Chuck Colson Still in Intensive Care Unit After Brain Surgery
Influential evangelical leader Chuck Colson remains in the neurological intensive care unit despite having shown some signs of recovery.
"His condition remains the same," said Kelsey Hulgan, a spokesperson for Colson, to The Christian Post on Tuesday.
Colson underwent surgery on March 31 to remove a pool of clotted blood on the surface of his brain. His condition turned critical a few days later but last week, doctors at a northern Virginia hospital reported that the founder of Prison Fellowship can hear, process information and execute commands given to him.
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While the 80-year-old Christian leader remains hospitalized, new details have emerged regarding the day Colson fell ill.
Eric Metaxas, author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, said he introduced Colson at the Breaking the Spiral of Silence conference on March 30. Colson began to address attendees and spoke about the book Bonhoeffer when he suddenly "looked unsteady," Metaxas recalled.
"We quickly got him into a chair, and within half an hour he was on the way to the hospital, then airlifted to another hospital," the author described.
Metaxas describes Colson as a mentor and friend. In fact, he was introduced to the late 18th century abolitionist William Wilberforce by Colson.
Supporters and fellow evangelical leaders have offered their prayers for the well-known commentator. Pastor John Piper from Minneapolis expressed his affection for Colson last week and said he was praying for his faith to be strong and his body to be healed.
"Being thankful for and praying for Chuck Colson," Piper tweeted.
As the Prison Fellowhip head recovers, Metaxas will be filling in for Colson at BreakPoint, a Christian worldview ministry, by carrying on the daily broadcasts.
"I ... ask you to understand that while the voice of BreakPoint has, for the time being, changed, the message remains the same. That message is that worldview matters. A lot," he noted.
"We will unapologetically defend human life from conception to natural death. And we will stand with those Jesus called 'the least of these,' such as prisoners and the disabled."
Over the next few days, Metaxas will be sharing some highlights from the Breaking the Spiral of Silence conference.
Colson served as an aide to President Richard Nixon and pleaded guilty to Watergate-related charges in 1974. He converted to Christianity in the wake of the Watergate scandal.
For the first time in 34 years, Colson did not minister to inmates in prison this past Easter Sunday.
