Recovering from a serious case of acute (viral) pneumonia, pastor Michael Worker, President of the Greater Sydney Conference said, “I have been incredibly blessed and encouraged by the amount of prayer and support that I have received from around the Conference and the world.  It is a great thing to be part of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church.”

Early Wednesday morning, the 20th of August, Pr Michael fell ill as his body went into “septic shock” with a highly contagious viral infection, which affected his heart, liver and kidneys.

He was immediately rushed to the emergency room at Norwest Private Hospital, where medical personnel worked diligently to stabilise his condition.  After a period of time, he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Norwest Private Hospital.  He was transferred into a ward on Saturday.

During this time, Michael, his wife Maree and their two daughters received an outpouring of love, support and prayers from around the world.  Maree said, “The support and words of encouragement we have received…have touched me beyond words. I can’t begin to tell you all how much I appreciate knowing that you are all only a message away and that your prayers have been taking Michael into the throne room of God. I am absolutely sure that the faithful prayers that you have all been sharing have been heard.”

By Friday, the 22nd of August, Maree reported that Pr Michael was beginning to show signs of improvement by the hour.  In the days since then, doctors have noted his recovery is occurring quicker than expected and believe he should be discharged from the hospital soon.

The serious, prolonged infection caused Pr Michael to be unable to attend the 28th Constituency Session of the Greater Sydney Conference on the weekend of 23-24 August.  Consequently, Ken Vogel, General Secretary of the Australian Union Conference chaired the meetings.

In speaking about his recovery, Pr. Michael said, “I’m sure it is all the prayer support that has made the difference.”