Pastor of Grace Church in Surgery for Aortic Aneurysm

Rev. Buddy Hoffman, pastor of Grace Church, had an aortic aneurysm this morning and is currently in surgery, according to the church's Facebook page.

Hoffman woke up and worked out on the morning of April 15, according to the church, and afterwards felt a strange sensation in his chest. His family took him to St. Joseph's Hospital. 

The church's main auditorium is available for people to come by and pray for him. He stayed in surgery until 6 p.m. and is now recovering. Although he is doing well, the next 48 hours are critical. 

Update Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.: The church posted the following to their Facebook page.

"Out of surgery, but not out of the woods yet. Repaired the aortic aneurysm they are going to keep him sedated for awhile. Keep praying."

"Jody, Spring, Joy and Gabe are so thankful for the prayers and support from the Grace Family, from friends and hundreds of churches all over the world," a post on the church's Facebook page read on April 16. "Your encouragement means the world to us."

Update Wednesday, April 17, 10:010 a.m.: Buddy's family has issued the following statement: 

"Dad had a restful and wonderfully uneventful night. Mom just got out of ICU seeing him for 10 minutes. He is heavily sedated but amazingly alert-- nurses can't even believe it. He can't really talk because of the breathing tube, but he asked questions about what happened to him and where he is and how bad it was, etc. Really, I believe it's nothing short of something miraculous. He really shouldn't be as good as he is. They were preparing us for much worse. Today the goal is to get him breathing on his own and remove the tube. The road back will be long and hard, but we see so many evidences of God going before him. We are really hopeful and praising God! Thanks to our extended family of dear friends that have been in prayer and intercession on his behalf, it really has felt like a being in the peaceful center of a hurricane of prayer. The shalom and presence of God has truly been near. We are thankful for each of you."

We will continue to update things tomorrow as we learn more.