Luke had more seizures this afternoon

The doctors are trying to switch Luke's anti seizure medication from one to another and this afternoon he had a few seizures. Please pray that God would give the doctors wisdom on how to best manage the seizures. Also, pray that God would heal Luke of these seizures and that he would not need the medication.

Splints

Luke is getting casted for splints this morning. The purpose of the splints is to be able to stretch his muscles and to keep his joints flexible. So Luke will wear the splints for periods of time.

Also, Please pray in just a few minutes at 11:00 we have a meeting to discuss discharge planning. This meeting will talk about what we need to do to take Luke home. Please pray that God will guide us and give us wisdom in all of the decisions we have to make.

Off the ventilator

Luke has remained off of the ventilator since yesterday evening and is doing well. He is able to breath on his own without the need for oxygen. He still requires suctioning to maintain his airway. Please continue to pray that God will heal his ability to cough and swallow.

Daniel is off to school this evening. Sue and I will be attending a dinner and orientation at GTC in Centrailia where Daniel will be going to a school of ministry. Please pray that we will all be able to take this change (our oldest leaving home) with stride and that God will provide peace to all of us.

Love you all,

Gordy AKA Daniel's, Amy's, Natalie's, Isaiah's, Ezekiel's and Luke's Dad!!!

Off the ventilator for a while

They took Luke off the ventilator for a little while today to test his ability to breath on his own. He did really well and they will try this a little more each day to ween him off the ventilator.

Luke had a really good nap during the Seahawks win in New Orleans.

I (Luke's Dad) performed my first sterile suctioning of his Trach. Wow, that was wild. Mom performed her first bagging. This is a procedure you do during suctioning to allow Luke to breath.

Resting and more resting on the Rock

Luke is being sedated so that he will rest and not turn his head allowing the trach to heal. Today will be a day of quiet in Luke's room as his rest is most important. I will more blog later this evening when they start to allow him to wake up.

Some have said to me that they have been inspired by our faith and how could it remain strong during such a difficult storm in our life. As a result, I have done a lot of thinking regarding the scripture in Mattew 7:24-27 (below), it tells the parable of two people, one who built there house on the rock, and one who built it on the sand.

Matt 7:24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26"But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

As I have thought about this, I realize the strength that many have seen in us is because my life and the life of my family is built on the rock Christ Jesus. You see, there is no way to hype or fake the peace that God has provided, eventually the house will fall in the midst of the storm. Its not to say that there aren't moments when you have strong emotions that feel so overwhelming, but it is to say that it all comes back to the Rock and standing firm in his unchangeable love and character. The book of Hebrews 13:8 says "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." meaning that God does not change. The hymn Great is thy faithfulness puts it this way in the first verse:

Great is thy faithfulness, oh God my father,
there is no shadow of turning with thee;
thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
as thou hast been thou forever wilt be.

You see as we stand on the Rock, he pours out His love, mercy and compassion, allowing us to stand strong. Let me ask you a question, what is your life built on? Is it built on the sand (changeable) of life, your health, wealth, friends or job, things that can change in a moment and leave you in great turmoil with no where to turn? Or is it built on the Rock Christ Jesus, who will never leave you nor forsake you? I hope if you have learned nothing else from all of this, that the Searles' have built on the Rock and that is a really good thing. Will you build on the rock today?

Love you guy so much,

Gordy AKA Luke's Dad

Surgery complete

The surgery (Tracheostomy) was just completed and Luke is sleeping in his room. The doctor said the surgery went fine and the antithestic should wear off before long. Once he wakes, they should be able to take him off of the ventilator. Luke will need to remain in the hospital for at least 7 days, this is time for the trach to heal and then have his first trach tube change. I will blog more later.

Thank you Lord for surgeons and tracheostomys. Lord, thank you for little Luke's life. Thank you for nurses and RTs that care for Luke.

More resting and waiting

Luke is resting nicely and we are just waiting for the surgery this afternoon. I dont know exactly what time it will be, just sometime this afternoon. Please pray that God would guide the hand of the surgeon and that the surgery would be successful. Also, pray that God would restore Luke's ability to swallow and cough better so he can maintain his own airway.

I will blog a little more this afternoon when we know more about the surgery. The surgery takes about an hour and a half.

So much to be thankful for

I am pleased to let you know about a new blog that Triton's Dad has created called All4corners. The purpose of the blog is to create awareness of the needs of childeren around the world. Triton's Dad has been inspired to create this blog as a result of the outpouring of love that he has seen here and on his on blog for Triton and the blog for Cass. Please visit All4corners and support him in its mission of raising awareness for childeren from all 4 corners of the world. Thank you Lord for Triton's Dad.

Today has been a fairly quiet day, with Luke resting peacefully. His brothers Daniel, Isaiah and Ezekiel came for a visit and a walk to the park. Thank you Lord for peaceful sleep and parks.

We are beginning the preparation for Luke coming home, we are learning how to care for his trach and how to feed him via the g-tube. Sometime in the next week we will need to interview nursing agencies that will provide 24 hour nursing for Luke for at least the first few weeks. Please pray that God will provide the right nurses for the Searles family, as they will be coming into our home every day, all day (24 hrs) and it is important that they mesh with our household. Also, please pray that God will help us get everything situated and that we will be able to learn all that we need to learn to take care of Luke. Thank you Lord that we can learn and that there are nurses who care.

I read a post the other day that reminded me to be thankful and I just want to tell God publically of a few more things I am thankful for. Thank you Lord for saving Luke's life and allowing us to have him for a little while longer. I thank you Lord for what you are going to do for Luke as you restore his body. I thank you for family and friends that have poured love on us. I thank you for each of my childeren Daniel, Amy, Natalie, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Luke and yet to be born or named baby Searles. I thank you for my wife Sue and her undying love for you. I thank you for the lives that have been touched by all of this and the lives that will be touched by this. There is a song that comes to mind, "Count your many blessings" There are so many things to be thankful for, why not stop what you are doing and take a moment and count your many blessings, name them one by one and then thank God for them.

Luke sleeping peacefully in his Mama's arms.

Dad gets to hold Luke

Resting well

Luke has been resting well for the past day since the G-Tube was installed. Both Mom and I were able to hold him today for a while. He is scheduled for the Tracheostomy for Friday afternoon. The surgery will allow him to breath, however we will need to continue to maintain his airway for him. Please continue to pray that he will be able to swallow and cough and that the Trach will be temporary.

We have been blessed with a different room in the PICU with a little more room, this is especially helpful with all of the family visiting. The other blessing is that we now have computer access in Luke's room, so I can blog from here.

Love you all.

A few new friends

Luke has a couple new friends. The first is Triton, he is a little boy that was born two months early to a couple in our church, you can visit their blog at Triton Michael Vitale. He needs your prayers to gain strength and develop.

The second new friend is Cass an 8 week old baby boy here in the PICU that needs your prayers. I meet Cass' Mom this evening and it was a blessing to be able to help her setup a blog to keep people up to date on Cass. You can visit her blog at Cass Update and be able to pray for this little boy and his family.

Luke is resting well after a busy day of getting a new feeding tube and changing rooms (still in the PICU). Thank you for your prayers. Luke is scheduled for the Trach operation on Friday along with his new buddy Cass, please remember both of them.

I will blog some more tomorrow, I love you all.

Finally, an update!

There has been a problem with posting to the blog since yesterday evening. I had posted an entry in the guestbook hoping to communicate with everyone. If you havent taken the time to sign the guest book, please do, it is at the bottom of each page.

Luke is still not able to maintain his airway and as a result he has developed pneumonia in the right lung which is the lung that was partially collasped. Because of the Pneumonia, it was decided to put him back on the ventilator with the breathing tube, this was done this morning. Also, it was decided to insert a feeding tube to give him nutrients and this operation was performed this morning. Later this week they will perform a tracheostomy, this will allow him to breath without the need to maintain his own airway. The doctor thinks we may be able to take Luke home in about 2 weeks.

Thank you for your prayers they are making a difference. A praise and another request. A couple Jodie and Lyle stopped by today to encourage us. They had never meet us, and just found out about Luke yesterday. They have a little boy that drowned and was in a similar situation to Luke and they came and encouraged us to not loose hope. We will stand firm.

My request, last night my heart was very heavy and I was very bummed that I could not blog my request. My new friend (3 week old) Emily had open heart surgery a week ago and last night I saw her father and asked how she was doing and he told me that she would be having open heart surgery again this morning at 7:00am. The surgery is over and she is in her room again. Please pray for little Emily that she would recover and that her family would be encouraged.

Love Gordy, Sue, Daniel, Amy, Natalie, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Luke.

Sue holding her precious little Luke.

Continue to pray

I want to give you an update on Luke. Luke's Mom Sue held Luke most of the night last night in a rocking chair and just poured out the love and prayers that only a mother can provide. Sue went to the apartment and is resting right now, pray that she will get some much needed deep restful sleep.

Luke's temprature is normal, this is good, as a fever would be an indication of pneumonia. There is a great deal of fluid still building in the throat and nasal passages. Luke still needs to cough and swallow. He coughs some and it helps, but he needs to cough more and then swallow to get rid of the secretions.

I appreciate each and every one of you that has agreed to fast and pray for Luke this day. He is a fighter and at this moment, he is hanging in there strong. I dont know where we will be at the end of this day, and I will most likely be coming again to ask for more prayer for Luke. This I do know, we serve the one true God that created this universe, he is the same yesterday, today and forevermore. My faith in God and His love for me is more stronger now then it ever has been.

By the way, I just want to say Hi to a 5th grade class in Highland, CA that heard about Luke and are following on the web. As Luke's Dad, I want to say Thank You for caring about little Luke and I hope and pray that some day you will get a chance to meet the little boy that has changed us all.

Luke needs another miracle

Friends, I wish the news was good, but its not. The doctor talked with us and let us know that Luke's left lung has collapsed and is in danger of developing pneumonia. They performed a CT scan and there is evidence of brain damage. The doctor told us that there is nothing that medically can be done for Luke and the only hope for him now is divine intervention.

As his father, I will contend for Luke's complete healing until either he is healed, I stop breathing or he stops breathing. That said, I am asking that you would join me and fast and pray for the next 24 hours and see what God will do. And while I am fighting for my son in the spirit, I also know that God is sovereign and that Luke is in his hands, it all comes down to God's sovereign will for a little boy named Luke that has touched so many, so deeply. I don't ask you to do this just out of religious ritual, I truly believe that God is able to heal, if we will seek him with all our hearts. I would ask that we as the body of Christ would spend focused prayer on behalf of Luke, in particular, pray hard and fast at the top of each hour for Luke from now until the end of Tuesday (9/7).

Luke 1:37 "For with God nothing will be impossible."

Father, I now place Luke into your hands and ask that you would divinely intervene and heal his little body of all the damage, that your name might be known and that you would receive glory. Your word says that by your stripes we are healed and Lord I ask that your Holy Spirit would enter his body and completely heal him. I pray this in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ my Lord and my Savior.

Great Love

It has been nearly a week since Luke's accident and I had no idea when I created this site, that it would turn into this, an incredible outpouring of Love. The other morning, I was praying and thinking about the blog and I said to the Lord, "Lord, I am not worthy of this kind of Love, there are others out there in this world hurting too, like Emily and her parents, I dont deserve this expression of Love". Then I heard the Lord gently speak to me, "Gordy, the love you are seeing on this blog pales in comparison to the love I have for each and every person" WOW, I was blown away. There are so many people that are coming to this site to see how Luke is doing and they are thinking about Luke and my family several times each day. Some have said that they are not religious, guess what, neither am I. This may surprise some of you, as I do have a deep faith in my God, but it comes down to relationship and His great love for me. If you find your self drawn to this site on a frequent basis, it may be one of the first times in your life you that you have witnessed geniune love. Please know that there is a source to this love and his name is Yahweh, Yeshua, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Friends, if you find yourself drawn to this love, you too can expierence it first hand.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Will you run to the Him (the love) today? Turn to him, he is there. He is why Sue and I can stand strong in the face of uncertainty.

Monday morning update

It has been a little more then 16 hours sense the breathing tube was removed and Luke is doing okay. He is still struggling to maintain his airway, in particular his nerves are not sensing the need to cough and the secretions build in the back of the throat. In addition, he doesn't swallow and the secretions just pool, this requires the nurses to suction it out. The result is that if he doesn't begin to maintain the airway, he would most likely develop pneumonia. The doctor just stopped by and he said that it is looking like we will need to do something about Luke's breathing and that this afternoon we would talk about options. From what I have picked up, I am guessing it is either reinserting the breathing tube or another procedure a tracheostomy (sp?), this is a more permanent option.

I have heard the Lord several times over the last few days say to me to trust in him and to just stand firm. The enemy is a roaring Lion, but greater is he who lives in me then he who is in the world. Late last night we came under great spiritual attack, would you stand firm with us? Stand firm that God is sovereign and the enemy has no power over Luke's life. Stand firm that Luke belongs to God, Sue and I prayed a prayer of surrender of our little Luke to God, this was to reconfirm one more time that Luke belongs to God. Stand firm the God is the same yesterday, today and forever. We serve the living God who created this universe and he is the God of the impossible.
Luke 1:37 says "For with God nothing will be impossible."

Stand firm as you pray that Luke will begin to sense the need to cough and he will cough a very productive cough. Also, that Luke will sense the need to swallow and will swallow the secretions instead of letting them pool. Do not loose heart, nor grow weary, but stand firm and watch the hand of the Lord.

Look Mom, no breathing tube, just a nose trumpet and two teddy bears! 

Luke's Mom first blog, way to go Mom!