Day 161 - Prayer for 39th Chaplain

Fellow blogger ArmyWifeToddlerMom has requested prayer for Dr. David McLemore, who recently returned from 18 months in Iraq as a chaplain with the 39th Brigade.

According to Arkansas Baptist News, McLemore was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident June 13. Pastor of Second Baptist Church in Russellville, he currently is in a coma due to head injuries, but doctors are guardedly optimistic about his recovery, according to Al Ray Taylor, the church’s minister of music and college students.

Reports indicate there is blood around McLemore’s brain, but not in the brain. He also suffered a broken leg, a fracture of a vertebrae in his neck, facial lacerations and lost several teeth. Doctors also were concerned about other potential injuries to the spinal cord. McLemore was airlifted to Little Rock’s University of Arkansas Medical Center.

The Russellville pastor was at a standstill on his motorcycle on Highway 64 east of Russellville waiting for a truck to turn when a teenage driver hit him from behind at near highway speed. The impact threw McLemore about 100 feet. His helmet was broken and knocked from his head.

Surgery was performed on his leg June 14 and a tube was inserted in his skull to relieve cranial pressure. He also was placed in a neck brace.

Second Baptist spokesperson Linda Higgins just now told me Pastor McLemore is still in a coma, but his leg is healing well. He does have some congestion in his lungs, and doctors are adjusting his blood sugar, which has been a little elevated recently.

Cards can be sent c/o Second Baptist Church; 1100 N Frankfort Ave, Russellville, 72801. (479) 967-4085.

"No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Romans 8:37