I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart, Luke got his trach out and is doing great!

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart? Where? Down in my heart. I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart, down in my heart to stay and I’m so happy, yes, so very happy, I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart and I’m so happy, so very happy, Luke got his trach out yesterday. That was the song that I sang on the way home from the Hospital yesterday. To say that I am happy is putting it mildly, I would like to announce to the world God's goodness to our family is great!

God is so good all the time! Let me begin by going back to the day of the bronchoscopy procedure. As the nurse was going over the directions for the procedure, nothing was said about getting his trach out, which is called decanulation. So Gordy asked her about why it was not written on the paper, she said not to sign the paper and have us wait for the Dr. to explain what was going to happen that morning. When he came in to go over what would be happening, we brought up the fact that decanulation was not mentioned on the paper and asked why. He said that he didn’t want to put it down because he was not sure if Luke was ready to get his trach out, so we asked how will we know if he is ready. He said if there was not any scarring tissue or granulation in his bronchial and if he could handle swallowing and breathing without the trach he would try to take it out, but he sounded doubtful. I just could not become discouraged, because I truly believed in my heart that Luke was going to get his trach out that day, I had such peace in my heart, though satan tried to steal it continually.

I was asked if I would like to stay in the room during the procedure and I said sure, so I was able to pray right behind Luke the entire time and watch as the scope was happening. I did not see any scarring or anything but beautiful pink tissue as he would go down different parts of the bronchia’s. They took out the trach and he was having a difficult time breathing for just a few minutes and the Dr. that was giving him his IV and monitoring his vital signs made the comment that he thought that if it was left out he would be seeing Luke that night in the Intensive Care Unit, I began to pray all the harder and went over to Luke since he was awake and talked with him, he began to settle down with his breathing when he knew I was there and his stats began to look good and the Dr. changed his mind. They both said that they guessed he could try to keep the trach out and that they were guardedly optimistic. I told them that I would take the optimistic part of that and that I was praying that we would be leaving there the next morning with out a trach. As the Dr. who made the comment about seeing him that night left he said to Gordy, we may be seeing you tonight, Gordy replied to him why are you planning to stop by his room for a visit? He just gave Gordy a funny smile and left.

It was wonderful having the peace of God, that only He can give that morning and know that because I felt the Lord had told me that Luke was going to get his trach out it was going to happen. No matter what the Dr.’s said, or what the circumstances looked like. I was so excited to also be told by the pulmonologist that Luke’s muscle tone is doing so much better and he is looking so good. That was like putting another happy song in my already joyful heart.

Thank you for your prayers. The hospital stay was great. We had many people stop by with tears in their eye’s rejoicing with us that Luke is doing so wonderful. My sister Cindy was with us through out the day helping with Lily and Luke and then in the evening my wonderful friend Yoli, came to help with night duty again. She had been there every night while Luke was in the hospital the original time. We had a great night praying, watching Luke, while doing our Bible study and testifying to our night nurse. My sister Jill was also able to stop by for a quick visit in the evening. I knew that I would not be able to sleep much because they said the only way we would be dismissed to go the next morning is if Luke’s oxygen levels stayed above 90 all night. So I only got about two hours of sleep. Luke did great, once again showing that God was with him each step of the way.

I have one last wonderful thing to tell all of you. During the procedure Gordy stayed in the waiting area and while he was praying for Luke, he once again gave him to the Lord. As he was praying the Lord showed him a wonderful dream; as he symbolically put Luke in the arms of Jesus, Jesus just reached down and gave him a kiss and it looked like he breathed a breath of life into Luke, then he set Luke down on the ground and Luke ran back to Gordy. Gordy felt like the Lord then said to him I am the Lord that is healing Luke. Gordy and I were in tears as he shared this with me after the procedure, knowing that we continue to see a miracle in process.

Luke is doing great, our biggest prayer requests right now are that God will keep him healthy and that he will not get any infection in the trach hole. Also that he will continue to have a strong cough to get out any remaining secretions in his chest so that it won’t go into bronchitis or pnemonia. May God richly bless you today and just know that He loves you more than you can even imagine.

Love in Christ,
Luke’s Mommy Sue

Luke sitting with Dad after arriving home.

Luke with Natalie at home

Lily trying out Luke's hospital bed.

Luke sleeping peacefully last night.

Luke and Amy sitting in his room. Look at me, no trach, WooHoo!!

Mom holding Luke in his hospital room

Luke with Dad just after getting his trach removed

On the table just before the procedure is due to start

Mom waiting with Luke before the procedure

Isaiah reading a book to Luke the night before

I am ready to leave this place without my trach.

Mom and Luke sitting on the couch after arriving back home

Luke and Lily sitting on the swing a few days earlier.

Update on Luke

Luke has had a fever all afternoon. The doctor said that this was possible due to the procedure. Luke has been able to maintain his oxygen saturation at a level that is acceptable. His doctor just stopped by and said it looks good and Luke should be able to go home tomorrow. Please continue to pray for Luke to cough and swallow the secretions allowing him to clear the secretions. I will blog some pictures this evening when I get home.

IT'S OUT!!!!!!

Luke has finally got his trach out!!!!!!! The doctors are guardedly optimitic about his keeping the trach out. Luke will spend the night in the hospital for observation. Please pray that he will adjust to having his trach out and breath well. If all goes well he will go home tommorrow leaving the trach behind.

Counting down the hours until Luke's trach is gone

We are counting down the hours to Luke’s trach removal. I knew that it would be here someday and I’m so excited it’s tomorrow. We will leave our home at 6:30 a.m. and the procedure will start at 8:00 a.m. Please keep Luke in your prayers as they have to start an IV at 7:00 a.m. for the sedation that they will need to give him. The whole thing should be done by 9:00 a.m. at the latest and then if all goes well we will be transferred to the Hospital for our overnight stay and be home Wednesday morning by 10 a.m. I’m trying hard not to be nervous or anxious, but I’ll be honest it’s hard. I’ve been thinking about the old song “God is Moving, By His Spirit”, it goes something like this, God is moving by His Spirit, moving over all the earth, signs and wonders when God moveth, move oh Lord in me. I truly do feel his peace and words can’t even begin to tell how excited I am.

We will take pictures tomorrow and let you all know how everything is going. I will be staying the night with Luke and Lily and Gordy will come home to be with the other kids, so he will be able to blog tomorrow night. Thank you once again for your continued prayers and support, we have felt them so strongly and continue to need them.

Love in Christ,
Luke’s Mommy Sue

One week and counting until Luke's trach comes out

It’s hard to believe it’s only one more week until Luke is scheduled to get his trach out. This is so big for Luke and our family that we feel we need some extra prayers from the ones of you that know how to do some spiritual warfare. I know that God continues to heal Luke, but I’ll be honest I sometimes struggle with my mind that doubts that it will come anytime soon. It’s hard to explain how I feel at times, I continue to feel the Lord asking me if I trust Him and I have to examine my heart each day as I tell Him that I do trust Him and His perfect plan for my life and Luke’s life.

We will be going through some big changes after Luke gets his trach out. We will lose our wonderful nurses so I will have to be so much more disciplined to get all I need to do each day in my schedule. Though his care will be much easier without his trach we will still need to get his neuro program, massage, feeding’s which take a lot of time, along with all the other children’s schedules that I juggle on a daily basis done. I find such comfort in my favorite scripture at times like these, Corinthians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Today as I was reading a little devotional book that I read daily, I was reminded once again that Jesus is actually in Heaven interceding for me daily, as it says this in Hebrews 7. I began to thank the Lord for his prayers and found comfort to know that not only do I have many wonderful people praying for me and Luke daily, I also have my precious Heavenly Father praying for me. I find great peace in knowing that the Lord cares so much for me that He finds time to pray for me when I ask Him to. All you have to do is ask Jesus to pray for you and He will, I hope that you find that exciting.

Luke is doing awesome with his bolis feeding it is not taking as long to feed him as it used too, which I’m so thankful for. Please continue to pray for him to be able to swallow better so that he can begin to enjoy eating and drinking through his mouth again. Getting rid of his G-J tube will be our next huge step, I know that it will happen when God allows it to. Also please be praying that God will keep our family healthy. Both Isaiah and Zeke have been battling runny noses and have not been sleeping to well. Zeke woke up a few minutes ago with what sounded a little like a croupy cough. I pray daily that God will surround our family with a hedge of protection and give us good health and I’m so thankful that He answers my prayers. It is so important that Luke stays healthy this next week as he prepares to get his trach out.

My prayer for you today is that you will find the same peace that I have in serving God as your personal Lord and Savior, He’s just waiting to be asked into your heart today, if you haven’t done so already. John 3:16 says For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. He’s just waiting to give you eternal life, what a precious and priceless gift that is!

Love in Christ,
Luke’s Mommy Sue

Luke is scheduled to get his Trach out on April 26th

Today was a blessed day. I received a call from the pulmonologist office asking how Luke was doing with the capping of his trach. I told him that he is basically wearing it almost all day with the exception of some suctioning from time to time. She decided that since he was doing so well that she would schedule Luke for a bronchial scope on April 26th. If all looks good they will then take out his trach. I can’t even begin to believe that I’m finally saying these words and yet I can because I know without a shadow of a doubt that God is going to completely restore Luke back to the way he was before the accident. After I hung up the phone and called Gordy to share the good news, I broke down and began to give thanks to the Lord. I felt such an awesome presence of God and was filled with His joy and peace. I would ask that you would specifically pray that God will keep Luke healthy, that I will continue to believe that God is able to allow this to happen and not doubt that it will and that everything will go smoothly on April 26th the day it is scheduled to happen.

Just so you know we will go in at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday the 26th, they will have to put in an IV, which I’m not looking forward to and then once he receives a breathing treatment with a numbing product they will put him to sleep to perform the procedure. If all looks good they will take out his trach and if he handles it okay, they will admit him into the Hospital over night to keep an eye on how he handles being without a trach. Needless to say I’m not looking forward to a overnight stay in the Hospital, but I know that with God I can do all things because he gives me the strength to get through them.

Luke is having another good week. He is taking his food so much better in his g-tube and he’s doing so much better with his arms relaxing. We are getting so much more of his nuero program done now that we are more scheduled during his days. He seems to enjoy all his exercises and is getting so much more flexible the more we do them.

Gordy and I were talking the other night about all that we have to be thankful for and we began to realize it we are so extremely blessed. Let me challenge you about something that Gordy and I learned years ago about giving. When God lays it on our heart to bless someone financially we are always excited about doing it and this past week we were blessed to get a good income tax return, so we decided to bless some people we know. Needless to say we were once again blessed with a large check from some dear family members, we jokingly, but very realistically said that we just can’t seem to give our money away because each time we do God always blesses us with more. You should try it yourself you will be amazed at God’s goodness to you as you give.

You are amazing to us as you continue to lift up our Lukie and family to God in your prayers each day. Thank you once again from the bottom of our hearts, for being a part of Luke’s miracle.

Love in Christ,
Luke’s Mommy Sue

Slowly, steadily and surely God continues to work in Luke's life

I wrote this yesterday on the 7th, but I was unable to publish it because the blog was down, Gordy and I are talking about changing this to a web site, we will keep you posted on what we decide.

Today we celebrated Isaiah’s 6th birthday, I continue to be amazed at how fast my children are growing up. It seems like just yesterday I was in the hospital rejoicing at the fact that God had once again blessed me with another baby after 10 years without one. It was a great day and Luke just loved having all the people over to our home.

Luke is doing great tonight, his oxygen numbers and heart rate look wonderful. After many nights last week of having to give him oxygen he’s finally holding steady on his own. I was beginning to wonder if Luke was ready for the capping of his trach, because he has had a lot more secretions lately. Which means we have to wipe his nose and mouth off continually or suction his trach out quite often. My mind was put to ease though after talking to my dear friend Tiffany, her daughter who had a very similar accident just got her trach out March 3rd and she said that she went through the exact same thing of increased secretions, which her Dr. told her was normal.

We were able to get rid of 3 more machines this past week. I vividly remember the day that we came home from the Hospital as I looked around Luke’s room with all the machines that we needed for him. I knew in my heart that one day we would be able to get rid of them, not realizing at the time that God would take us down a road of slow recovery rather than an instantaneous healing. Needless to say we only have 5 more machines to go and when we get his trach out we will get rid of two more of them right away.

We decided to start cutting Luke’s muscle relaxant medicine. We’ve been diligently working with him daily on massage and cross patterning exercises and they are doing a great job of keeping his muscle so much more relaxed and helping them to release the tension that holds them so tightly. He is becoming much more alert, in fact when I took him to a HBOT session on Tuesday, Jim the attendant was amazed at how much more alert he was that day. It looked like he was wiping his nose and kept touching his face as a comfort measure while he was in the machine.

I would like to share one last thing with you all. My precious Godly mom was here the other day helping Amy and Natalie with their Grammar and spelling, which is an answer to prayer for me, and while she was at the table she looked over and saw Luke looking around the room as if it was his first time seeing it. She felt within her heart that the Lord was telling her that she was seeing a miracle in action. As she began to ponder this thought she felt as though she heard the Lord say to her that she was blessed to be a part of our family as we are seeing this miraculous touch from God on a daily basis. She felt the Lord tell her that not all people get to see a miracle such as we are seeing unfold before our very eyes. She thought just as people plant flowers, they cannot see what is happening under the ground as God grows it up through the dirt. This is exactly what God is doing with Luke we can not always see what is happening on the inside, we just have to trust that God is working His beautiful plan in Luke’s life. I continue to keep on believing that Luke will one day be completely and totally restored to what he was before his accident, though there are days that I have to cling onto my faith in God because I can’t see with His eyes what He is doing each day in Luke’s body, mind and spirit. It is not easy this road that we are on, but we are confident that He who began a good work will complete it!

Once again thank you for your continued support and prayers. It must be discouraging for you at times to turn to our page and see that Luke is not walking or talking yet. Just be encouraged to know that God continues to hear our prayers and Luke is getting better slowly, steadily and surely. I am so glad that you are a part of our miracle!

Love in Christ,
Luke’s Mommy Sue

Here's Luke on his 2nd Birthday

Lily, do you mind if I take a nap?

Here's Ezekiel reading a book to Luke, Luke loves to be read to.

Isaiah's giving Lukie a lovey on Easter day

We had a great time at the ocean even though it was very windy and cold.