Thank you for your responses to our question in regard to our trip across America. As you continue to think of more places, feel free to continue to add them to our list.
Our family once again had a very busy week. Saturday we celebrated Natalie's 16th Birthday, it's so hard to believe she's 16, it seems that she was just a baby yesterday. On Sunday after church we celebrated my Dad's 75th Birthday, the Lord has blessed him with great health and amazing vitality. Then on Monday night we celebrated Gordy's Birthday, needless to say we had a lot of company over the weekend. Luke so enjoys having company here, he just sits with us in the living room and enjoys all the talking and laughing going on. Luke's Birthday is on March 10th, I am so thankful that God chose to bring Luke back to life so that he could have many years of Birthday's to come.
Luke has had a good week until today. He had 3 HBOT sessions, Gordy took him on Monday since he had the day off, then I took him on Tuesday and Gordy and I went again on Thursday night. On Wednesday he got his new leg splints, we are hoping that the splints will help to get a bend back into his knees. It was interesting that when they were put on for the final fitting, he actually groaned letting us know that he was not liking them put on. While it is so hard as a mom to have things done to your child that you know they don't like, in the end we praying that it will truly help him and make him feel better. It was also great seeing him display emotion again, though it was sad to hear him groan. He went to PT after getting the splints and once again did a great job there. He was reaching for the toy in front of him as he was asked to and he also did a awesome job of keeping his head up while being bounced on a ball.
Today was a hard day for Luke. Last night when we got home from the HBOT session we noticed that Luke's oxygen level was low and as the night continued on we had to keep oxygen going on him and his heart rate was soaring very high to very low. We knew he was not feeling well and then we found out he had a temperature, so once again we had to make a Dr.'s appt. He has a ear infection and he is already doing much better. His heart rate is once again down and we have not had to put him on oxygen at all so far tonight. God is touching him once again. I continue to believe and know in my heart that God is healing Luke, though at times I so wish that it could be completed today. I know that God is taking us down this road to a slow recovery and look forward each day to the new things that he is doing not only in Luke's life, but also in my own life as I have to go daily to Him to get my strength.
Thank you once again for your continued prayers. Things to keep in mind as you pray for Luke, we have his next pulmonologist appt. on March 8th, be praying that God keeps his lungs clear and that he continues to do great on his passy muir valve so that we can move on with the plans to get his trach out. Please continue to pray that God will touch Luke's legs and allow them to bend once again, his arms and hands are doing great and moving so much more during the day and at night they are now limp, this was not so before, so I know that God is moving in His body. Also pray that God will help me with my schedule as you can imagine some days are overwhelming with his appts, keeping up with the other children, staying on top of the daily chores that we have and getting enough sleep. I want to do all that I can for Luke to get better and it is hard finding a balance sometimes with all that we can be doing for him. You are all so wonderful and we continue to be amazed at your kindness and support to us. May God richly bless you today!
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
Friday, February 25, 2005
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Must see...trip across America
As many of you know we are planning a trip across the US for end of August through September. Our plans are to purchase a trailer later this year that we will tow behind our van. We are interested in hearing from you what you consider to be a must see in your part of the country. As an example, if you ever come to Washington State, you have to go take a hike at Mt. Rainier and visit Mt. St Helens. If you have time, take a ride to the top of Seattle Space Needle or a boat ride on Puget Sound. Please include your name with your suggestion, that way if we want to follow up, we can.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
New Years Newsletter
For the past several years, we have sent out a newsletter at Christmas. This year with waiting for Lily and getting ready for Christmas, we decided to do a New Years newsletter instead. I have posted the pictures and paragraphs that composed our newsletter. Sorry that this wasnt posted closer to New Years, however here it is and I hope you enjoy it.
Happy New Year!!!
Dear Family & Friends,
We wanted to wait for Lily's arrival, therefore we are sending a New Years letter instead of a Christmas letter this year.
Gordy...
I have been at REI 15 years on January 11th, 2005. I will receive a 4 week paid sabbatical in addition to my normal 4 weeks of vacation. We think we will take a trip at the end of summer and hope to do some traveling. We are not sure where we are going to go, although we do hope to visit with some of you as we travel. I have been a manager at REI for the past 7 years and I recently decided to go back to a technical role, let's face it, I am a techie at heart. This change in roles will allow me to be able to better maintain a balance between work and home. In the picture, I am looking out of a HyperBaric chamber that I recently went into with our youngest son Luke. HyperBaric Oxygenation Therapy (HBOT for short) is a form of treatment that we hope will help Luke recover from his near drowning. As a result of Luke's accident I created this blog to keep family and friends informed of Luke's status. It has been a blessing to be able to share with so many and to feel the love and encouragement in return. We have made many new friendships as well as renewing old ones and we thank God for each one of them.
Sue...
I went to Romania, in March with a Women's team to help put on a Women's conference to bless the women there. I was able to go visit a very small church out in the country. I am pictured with a farmer's wife in front of their tractor that they asked me to pray a blessing over. I keep busy at home with the kids, homeschooling and keeping things running smoothly around the home. We had a wonderful time going to Mexico to pick up the kids, going to Disneyland, and visiting our friends the Hurtado's. This year has been a year of extreme ups and downs. I'm so thankful that God chose to spare Luke's life, there have been times of growing as I'm learning daily to trust in the Lord with all of my heart and not to lean on my own understanding. I would choose to have Luke healed completely today, but God has chosen to take us down a slow road of recovery, I know that he has used the blog to minister to many people and to bring them closer to God. I've had to learn more about Trachs, meds, and caring for a severely handicapped child then I ever wanted to know. I'm praying that this year will be a year of healing for Luke and our family and that He will continue to give us the strength to get through each and every day. I would like to thank all of you that have kept us in your prayers, they keep us going!
Daniel...
The majority of last year was spent working at Manke Lumber. I basically was grunt labor for eight months; it was altogether a good experience. I quit my job at the end of July so that I could go to Mexico in August and afterward attend Generation Training Center at Destiny Christian Center in Centralia, Washington. In Mexico we helped a local church in Rosarito put on a major outreach. It was rewarding to see the fruit of our labor. Two weeks after my return I started GTC. GTC is a leadership training school where we are trained to lead others in every capacity of life. It is a mix of accredited bible classes, personal discipleship, and ministry to others. Please be praying for my fellow classmates and me as we will be going to Scotland in May for two weeks. We will be ministering freely to kids in the schools of Glasgow as well as having public meetings in a rented hall. I am looking forward to this next year and am excited to see what it brings. As you can see in the picture I was blessed with a new room, thank you to all who made it possible. God Bless!
Amy...
2004 was an awesome year for me, I turned 17 and I am in 11th grade. I was able to go to Romania with my mom, Aunt Jill, Aunt Cindy, Uncle Tom and women from all over the world. We had an outreach to the women there and I was able to help with the little baby (pictured with me) while his parents went to some of the workshops and services we offered. I fell in love with the Romanian people and would love to go back to minister again sometime in the future. I continue to stay busy taking Piano lessons, singing in the YMCA Choir and teaching a swimming class at the YMCA. I also helped out at the church teaching the 4 & 5 year old class on Wednesday nights and once again wrote and directed our Christmas Play. I went to Mexico with our church in August and was gone for almost a month by the time we got home from visiting our friends the Hurtado's. I've learned a lot about taking care of Luke, at the Hospital I learned how to do his Trach care and also how to administer his medications, and I'm now able to help when my mom and dad are away
Natalie...
I turned 15 this year and I'm in 10th grade. I've had a busy year helping my Mom and Dad during the trip my Mom and Amy took to Romania. I continue to take Piano lessons, sing in the YMCA Homeschool Choir and I've been learning how to play a mean game of racquetball. I got braces put on my teeth in July. In August I went on my first missions trip to Mexico with the Daniel, Amy and our Church Youth Group it was a time of stretching as we had to ride on a hot bus for 3 days, sleep on the ground, using an outhouse for the bathroom, but it was wonderful ministering to the people there and working for the Lord. I had a wonderful time going to visit our close friends the Hurtado's after leaving Mexico. I was a junior bridesmaid in my cousin Naomi's wedding and had a blast getting to dress up in my beautiful dress. I got my drivers permit this year after passing the written test, though I haven't had much time behind the wheel yet.
Isaiah...
He is now 5 ½ years old and began Kindergarten this year with his Auntie Cindy, she loves to teach kids how to read and therefore offered to help with his schooling this year, which has been a blessing to Sue. He also started in the YMCA homeschool PE program and is becoming quite the little swimmer. He began singing in the YMCA junior homeschool choir and is enjoying that. He had a wonderful time this summer on our vacation and when asked what made it special he shared with a friend that we got to go to Cracker Barrel which is one our favorite family Restaurants. He loves playing the drums and was very surprised to receive a drum set for Christmas. As you can imagine it's not very quiet at the Searles home
Isaiah & Ezekiel...
They are best friends playing all kinds of games throughout the day. They are also brothers and like any pair of brothers they have their moments of struggle. They are pretty much inseparable, wherever you find one you find the other. Here they are pictured in there bear costumes which they wore in their Cousin's wedding, they were the "Ring Bears".
Ezekiel...
He turned 4 in November and is a busy bee. He keeps us entertained with his funny sayings and stories. Besides Daniel at this age he is one of the busiest boys we know. He also goes to preschool with Aunt Cindy that we call "Cindygarten". He began a gymnastics class at the YMCA and it is so much fun to watch him attempt to do somersaults and other fun things. He had a wonderful time at Disneyland this year and he loves listening to his Disney CD that he got from Tia Becky in CA. He adores his little sister Lily and keeps an eye on her and lets us know if she is crying or needs our help and is constantly asking to hold her and kiss her.
Luke...
As most of you know our youngest son Luke nearly drowned on Aug 30th of this year in our backyard swimming pool. It is a true miracle of God that Luke is alive today. A man two doors down the street was visiting from CA and came to Luke's aid and provided CPR, we call him Angel Jim. There were many people involved in saving Luke's life, family, Angel Jim, Paramedics, ER staff, PICU staff and so many of you that cried out to the Lord on Luke's behalf. There is not enough space here to tell the whole story you can visit our blog for the latest on Luke's condition. We continue to pray for his complete healing. Here is the address of the blog, notice no www in the address.
Lily Joy...
Here is the newest member of the Searles household. It was with great Joy that we welcomed her on 12/20/2004 at 8:14pm, so much so that her middle name is Joy. She weighed 7lb 4oz and measures 20 inches, she is by far our smallest baby and we are having so much fun holding her and loving on her. She is for the most part a very alert and content baby. God is so good to bless us with another healthy baby. The girls are so glad to have another sister and are already having fun dressing her up and putting bows in her hair. We had her dedicated to the Lord last Sunday and pray that the Lord will use her as she grows up.
We pray that you will discover the Joy of the Lord Jesus this coming year.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
It is God who arms me with strength
I just want to say thank you for all your encouraging words to me, on my last entry. I feel so blessed to have so many people care and pray for our family. What a difference between this last Saturday and the one before. We were once again blessed by a family from the blog with a gift card to Target, so we decided to let the kids all pick out something from the store to buy. We all went as a family, the first time we've gone on a outing like that since the accident. Luke did pretty well, he fell asleep in his stroller when we first got to the store and when he woke up he got a little stressed out, but once I held him and explained to him where we were he calmed down and was fine. It was so good to go some place other than a Dr.'s appt. or church as a family. We then decided to take him with us to the Spaghetti Factory after church for dinner and he did great there.
He continues to lift his head off my shoulder when I hold him now. It is so exciting for me to see him turn and lift his head, he used to keep it in the same place until we put him down. His neck muscles are getting stronger all the time, that will help him so much with his swallowing and just makes it easier for us to carry him and sit with him. He also continues to do better with his eating lately, God is so good.
Teena from the blog asked just what a Passy Muir valve is and what it does. It is a small round valve that we put on the end of his trach that only allows him to breath in not out. Therefore, he has to breath out his nose or mouth and is once again able to make noises. The first time we heard him make a noise was so awesome, just another step toward his complete healing. He is doing so well with it that we keep it on most of the day and night now and we are not having to suction him hardly at all, which is a big answer to prayer. He is coughing out his mouth and sneezing out his nose, where as before it all came out the trach. He is so cute to watch as he makes noises, his eyes get so big and they look like they are saying that he is amazed that he is making a noise and he looks so proud of himself. It is amazing to see his oxygen numbers go up when he has it on and his heart rate go down, which tells us that he is actually relaxing more when he wears it. One step closer to getting out the trach, continue to pray that when we go back on the 8th of March his chest will sound great and we will get him scheduled for his bronchial scope, which will tell us if he is ready to get rid of his trach. God has been teaching me so much lately, I've come to realize that while I thought of the trach as my biggest trial in life, it has actually been a blessing in disguise because while he has it we have nursing care. I also thought when we were in the Hospital that we could come home and continue on with life as it was before the accident, not realizing how much time Luke's care would take, therefore thinking that we would not really need nurses. Boy was I wrong, God knew I would need the Godly nurses, that love Luke and pray for him daily. It has helped me to be able to stay a part of my other children's life, in that I'm able to take them to the YMCA, Library, spend time helping them with school work, etc. God knows best, I just have to keep being reminded of this, I'm so glad that He is patient with me.
It's interesting that I also wondered if God knew what He was doing when he allowed me to get pregnant with Lily when I did, knowing that Luke would have his accident. I thought that I wouldn't be able to handle another little one with all that was going on. But once again I was wrong, Lily has been so wonderful for Luke, I often lie her down by him in his crib and they listen to his Winnie the Pooh mobile together or music on his CD player and a few times Lily just falls asleep by his side. They seem to be comforted just being side by side. I've taken few pictures of them together and hope to blog on for you to see soon. We are also trying to figure out how to get our Happy New Year Newsletter on the blog for you to see, I know its kind of late, but we would like to share it with you if we are able to find a way to put it on, along with the pictures.
The scripture that I have been meditating on this week is in Psalm 18:32, It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. It is so comforting to know that we do not have to have our own strength to make it through the day but our wonderful heavenly Father is up there saying let me give you my strength and if we are willing to accept it, He willingly gives it to us. People often say to me, Sue I don't know how you do it all, and all I can say is it is only because of God's strength that I'm able to make it through another day. You to can say the same thing all you have to do is ask, if you haven't tried it before, try it I gurantee you will like it.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
He continues to lift his head off my shoulder when I hold him now. It is so exciting for me to see him turn and lift his head, he used to keep it in the same place until we put him down. His neck muscles are getting stronger all the time, that will help him so much with his swallowing and just makes it easier for us to carry him and sit with him. He also continues to do better with his eating lately, God is so good.
Teena from the blog asked just what a Passy Muir valve is and what it does. It is a small round valve that we put on the end of his trach that only allows him to breath in not out. Therefore, he has to breath out his nose or mouth and is once again able to make noises. The first time we heard him make a noise was so awesome, just another step toward his complete healing. He is doing so well with it that we keep it on most of the day and night now and we are not having to suction him hardly at all, which is a big answer to prayer. He is coughing out his mouth and sneezing out his nose, where as before it all came out the trach. He is so cute to watch as he makes noises, his eyes get so big and they look like they are saying that he is amazed that he is making a noise and he looks so proud of himself. It is amazing to see his oxygen numbers go up when he has it on and his heart rate go down, which tells us that he is actually relaxing more when he wears it. One step closer to getting out the trach, continue to pray that when we go back on the 8th of March his chest will sound great and we will get him scheduled for his bronchial scope, which will tell us if he is ready to get rid of his trach. God has been teaching me so much lately, I've come to realize that while I thought of the trach as my biggest trial in life, it has actually been a blessing in disguise because while he has it we have nursing care. I also thought when we were in the Hospital that we could come home and continue on with life as it was before the accident, not realizing how much time Luke's care would take, therefore thinking that we would not really need nurses. Boy was I wrong, God knew I would need the Godly nurses, that love Luke and pray for him daily. It has helped me to be able to stay a part of my other children's life, in that I'm able to take them to the YMCA, Library, spend time helping them with school work, etc. God knows best, I just have to keep being reminded of this, I'm so glad that He is patient with me.
It's interesting that I also wondered if God knew what He was doing when he allowed me to get pregnant with Lily when I did, knowing that Luke would have his accident. I thought that I wouldn't be able to handle another little one with all that was going on. But once again I was wrong, Lily has been so wonderful for Luke, I often lie her down by him in his crib and they listen to his Winnie the Pooh mobile together or music on his CD player and a few times Lily just falls asleep by his side. They seem to be comforted just being side by side. I've taken few pictures of them together and hope to blog on for you to see soon. We are also trying to figure out how to get our Happy New Year Newsletter on the blog for you to see, I know its kind of late, but we would like to share it with you if we are able to find a way to put it on, along with the pictures.
The scripture that I have been meditating on this week is in Psalm 18:32, It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. It is so comforting to know that we do not have to have our own strength to make it through the day but our wonderful heavenly Father is up there saying let me give you my strength and if we are willing to accept it, He willingly gives it to us. People often say to me, Sue I don't know how you do it all, and all I can say is it is only because of God's strength that I'm able to make it through another day. You to can say the same thing all you have to do is ask, if you haven't tried it before, try it I gurantee you will like it.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
Monday, February 14, 2005
Happy Valentine's Day!
To all our faithful blog friends,
Roses are Red,
Violets are Blue,
We sure do love you,
And appreciate your prayers too!
Love, Luke, Gordy, Sue,
Roses are Red,
Violets are Blue,
We sure do love you,
And appreciate your prayers too!
Love, Luke, Gordy, Sue,
Daniel, Amy, Natalie,
Isaiah, Ezekiel & Lily too
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Just pouring out my heart before you all!
This has been quite the week! I'll be very honest with all of you, my dear friends out there in blog world, this has been a week of real highs and lows. Going to the hospital after being up all night long with Luke on Friday night was the hardest time I've had in a long time. I did not want to go back to that hospital until I could take Luke in there walking and saying "thank you" to all the great nurses and Dr.'s there, for there part in his healing. It's hard for me to except at times that Luke is what they call a "special needs" child, I just don't see him that way, I guess I think of him the way he used to be and know in my heart that God will make him that way once again, but in the mean time, I think many people think I live in a dream world of thinking that he will walk and talk once again. It's so hard for me to hear the Dr's and nurses say that they expect him to get sick and end up in the hospital at times. I was so relieved when his X-rays came back looking great and the tests they ran came back looking good as they would rule out one thing after another. I was hoping to make it through his time with a trach, without an infection, but I guess that just wasn't possible. I was so thankful that one of our faithful nurses was able to come work on Saturday night so that I could have a full night of sleep, because I desperately needed it.
Monday was also a hard day for me. I took Isaiah in to the Dr to have his ear checked out and found out that it was not doing any better, though today I think it finally is doing better. During that Dr. visit we had to have Lily's PKU blood test redone because the last one they did didn't take for some reason, so it was very stressful listening to her scream while it was being done. It made me wonder if this is what Luke would be doing while they were poking and prodding him on Saturday to get an IV into him. It kills me when I hear a nurse or Dr say how well he is doing during this time just because he can't make any noise, if they would only look at his face they would know that he is crying inside. That day was spent on the phone with Dr.'s and nurses as we scheduled his G-J tube change and his medicine changes. Then running to the pharmacy to pick up the medicine.
Tuesday started out early after only a few hours of sleep. Luke was once again poked for an IV, I was furious when two different nurses tried to start one in his hand and ankle at the same time. Once again one of the nurses commented on how well he was doing, inside I was screaming just look at his face, as tears just ran down my face. He did do well and slept most of the day off and on after the procedure was done. As we went to the Pulmonologist office that day I was trying so hard not to get my hopes up that the Dr. would say that we were close to getting ready to get his trach out. I left there with some hope in my heart that perhaps it would be within a month or so. He is doing so well with his passy muir valve and his oxygen levels seem to rise when it is on. It is so good to hear him making noises once again, it seems that when he does he surprises himself and gets such a sweet look in his eyes.
Wednesday I decided that he needed a day of rest so I took advantage of his message therapy appt. with my good friend, Brooke, to say that I needed it is an understatement. Luke did great eating 7 bites of applesauce and cereal at his first meal, 5 bites at his second feeding and 7 bites at his third this is the most we've gotten in to him ever.
Thursday, morning I was so excited when I picked him up out of his bed in the morning, he actually picked up his head off my shoulder for the first time since the accident. We took him into his EEG appt with high hopes that we would find out that he doesn't have any seizures, only to be disappointed because it looks as though perhaps he is having some. I just couldn't stop the tears flowing all the way home, it just seems to be taking so long to have God heal him, though I know that He is doing the healing in His timing, I just wish that it would happen today! Just to let you know that I hate to cry in front of people, I guess it's just the part of me that says Sue you have so much to be thankful for what are you crying for. I ask myself why am I telling you all this, and I guess it's because I want you to know that though at times I appear to be so strong actually I'm weak without the Lord's help to make it through each and every day, I would sit in a corner and cry all the time.
I find it interesting that on the way to the hospital on Saturday morning, on the way to hospital on Sunday afternoon and then on the way to Isaiah's Dr.'s appt. on Monday and once again on the way home from Luke's EEG on Thursday the song Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord was played or talked about on the radio. For those of you that have been following the blog all along, you might remember that Gordy mentioned that song last October as ministering to his heart. I'll be truthful, I didn't want to hear it at those times this week, because I didn't feel like singing Blessed be the name when the road is full of suffering, because this is exactly what my heart was doing was suffering. I know that God is taking us down this road to teach us how to trust in Him with all of our heart and not to lean on our own understanding, in all of our ways acknowledge Him and He will make our path straight. Prov. 3:5 &6 It is so hard, but I'm eternally thankful that God has spared Luke's life and He is bringing him back to fullness in his timing. Below are the words of the song once again. I hope you enjoy it.
Blessed Be Your Name
(Verse 1)Blessed be Your Name, in the land that is plentiful, Where the streams of abundance flow, blessed be Your Name.Blessed be Your Name, when I'm found in the desert place When I walk through the wilderness, blessed be Your Name. Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise, When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say,
(Chorus)Blessed be the Name of the Lord, blessed be Your NameBlessed be the Name of the Lord, blessed be Your glorious Name
(Verse 2)Blessed be Your Name, when the sun's shining down on me When the world's all as it should be, blessed be Your Name Blessed be Your Name, on the road marked with sufferingThough there's pain in the offering, blessed be Your Name Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say
(Bridge)You give and take away, You give and take away, My heart will choose to say, Lord, Blessed be your name
Matt Redman & Beth Redman© 2002 Thank you Music
May God give you a blessed day and I hope that we can all say "we are thankful for his goodness to us today."
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
Monday was also a hard day for me. I took Isaiah in to the Dr to have his ear checked out and found out that it was not doing any better, though today I think it finally is doing better. During that Dr. visit we had to have Lily's PKU blood test redone because the last one they did didn't take for some reason, so it was very stressful listening to her scream while it was being done. It made me wonder if this is what Luke would be doing while they were poking and prodding him on Saturday to get an IV into him. It kills me when I hear a nurse or Dr say how well he is doing during this time just because he can't make any noise, if they would only look at his face they would know that he is crying inside. That day was spent on the phone with Dr.'s and nurses as we scheduled his G-J tube change and his medicine changes. Then running to the pharmacy to pick up the medicine.
Tuesday started out early after only a few hours of sleep. Luke was once again poked for an IV, I was furious when two different nurses tried to start one in his hand and ankle at the same time. Once again one of the nurses commented on how well he was doing, inside I was screaming just look at his face, as tears just ran down my face. He did do well and slept most of the day off and on after the procedure was done. As we went to the Pulmonologist office that day I was trying so hard not to get my hopes up that the Dr. would say that we were close to getting ready to get his trach out. I left there with some hope in my heart that perhaps it would be within a month or so. He is doing so well with his passy muir valve and his oxygen levels seem to rise when it is on. It is so good to hear him making noises once again, it seems that when he does he surprises himself and gets such a sweet look in his eyes.
Wednesday I decided that he needed a day of rest so I took advantage of his message therapy appt. with my good friend, Brooke, to say that I needed it is an understatement. Luke did great eating 7 bites of applesauce and cereal at his first meal, 5 bites at his second feeding and 7 bites at his third this is the most we've gotten in to him ever.
Thursday, morning I was so excited when I picked him up out of his bed in the morning, he actually picked up his head off my shoulder for the first time since the accident. We took him into his EEG appt with high hopes that we would find out that he doesn't have any seizures, only to be disappointed because it looks as though perhaps he is having some. I just couldn't stop the tears flowing all the way home, it just seems to be taking so long to have God heal him, though I know that He is doing the healing in His timing, I just wish that it would happen today! Just to let you know that I hate to cry in front of people, I guess it's just the part of me that says Sue you have so much to be thankful for what are you crying for. I ask myself why am I telling you all this, and I guess it's because I want you to know that though at times I appear to be so strong actually I'm weak without the Lord's help to make it through each and every day, I would sit in a corner and cry all the time.
I find it interesting that on the way to the hospital on Saturday morning, on the way to hospital on Sunday afternoon and then on the way to Isaiah's Dr.'s appt. on Monday and once again on the way home from Luke's EEG on Thursday the song Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord was played or talked about on the radio. For those of you that have been following the blog all along, you might remember that Gordy mentioned that song last October as ministering to his heart. I'll be truthful, I didn't want to hear it at those times this week, because I didn't feel like singing Blessed be the name when the road is full of suffering, because this is exactly what my heart was doing was suffering. I know that God is taking us down this road to teach us how to trust in Him with all of our heart and not to lean on our own understanding, in all of our ways acknowledge Him and He will make our path straight. Prov. 3:5 &6 It is so hard, but I'm eternally thankful that God has spared Luke's life and He is bringing him back to fullness in his timing. Below are the words of the song once again. I hope you enjoy it.
Blessed Be Your Name
(Verse 1)Blessed be Your Name, in the land that is plentiful, Where the streams of abundance flow, blessed be Your Name.Blessed be Your Name, when I'm found in the desert place When I walk through the wilderness, blessed be Your Name. Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise, When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say,
(Chorus)Blessed be the Name of the Lord, blessed be Your NameBlessed be the Name of the Lord, blessed be Your glorious Name
(Verse 2)Blessed be Your Name, when the sun's shining down on me When the world's all as it should be, blessed be Your Name Blessed be Your Name, on the road marked with sufferingThough there's pain in the offering, blessed be Your Name Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say
(Bridge)You give and take away, You give and take away, My heart will choose to say, Lord, Blessed be your name
Matt Redman & Beth Redman© 2002 Thank you Music
May God give you a blessed day and I hope that we can all say "we are thankful for his goodness to us today."
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
A busy day and good news
The day started very early as we had to be at the hospital at 7:15am for the surgery to replace Luke’s G/J tube. After a bit of waiting, we went to the room where they were going to do the procedure. They were able to get the IV started on the second attempt. The procedure did not last very long and was successful in replacing the tube.
Sue took Luke home and I went to work for a few hours. We had feed Luke 3 times a day 80 ml per feeding until this past weekend when we stopped because he was sick. Today we started bolis feeding him again and he took three feedings of 60ml. Each day we will increase them by 5ml until we reach 80ml per feeding. Our goal is to get 4 feedings of 80ml each plus we feed him via his pump the balance of 1.1 litre..
Later in the day we had an appointment with Luke’s Pulmonologist. The doctor agreed to let us get Luke a Passy Muir valve. Yeah! This is the beginning of working toward removing the trach. A Passy Muir valve is a one way valve allowing him to breath in through the trach and out through the mouth. With a Passy Muir, Luke can make noise and maybe even talk. The doctor said that Lukes lungs did not sound completely clear. We told him about Luke being sick and the surgery this morning. The doctor wants us to return in a month and if Luke’s lungs sound clear then he will schedule a test to check Luke’s breathing. If Luke passes that test, then his trach can be removed. Please pray that Luke’s lungs will clear up and that he doesn’t get sick again.
On Thursday, Luke will be having an EEG. If all goes well and Luke does not have any seizures, then we hope to get him off of his antiseizure medicine, which would be awesome. Pray that he will sleep during the test and wont have any seizures. Pray that we will be able to get rid of the medicine.
I went back to the very beginning of the blog and read some of the early posts. I am amazed at how deeply it still touches my soul. I was amazed to see that in less then a day and a half, there were people in Ireland and Iraq praying for Luke. God is so amazing!
Sue took Luke home and I went to work for a few hours. We had feed Luke 3 times a day 80 ml per feeding until this past weekend when we stopped because he was sick. Today we started bolis feeding him again and he took three feedings of 60ml. Each day we will increase them by 5ml until we reach 80ml per feeding. Our goal is to get 4 feedings of 80ml each plus we feed him via his pump the balance of 1.1 litre..
Later in the day we had an appointment with Luke’s Pulmonologist. The doctor agreed to let us get Luke a Passy Muir valve. Yeah! This is the beginning of working toward removing the trach. A Passy Muir valve is a one way valve allowing him to breath in through the trach and out through the mouth. With a Passy Muir, Luke can make noise and maybe even talk. The doctor said that Lukes lungs did not sound completely clear. We told him about Luke being sick and the surgery this morning. The doctor wants us to return in a month and if Luke’s lungs sound clear then he will schedule a test to check Luke’s breathing. If Luke passes that test, then his trach can be removed. Please pray that Luke’s lungs will clear up and that he doesn’t get sick again.
On Thursday, Luke will be having an EEG. If all goes well and Luke does not have any seizures, then we hope to get him off of his antiseizure medicine, which would be awesome. Pray that he will sleep during the test and wont have any seizures. Pray that we will be able to get rid of the medicine.
I went back to the very beginning of the blog and read some of the early posts. I am amazed at how deeply it still touches my soul. I was amazed to see that in less then a day and a half, there were people in Ireland and Iraq praying for Luke. God is so amazing!
Monday, February 07, 2005
A busy few days and a few more to come
On Saturday night Luke slept really well and his fever seemed to be getting under control. We returned to the hospital on Sunday afternoon for a followup. They were so busy and Luke was doing better, so they just removed his IV and gave us a prescription for an Antibiotic. We were in and out in 20 minutes. WOW!
Last night was a rough night, as Luke did not sleep very well and his fever seemed to return. Now today, his fever is again under control. His doctor called and said he has the beginnings of a trach infection.
Tuesday morning we are taking Luke to the hospital very early to have his G/J tube replaced, as it has been leaking. This is totally unrelated to the sickness. Please pray that his fever will remain in check and they will be able to start an IV without any problems. Later in the day, we have an appointment with his pulmonologist. We are hoping that we will get the go ahead for Luke to begin using a Passy Muir. A Passy Muir valve is a one way valve that allows him to breath in through his trach and out through his vocal cords and out his mouth. Because the air passes through the vocal cords he can make noises and potentially talk. The Passy Muir is one of the first steps toward removing of the trach.
Katie mentioned reading about climbers on Mt Everest using portable Hyper Baric chambers to deal with altitude sickness. The chambers are in essence the same thing that Luke goes into for HBOT. The main difference is because they are portable, so they are made of light weight materials, think of it being made of a inflatable plastic bag, kind of like the jumpy toys you see at fun parks for kids to jump on. The chamber Luke enters can withstand a much higher pressure, up to 3.0 ATA (Atmospheres). Luke dives to 1.5 ATA and the portable chambers can only go to 1.2 to 1.3 ATA. Due to the experimental nature of HBOT, there is differing opinion as to the most effective depth. Generally, 1.5 ATA is standard protocol. Could Luke benefit from a portable chamber, answer, most likely. I am sure many of you watched the Super Bowl and Terrell Owens who plays for Philadelphia broke his leg about 6 weeks ago. Owens purchased a portable HyperBaric chamber to put in his house to help him with the healing process. I wonder if TO would like to donate his slightly used chamber to a little boy in Washington :)
Last Thursday night and then again on Sunday night I typed out a blog only to have blogger swallow it before I could save or post it. I really think that someone doesn’t want me to blog. Well, here goes one more time. Last week I was talking with a friend at work and they told me they had a dream about Luke. In their dream Luke was walking around and playing with the other kids at a park. He was talking, smiling and having fun. I asked them how old he was in their dream and they thought he looked about 4. There have been many people that have told us about dreams they have had of Luke. I find them encouraging, because it gives me hope that God will heal Luke and that we will see these dreams become real before our very eyes. I think about what it will be like to witness him walking again and talking and smiling that beautiful smile. Those will be awesome days of rejoicing and praising God for what he has done. So in advance, Thank You Lord for saving Lukes life and healing his little body. May he know you and serve you with his whole heart, mind and soul, forever. In Jesus name. Amen.
I find that the dreams help me to keep my eyes on who will heal Luke, you see it is not doctors, or therapies, or medicines that will heal Luke, but it is God Himself that will heal Luke. He may use doctors, medicines or therapies as instruments in Luke’s healing, but it is God that does the healing. I wait for that day with great anticipation to see what and how God will do it. One key to all of this is prayer, and there are so many of you that are involved, I am truly amazed. Recently we received an email from a couple that we have never met they have been following the blog from the beginning. Each day they rise very early at 2:30am to get ready for work and part of their routine is to pray for Luke and the Searles family without fail. I must admit when I read that email, tears filled my eyes to realize how much God loves me, that he has people praying for us. The really awesome thing is He loves each of us the same, nobody is more special then the next. God loves You! In the email they talked about how while Sue and I are Luke’s biological parents, they have adopted him into their family and in their hearts. God has entrusted Luke into our care and I count it a great privilege, just like I do for each of my seven children.
Last night was a rough night, as Luke did not sleep very well and his fever seemed to return. Now today, his fever is again under control. His doctor called and said he has the beginnings of a trach infection.
Tuesday morning we are taking Luke to the hospital very early to have his G/J tube replaced, as it has been leaking. This is totally unrelated to the sickness. Please pray that his fever will remain in check and they will be able to start an IV without any problems. Later in the day, we have an appointment with his pulmonologist. We are hoping that we will get the go ahead for Luke to begin using a Passy Muir. A Passy Muir valve is a one way valve that allows him to breath in through his trach and out through his vocal cords and out his mouth. Because the air passes through the vocal cords he can make noises and potentially talk. The Passy Muir is one of the first steps toward removing of the trach.
Katie mentioned reading about climbers on Mt Everest using portable Hyper Baric chambers to deal with altitude sickness. The chambers are in essence the same thing that Luke goes into for HBOT. The main difference is because they are portable, so they are made of light weight materials, think of it being made of a inflatable plastic bag, kind of like the jumpy toys you see at fun parks for kids to jump on. The chamber Luke enters can withstand a much higher pressure, up to 3.0 ATA (Atmospheres). Luke dives to 1.5 ATA and the portable chambers can only go to 1.2 to 1.3 ATA. Due to the experimental nature of HBOT, there is differing opinion as to the most effective depth. Generally, 1.5 ATA is standard protocol. Could Luke benefit from a portable chamber, answer, most likely. I am sure many of you watched the Super Bowl and Terrell Owens who plays for Philadelphia broke his leg about 6 weeks ago. Owens purchased a portable HyperBaric chamber to put in his house to help him with the healing process. I wonder if TO would like to donate his slightly used chamber to a little boy in Washington :)
Last Thursday night and then again on Sunday night I typed out a blog only to have blogger swallow it before I could save or post it. I really think that someone doesn’t want me to blog. Well, here goes one more time. Last week I was talking with a friend at work and they told me they had a dream about Luke. In their dream Luke was walking around and playing with the other kids at a park. He was talking, smiling and having fun. I asked them how old he was in their dream and they thought he looked about 4. There have been many people that have told us about dreams they have had of Luke. I find them encouraging, because it gives me hope that God will heal Luke and that we will see these dreams become real before our very eyes. I think about what it will be like to witness him walking again and talking and smiling that beautiful smile. Those will be awesome days of rejoicing and praising God for what he has done. So in advance, Thank You Lord for saving Lukes life and healing his little body. May he know you and serve you with his whole heart, mind and soul, forever. In Jesus name. Amen.
I find that the dreams help me to keep my eyes on who will heal Luke, you see it is not doctors, or therapies, or medicines that will heal Luke, but it is God Himself that will heal Luke. He may use doctors, medicines or therapies as instruments in Luke’s healing, but it is God that does the healing. I wait for that day with great anticipation to see what and how God will do it. One key to all of this is prayer, and there are so many of you that are involved, I am truly amazed. Recently we received an email from a couple that we have never met they have been following the blog from the beginning. Each day they rise very early at 2:30am to get ready for work and part of their routine is to pray for Luke and the Searles family without fail. I must admit when I read that email, tears filled my eyes to realize how much God loves me, that he has people praying for us. The really awesome thing is He loves each of us the same, nobody is more special then the next. God loves You! In the email they talked about how while Sue and I are Luke’s biological parents, they have adopted him into their family and in their hearts. God has entrusted Luke into our care and I count it a great privilege, just like I do for each of my seven children.
Saturday, February 05, 2005
We are back home
It has been an extremly long day. Last night around 6:00 Luke began to run a fever. The fever ranged from 101 -104. In addition to the fever, his heart rate was elevated. Sue was up all night with Luke and sometimes Lilly. At 5:00am we called a consulting nurse and they recommended that we take him to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital around 6:15 am until 3:45pm this afternoon. At the hospital, they ran blood tests, urine tests, test on the secretions from his trach, xrays and other tests all in an effort to determine the cause of the fever. From the tests, the Dr believes that Luke is developing an infection, but is not able to pin point the source. They gave Luke an antibiotic via IV to fight the infection. We have to return to the hospital tomorrow at 3:00pm to have Luke examined again and make sure he is improving. Needless to say, Sue is wiped out, she is lying down now for a nap. We contacted one of our nurses and she will be coming this evening to help with the night shift.
Please pray that Sue will be refreshed, that Lily will sleep, and that Luke will be healed, in more ways then one.
I so appreciate each and everyone of you and the prayers that you offer up to God on our behalf. May God bless you.
Please pray that Sue will be refreshed, that Lily will sleep, and that Luke will be healed, in more ways then one.
I so appreciate each and everyone of you and the prayers that you offer up to God on our behalf. May God bless you.
Please Pray!
Luke has been running a high fever all night along with a high heart rate and respiration. We are taking him to the hospital now. Please pray they find the cause. I will blog more later.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Good news to share about our past week
Last weekend was an awesome time for Daniel, Amy & Natalie. They went on a winter retreat with Destiny Christian Center in Centralia, WA, where Daniel is in their Generational Training Center. I'm going to have Amy share some words about what God did in her life this weekend:
"Well first I have to say God is so good. This weekend was awesome and God did a lot in my life. I went this weekend really tired and discouraged, but on the first night God gave a girl a word for me. The word was that this weekend was going to be a time of refreshing and renewing. Also that night God healed some pain and hurt I had pertaining to Luke's accident. On Saturday night our speaker talked about waiting on the Lord. This was so good because I have really been wondering lately what I'm going to do with my life. That night I felt like God said, "Amy I have a plan for your life but you just need to be patient and WAIT on Me." God gave me a wonderful peace about my future. The Lord is so AWESOME and God's word given through that girl came true, I was refreshed and renewed. I feel like I have a new joy and mission. God is so good." Thank you for all your prayers concerning the weekend for the kids, God answered them!
Luke is having an awesome week so far, he is taking his food so much better and able to handle so much more. He is sleeping better, in fact he once again broke his record for the time he has slept continuously, he didn't wake up all night until 8:15 on Monday morning and our nurse said that he was swallowing all night long. He also moved on Tuesday night, which was a first since the accident, when I went in to check on him this morning he actually had his head turned and was touching the side of the crib, it used to be where you layed him is where you would find him in the morning.
He will be going in for his 20th dive tomorrow night. We were once again blessed with money for more dives, through the "Zander Fund." This is an organization that donates money for children that have special needs. It was started in 2003 when a precious little 2 year old boy named, Alexander Kendall died of a drowning accident. What a wonderful and unselfish deed for this family in their time of grief to turn around and bless others with their generosity. We are once again amazed at how God has brought so many wonderful families into our lives to pray and support us through this long and exciting journey we are on toward Luke's full recovery.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
"Well first I have to say God is so good. This weekend was awesome and God did a lot in my life. I went this weekend really tired and discouraged, but on the first night God gave a girl a word for me. The word was that this weekend was going to be a time of refreshing and renewing. Also that night God healed some pain and hurt I had pertaining to Luke's accident. On Saturday night our speaker talked about waiting on the Lord. This was so good because I have really been wondering lately what I'm going to do with my life. That night I felt like God said, "Amy I have a plan for your life but you just need to be patient and WAIT on Me." God gave me a wonderful peace about my future. The Lord is so AWESOME and God's word given through that girl came true, I was refreshed and renewed. I feel like I have a new joy and mission. God is so good." Thank you for all your prayers concerning the weekend for the kids, God answered them!
Luke is having an awesome week so far, he is taking his food so much better and able to handle so much more. He is sleeping better, in fact he once again broke his record for the time he has slept continuously, he didn't wake up all night until 8:15 on Monday morning and our nurse said that he was swallowing all night long. He also moved on Tuesday night, which was a first since the accident, when I went in to check on him this morning he actually had his head turned and was touching the side of the crib, it used to be where you layed him is where you would find him in the morning.
He will be going in for his 20th dive tomorrow night. We were once again blessed with money for more dives, through the "Zander Fund." This is an organization that donates money for children that have special needs. It was started in 2003 when a precious little 2 year old boy named, Alexander Kendall died of a drowning accident. What a wonderful and unselfish deed for this family in their time of grief to turn around and bless others with their generosity. We are once again amazed at how God has brought so many wonderful families into our lives to pray and support us through this long and exciting journey we are on toward Luke's full recovery.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
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