with Our Heavenly Father with no more pain or suffering! Thoughts and prayers are with you Perry, and your Family. Thank you for sharing your story with all of us. Please rest, in the knowledge of knowing of how very special you are and how you enriched our lives! May God Bless you .
I am so sorry to hear about Perry's passing. I worked with Perry up to the end of the Arthur Andersen's existence and he was always a great team player with a positive attitude and a reassuring smile. He was one of my favorite co-workers. I am so sorry for your loss, Misty. It appears you have a great family and friend network that has come together during this ordeal and hopefully that will get you an your family though this trying time. My thoughts are with you and your family.
I am so saddened to hear of Perrys passing. I worked with Perry many years ago at Arthur Andersen in the Profit Sharing group. It was my first real job out of college and I'll never forget how much we all enjoyed Perry. His positive fun attitude coupled with hard work always offered a bright spot in the day. I stumbled on his health struggle thru Facebook last fall and have offered many prayers to your family and will continue to pray for peace and comfort during this difficult time.