We've hit the rewind button and once again we started the year with Luke in the PICU and we're headed back to the hospital today, praying he doesn't have to go back to the PICU again

Here is our family Christmas Eve, Christmas caroling and delivering cookies to our neighbors

We feel like someone hit a rewind button and we've begun our year almost the exact way that we began 2013, in the hospital with Luke in the PICU. Isaiah starting feeling sick December 21st, but we didn't realize how sick he really was until he decided that he was unable to get out of bed on Christmas. The next morning Zeke and Lily woke up not feeling great, but after a long sleep Lily said she was feeling better, as the day progressed it looked like Luke was coming down with the same sickness. Amy had bought tickets for Lily to go see the Nutcracker in Seattle for her birthday and of course it was that day, I too had planned to go with them. I went back and forth on whether I should go knowing that Luke was getting really sick and also wondering if Lily was really up to going. We decided to go and had a great time, but came home not feeling so good myself. The next day I stayed in bed all day, thankfully Gordy did not come down with it or we would of been in real trouble.

Pictures from the Nutcracker in Seattle

I decided on Monday December 30th to take both Luke and Isaiah into the Dr. as they both seemed to be slow in getting better. The Dr. didn't think that Luke's lungs sounded too bad but went ahead and did a x-ray which revealed that Luke did indeed have a bad pneumonia brewing. He also ordered blood work which revealed a very high CO2 level so late that night we received a call from a Dr. telling us we needed to follow up the next morning with his Dr. After talking with his Dr. we decided that I should take him into the hospital, we went to the ER and was actually sent home because he was only on 3 liters of oxygen and I assured them that we could handle that at home.

Luke the first visit to the Hospital

The next day after working to get all our Christmas stuff put away Gordy and I decided to take the kids out to dinner. Just as we had finished eating out dinner I got a call from one of our wonderful caregivers for Luke telling me that he was jerking and not breathing. We immediately got in the van and headed down the I-5 going very fast. When we got home Luke was still not doing good, he was not responding to us at all and he was not breathing. We tried to get him to cough and to respond with no success so we called 911. I ended up going with him in the ambulance to the hospital, the ride there was a nightmare as they continued to not be able to get him to breath or respond. When we finally got to the hospital they immediately put in a breathing tube and within minutes he began to wake up, what a miracle to see him looking around the room and gagging on the ventilator.

Lily visiting while Luke was on the ventilator

Luke ended up in the PICU on the vent for two days. The day they took it out was very hard as he began to jerk in pain and didn't want to cough anymore, I'm sure his throat hurt. He came home from the hospital Sunday afternoon, he seemed to be doing better that day and then once again Monday he started getting a fever again and needing more oxygen.

The day the vent came out

The kids and I went on a few walks around Wrights park when they came for visits

The first time Luke slept in days

On the way home

Here we are Tuesday morning and I'm getting ready to take him back to the hospital we cannot get his fever to come down and once again he is needing more oxygen then we are comfortable giving him at home. Please pray that Luke will get over this flu, once and for all and that this visit to the hospital will be a quick one. Also pray for my other children as it is so traumatic and hard for them to have me live at the hospital with Luke. This life we live is HARD and it never seems to get easier, the only way we continue on is with prayers and help from Jesus.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue