Thursday, May 29, 2008

We are marveling at God's healing power once again!

Gordy just came into the living room a few minutes ago marveling at how well Luke is doing. God has once again heard our prayers and touched our little Lukie. As I mentioned in our last post about e-mailing Luke's Dr. about asking for a 2nd opinion of the x-ray, well he did just that and both he and the radiologist decided that Luke does not have pneumonia. I already knew that he didn't when he hasn't needed any oxygen at all since Tuesday night, and has no fever at all.

Luke has quite a few appointments next week. On Monday he has his normal PT/OT appt., then on Tuesday he has an appt. with the Pulmonologist and Thursday an appt. with his Rehab Dr. Please be praying especially for his appointment on Tuesday to go smoothly, my biggest prayer request is that the Dr. will give some new suggestions on how to get Luke's lungs cleared up, something other then suggesting a tracheotomy would be nice.

You might notice I've added a new Prayer link to Luke's blog, for the Lockwood Family. This is a dear family that I recently stumbled across, they currently are missionaries to Mexico. They have 11 children and their sweet daddy has been having some huge medical problems. Will you join with me in lifting up this dear family, they are desperate for prayers right now. Also keep Teena in your prayers as she just lost her Momma. Thank you for your faithfulness.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

It's the roaller coaster ride that never ends, it just goes on and on my friend! Though I will not give up hope that it will end soon

It's the roller coaster ride that never ends, it just goes on and on my friend, sometimes I think that we are getting near the end, but then we take a dip and go straight down into the valley again. All that to say Luke is sick again. Natalie got sick on Saturday night, I'm assuming she caught what the other children had last week. She is still not 100 %, though she is doing much better. Luke began to get sick yesterday, I knew when we took him for a walk with all the family he was not doing good, as the day progressed he continually got worse and worse, until this morning he was on 5 liters of oxygen and his fever hit 103.5 at one time, along with a heartrate soaring way too high.

I took him into his Pediatrician and at that time he was doing quite a bit better, he was only on one liter of oxygen and his fever was down to 100.3. The Dr. listened to his chest and said that he did not hear any bad sounds, but said we should have an X-ray done just to be sure nothing was brewing. I dread Luke getting chest X-rays, he usually ends up yelling and crying by the time they are done taking the pictures. Both the Dr. and I compared his x-ray with his last set in February and decided that it looked pretty good, that is too say good for Luke, which never has a completely clear x-ray. I was so surprised to get a call from the Dr. at dinner saying that the radiologist thinks he has pneumonia, and it looks worse than the last time. The Dr. wanted to get him started on an antibiotic right away, but I told him I didn't think the radiologist was correct since Luke was doing so much better. He is doing great tonight, only on a little oxygen and his heartrate is back to normal, with no more fever. I e-mailed his Dr. tonight asking if we could get a second opinion on the x-rays, of course I haven't heard back yet. The Dr. also wants Luke to go back to his pulmonologist to check out his x-rays to see if anything can be done to clear up his lungs. I'm not looking forward to that appt.

I've been praying for Cindy all week, hoping to hear that your pain has been getting better, also for Teena for her hard situation and for comfort as she just lost her Mom a few days ago, for Alane that her headaches will get better, and Praise God she wrote to say that they are improving and for Kris' ankles to get better. I love praying for people and enjoy hearing their answers to prayers.

I hope you enjoyed watching the video Amy put together of Luke's life in pictures. I look forward to the day that we can complete that video with his walking again. I will not and can not give up on believing that his miracle is coming soon. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, the miracles he performed in the Bible He is still does today. Don't lose hope in your situation God is a BIG God and He can do all things for those who put their faith and hope in God.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

Hello Everyone,

Here is a video I put together for my mom. She asked me to put it up. I hope you all like it.

In Christ,

Luke's Sister, Amy

Friday, May 23, 2008

I'm not asking for your prayers today, just your prayer requests

Thank you for your prayers! The weekend went far beyond all my hopes and prayers. God moved in so many lives and the testimonies from the weekend are amazing to hear.

Luke is doing good once again, along with the rest of the children. He ended up having one more rough night and then began to make a complete turn around for the better. The kids go to the YMCA every Tuesday and Thursday, where they do a wonderful Homeschool PE program and participate in a choir. Today Luke went with Amy and Natalie, since I had a lunch date with some mom's of handicapped children. He seems to enjoy his time watching everyone play racquetball and walking/running around the track with Mom pushing him. I took him and Lily to watch the children perform for their choir today, they sang to the YMCA board, it was so amazing to see and hear Luke respond by "singing" along with the children. I had to shush him a bit because he thought he would be louder than those singing. He was such a smiley little guy for the rest of the day, he knew he had performed with the group for the first time.

How's all my friends out there is blogland? So many of you have become good friends, though we've never met. Please comment and let me know how you are or if you need any prayer today, instead of asking for you to pray for our family this time, I thought we could pray for yours.

Be blessed today and I look forward to hearing from you.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

Friday, May 16, 2008

Quick Update with Plea's to continue to pray

Quick update, Luke had a horrible night last night, did I say horrible! I was up until 3:30 messing with his oxygen levels, that were all over the map. This morning he is awake and doing a tiny bit better. I'm supposed to be leaving today at 11:30 for our church Women's retreat, that I have been directing and organizing with the help of some wonderful friends. I still have a bit to pull together, as I'm in charge of bringing all the food and making sure I have everything else in order for the weekend.

PLEASE PRAY: For Luke to do better, for Lily, Amy and Zeke to be 100% today, they are all doing better but weren't feeling their best last night. Also for Gordy as he is staying home by himself with all the children, for strength and extra patience as he is tired. For me that I will have the strength to not only get through this weekend, but that God would give me His amazing strength and for a peace about leaving my children home sick. For the retreat that women will be refreshed and encouraged in their walks with Christ, that GOD will do amazing things!

Thank you,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Calling All Prayer Warriors our family is once again in the need of your prayers

What do you get when you have an A+E+L+L+I all sick, a bunch of Searles not feeling well. Two days ago Amy and Zeke came down with some kind of bad flu bug, now Lily has it and Luke has been fighting it all day, tonight Isaiah wasn't feeling so good either. It seems whenever I plan on doing some ministry work my children get sick. I know it is an attack of the enemy, he doesn't want our family focusing on anyone but ourselves. Well, satan is not going to win, I'm still going to be putting together our Women's retreat this weekend. That's right I've been working on putting together a women's retreat for the ladies at our church. The theme of the weekend is "Look What the Lord has Done", ladies will be sharing amazing stories of what God has done in their lives.

PLEASE pray right now that all the Searles will be healthy, that satan will be defeated and the retreat will be victorious in bringing women closer to God and to each other.

I hope all you Mother's had a wonderful Mother's Day, I sure did. I'm blessed with the most wonderful children that have ever lived. They let me sleep until noon on Saturday, that was the best gift I could receive on top of that they cleaned cars for me, bought me flowers, gave me wonderful home made cards and then to top it off we all went for a beautiful walk on a beautiful day.

Thank you once again for your prayers,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

We are ready for spring, how about you?

Here is the family enjoying a rare sunny day
Thought I would share this picture of our family, minus two, plus two, out on a walk to the Nisqually Refuge, a beautiful place full of little animals, birds and amazing scenery. We all had a great time enjoying one of the few sunny day's that we've had here in our area. I don't know about you, but we are ready to have some sunny days, the rain and wind are getting a bit tiresome.

I'm thanking the Lord that everyone is healthy. Luke began a new medication for his muscle tone a few days ago, I haven't seen any changes yet, but we are hoping it will loosen him up a bit. I took him in for a check up a few days ago and was pleased to hear that he is looking and sounding good, except for his legs, which his pediatrician has recommended we take him to a Orthopedic Dr. to check out. I'll be honest the day I take him into this Dr. will be a hard day for me to hear what is going on with the structure of his bones and muscles. I haven't called to set up the appt. yet but will soon.

I went up to the Starlight Starbright office yesterday to do some FREE shopping. We are so blessed to part of this program. If you know of a child that is critically ill or has ongoing medical issues please let them know about Starlight Starbright, it is one of the most wonderful discoveries our family has made.

Be blessed today my wonderful blog friends,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

Thursday, May 01, 2008

We are happy to report that Luke is laughing and smiling all the time lately!

Thank you for your patience on receiving an update about Luke. Luke has been doing amazingly well. He started laughing in a whole new way last week. Last Wednesday night I was playing with him and tickling him when he started to laugh, not just snorting like he used to do, but actually laughing. What a wonderful sound to my ears. He has been smiling more lately than I've ever seen him do before. I think it is interesting that someone recently prayed specifically that we would see more smiles and laughing and that is exactly what has happened. THANK YOU JESUS!

I took Luke into his rehab Dr. today and the Dr. was amazed at how well Luke's tone is doing. I came into his office today knowing that I wanted to try a new medication for his muscle tone. I don't think he is used to Mom's coming in with 15 pages of reasons why they want to try out a new medication, (thank you Tiffany). I mentioned to him about the fact that at Luke's last visit he made a comment that has played over and over in my head, he asked me "don't you want your child to be comfortable?" after a comment I made about how difficult it is to have a child on a medication that you have to give 3 times a day. Anyway he said that he did not mean what he said, he just always looks at how bad Luke's muscle tone is and so desperately wants to do something about it. I told him though that I thought that Luke had improved recently and he agreed with me after checking out his arms, wrists, fingers and legs. He said he was amazed that he had made such great progress without any medications, at which time I told him we pray a lot and feel that our prayers to God makes the difference. He said to keep up what we are doing since it is working. Thank you everyone that prays for Luke your prayers are making a difference.

One last thing to share with you is that when Luke went to Occupational Therapy last week, his OT was getting out some new things for Luke to play with and we told him to push the big red button and Luke did it every time. It was so wonderful to watch him look at the button and then push it every time. I know that he has done this before but I've never seen him do it so consistently.

I celebrated my Birthday yesterday and I was thinking about all the things that I'm thankful for, so I thought I would leave you with 44 things, can you guess how old I am?
I'm Thankful for: 1. My faithful Father God who never leaves me for a second, that I can trust at all times and for His son Jesus who died on the cross so that I can be saved. 2. A wonderful husband who has faithfully been my best friend for almost 25 years. 3. My oldest son Daniel, who wrote me the sweetest poem for my Birthday. 4. Amy who goes out her way to make life easier for me every day. 5. Natalie who is always by my side going the extra mile to help carry my burden. 6. Isaiah who is such a sweet little organizer. 7. Ezekiel who is always sure to give me good morning kisses and hugs. 8. Luke who has the most beautiful smile and laughter. 9. My little Lily Lou, who keeps me young. 10. My wonderful parents who are always so helpful and giving. 11. My Sister Cindy and her husband Tom, Cindy is always there when I need her no matter what time of the day I call. 12. My sister Jill and her husband John, who just moved closer and has offered on numerous times to help watch Isaiah, Ezekiel and Lily for me. 13. My sister Lori and her husband Lonnie, who is more than capable of helping me out when I'm in need a helping hand. 14. My brother Bud and his wife Lis, who is always ready to give me some advice about a new supplement or vitamin he's heard about that could help Luke. 15. My sister in law Pam and her husband Hal, who so willingly drove an hour just to come to my BUNCO Birthday party last weekend. 16. My wonderful friend Yoli and her husband Juan, who are always willing to take Luke into their home or for that matter any of my children at anytime and for her wonderful listening ear and prayers. 17. My great friend Barb and her husband Rick and her children who are always willing to babysit Luke when able to and for Barb's open ear to my cries when I'm in desperate need of prayer. 18. My friend Mary and her husband Mike, who though they live so far away are always close with a phone call and for their prayers. 19. My "adopted" son Josh, who is always willing to help out around the home and who is a mighty prayer warrior. 20. My friends Kim, Jo, Shari, Laurie, Jane, Colleen, Jackie who are wonderful at getting me out of the house every once in awhile to spend hours playing cards and laughing. 21. My friend Jeri who is always ready to pray and offer a kind word. 22. Tiffany who is amazingly smart and always willing to share with me all her new findings and for her long distant friendship. 23. My friends Andrea, Carolyn, & Laurie, though we don't see each other often, when we do I always feel encouraged when I leave. 24. My friend Susan E., you've encouraged me on numerous occasions. 25. For Teena, Julie, Loni, Annie, Jenni, Kathryn, Kehau and all my other blog friends, though I've never met you I consider you to be some great friends. 26. For all my friends at church, there are too numerous to mention them all. 27. My new friends that went with me to Romania, that trip was awesome and I'm so thankful for the time spent together with you all. 28. For Luke's laughter. 29. For Gordy's job and willingness to supply all our families now. 30. For the sunshine. 31. For our home. 32. Health, everyone is healthy in our family right now. 33. That summer is coming soon. 34. For the YMCA, thank you for your hard work. 35. For Matt the Rolfer, who is so generous and kind. 36. For Doug and Jim at HBOT, you guys are great! 37. For Luke's Dr.'s and Therapists, especially for his PT Sara, who has really gone the extra mile on numerous occasions. 38. For the ocean. 39. For my Mountain Rainier, your beauty gives me strength. 40. For hope that does not fail. 41. Popcorn and Chocolate. 42. For a wonderful report back from the Dr. about my dad's health. 43. For camera's. 44. For too many things, the list could go on and on, but I need to stop.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Suzi