Alaska evangelism leader continues to recover from explosion

Alaska Baptist Convention Evangelism director Jimmy Stewart, pictured with his wife Kathryn, suffered extensive burns over his body after a propane tank exploded at the family cabin July 23. JIMMY STEWART/Facebook

SEATTLE, WA — Alaska Baptist Convention Director of Evangelism and Church Development Jimmy Stewart continues a slow-but-steady recovery in a Seattle hospital following injuries from a gas explosion July 23.

Stewart's son, Steven, shared an update on Facebook Aug. 16. In it, he explained his father's surgery the previous day going "very well."

" spent three hours solely grafting his face and a portion of his neck. They found that the infection that he has been fighting since Friday has all gone away except for a small spot on the middle of his chest which they are watching closely. Coming out of surgery they kept him intubated until about 4 this afternoon due to the fragility of the grafts on his face."

His father's personal strength through procedures and skin grafts remains a major prayer concern, Steven Stewart said. Recovery from an Aug. 13 surgery brought an extremely high fever. "[It] was most definitely the worst night we've had since the first few days," he wrote in another post Aug. 15.

Stewart's Caring Bridge site included three immediate prayer needs:

1. The remaining spot of infection clears quickly.
2. For strength and healing of the new skin grafts on Stewart's face and neck.
3. For the doctors and staff of Harborview Medical Center in Seattle caring for Stewart.

Speaking clearly

Stewart's first fight with infection since the accident triggered the high fever Friday, Aug. 13. By the following Sunday, though, his son reported the evangelism director nodding his head and working with a physical therapist. By nighttime he'd begun speaking and thinking clearly.

A gas explosion at the family cabin in Talkeetna, AK burned Stewart – the only one hurt – over 70-80 percent of his body. Flown to Harborview Hospital in Seattle, he underwent six surgeries in three weeks.

Stewart's career includes a position with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board's evangelism department in the early 2000's. Outpouring from Georgia and friends across the country have encouraged family members, Stewart's daughter Katelyn wrote on Facebook Aug. 13.

"The response to this tragedy has been immense. Letters and messages from across the nation and even from other countries have poured in! It is amazing to see the number of people who have been touched by my parents through their ministry over the years," she said.

"It is an absolute miracle that my Dad is still alive right now, but we know Who to give the glory to; we do not serve a God who is swayed by statistics. We see the Lord's Hand at work every day."