A much needed update on Luke

Good morning, I'm writing this to you very early on Sunday morning. I'm sorry I haven't gotten to blog earlier this week. It's been a very busy week to say the least. Our oldest girls Amy and Natalie are visiting over east of the mountains at their cousins house celebrating her Birthday this weekend. Let me tell all, for the whole world to hear, I miss them even when they are gone for a couple hours let alone a whole weekend. They help more than any of you can imagine! They are going with Daniel next weekend on a Winter Retreat with the church that Daniel is part of for Generation Training Center, I'm praying it will be a time of great refreshment for them as they get away for a much needed break from home and that it will be a time of spiritual renewal as well.

I know many of you are wondering how all the appts went this week. Well let me begin my saying we had to reschedule two of them, our pulmonologist Dr. Ricker volunteered to go with a medical team to Sri Lanka to help with Tsunami victims. I'll be honest with you, when I first heard that I had to change the appointment, I was very disappointed, because I want Luke's trach out so bad, but then I had to say to myself what a selfish person you are Sue, here are these people suffering so greatly and you are begrudging them the help they desperately need. Needless to say, since my attitude adjustment, I've been praying for the team that they are able to not only give the medical help that is needed so greatly but that they can also be a bright light for Jesus which to me is far more important. I also changed our Dietician appointment so that I can better utilize our very full schedule.

We did have the swallow gram done on Tuesday. It went okay, not the best it could of gone, but by far not the worst either. After waiting an hour for the Dr. to arrive Luke was not as comfortable as I would of liked him to be for the test. He did swallow a little bit on his first two bites of food, it showed that it went the right place, which was great news, but it also showed that he still does not have a good swallow, which we already knew. It was determined that we can continue to feed him the applesauce with rice cereal that we've been feeding him, but no thinner consistency at this time.

Our Friday appointment for his new leg splints went okay, except for the fact that their computer was having a problem getting a new picture of Luke's legs. I'm very happy to report that though Luke is definitely having a problem bending his legs and keeping his hips aligned, it was said that it was good we got him in when we did so that they can address these issues now before too much joint and muscle damage is done, due to lack of use. Our wonderful Physical Therapist, Allison is working with them to make splints that will help address these issues. Once again I'm thankful that though God has not chosen to bring about complete healing yet we have so many wonderful people coming beside us to help with the healing process. We have all been giving many massages this week and it is paying off, Luke's legs are not quite as hyper extended as they had been for so long.

Next week will once again be a very busy week, oh well this is my lot in life for this season. I will give you example of our schedule so that you can be praying that we are able to get it all done. On Monday we have homeschooling of course, then in the afternoon at 1:00 P.T., at 2:00 our rescheduled appt. with the Dietician and then at 3:00 our rescheduled appt. with Hangers for his splints, pray the camera is working this time. Then on home for dinner and our never ending laundry has to be done this day. And I need to take Isaiah to the Dr to have his ears checked, as there is colored fluid coming out. On Tuesday schooling, then Amy, Natalie, Isaiah and Ezekiel, will go to the YMCA, while Luke, Lily, our nurse Mary and I go to the hyperbaric place for a treatment, and then back to the Y to pick up the kids and go straight to the hearing center for a hearing test for Isaiah. He had tubes put in last year and his hearing is still not doing very well so we are going to get that checked out this week. Wednesday, our nurse does not come until 11:30 so that we can go to church at night, so a busy morning for me getting Luke ready for the day by myself while the girls go to math and then off to piano lessons. When they get back we take Luke in for his 3:00 P.T. appointment, the girls will do weekly chores including our never ending pile of laundry while we are gone, then its back home to get dinner done and everyone ready for church at 7:00. Thursday my day is going to start early with an appointment for me to get my eyes checked, I lost my glasses last week and I sure am missing them, then school of course, take the kids to the YMCA again, no appointments for Luke today, so that I can get caught up on my grocery shopping and other running that I need to get done, pick up the kids at the Y and go to our weekly visit at the Library, then home again. The ladies at the church are putting on a Shower for Lily this evening so the girls and I are off to the church, while Gordy is thinking about getting someone to watch the boys so that he can still take Luke out for our weekly HBOT treatment in the evening, well see if this happens. On Friday no appointments for Luke, just school, house cleaning, laundry again, girls packing for the weekend, then I will run them down to Centralia in the afternoon to leave for the retreat. Our weekend will be without the girls and Daniel, hopefully we can maybe take it easy on Saturday! There's a little glimpse of life in the Searles home.

We had some good news this week, I called our neurologist to try to get Luke in sooner then his March 15th appointment, because we want to get him off the seizure medicine he's been on since the Hospital. He only had one seizure in the Hospital a week after the accident, anyway we could not get an appointment, since they have a full schedule until June, but they did say they would schedule an EEG for us to test him so that we don't have to wait until his next appointment to get that done. He had two EEG's in the Hospital and both showed no seizure activity, so we are praying that this one won't show any either, then we can get him off this medicine, which inhibits brain activity and also causes drowsiness.

We sure have enjoyed getting some of your Christmas newsletters and pictures, if you would like to send one, once again you can e-mail us at howslukedoing@yahoo.com to request our address. Thank you for your continued prayer, Luke is getting better, slowly but surely. We pray that you have a blessed week! I'll share my favorite verse with you, Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, I have to remind myself daily not to try to run my life without Christ's help, it goes so much more smoothly with Him in the center of it.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue