Alabama state Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, is continuing to improve in a hospital in South Korea after suffering a cardiac arrest there last week, his son Tyler Melson reported.

Tyler Melson created a public Facebook page to provide updates on Sen. Melson, who was on a recruiting trip to South Korea when he fell ill.

“More good news to report over the past 24 hours,” Tyler Melson posted Monday on Facebook . “Repeat echocardiogram (an ultrasound to look at the structure and function of the heart) shows continued improvement of the heart’s strength and ability to pump. This is another big milestone and we praise God for His continual blessing over the situation.”

Sen. Melson remains on a ventalator but doctors are discussing when to wean him off, Tyler Melson wrote.

“There is no rush to do this,” he posted. “However, we remain hopeful and confident that the Lord will see us through this step in His perfect timing.”

On Sunday, Tyler Melson reported that his father was successfully taken off EMCO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and remained very stable. EMCO is the process of pumping blood to a heart-lung machine that removes carbon dioxide and sends oxygen-filled blood back to tissues in the body, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“His improvement so far has been miraculous and we are certain that it is due to all the prayer he has received,” Tyler Melson wrote Sunday. “Please continue to pray as there are many more milestones that we will have to reach.”

Heart arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat, apparently caused the cardiac arrest, Tyler Melson wrote on Facebook.

Melson was elected to the state Senate in 2014. He is a retired anesthesiologist and a medical researcher. He is perhaps best known at the State House for sponsoring the bill lawmakers passed in 2021 to legal medical marijuana in Alabama.