It's hard to believe just a year ago from yesterday, we had finally come home from our month long stay at the hospital. WOW, what amazing changes we've seen! Luke came home on 5 different meds given 4 times daily to where now he is down to just one more prescription medicine. We came home feeling overwhelmed at the equipment that he had to have each day and night and we are now down to his food pump and we also use an oximeter to help us keep a better eye on him during the night. We came home to two huge oxygen tanks, which we finally had taken away after not ever using them, to where now we have some little portable tanks that we have not had to use in a long time.
We came home with a little boy who always stared off into the distance and was constantly facing to the right with his body shaped like a backward C, to where now he is looking around the room, will look right at you when he feels like it, will watch the TV sometimes, he is now standing up between our legs and holding up his head with out much help from us, he also sits up and holds his head up on his own for the most part. I remember thinking how are we going to get enough suction catheters for suctioning his trach at least 20 to 25 times a day, to where now he doesn't even have a trach and we only have to suction him in the morning and this morning it was only once all day long. Do you remember all the times we asked you pray for him to sleep through out the night? Well now he does awesome sleeping, some days we need to wake him up in the morning, to get ready to go some place.
I can remember so clearly as if it was just yesterday looking at Luke and crying out to the Lord to heal him, just wishing for any kind of recognition, now it is so clear that he knows familiar people and he definitely acts uncomfortable around new people and situations. It was so exciting to hear his one Dr. say that the cortex part of his brain is coming back, after being told that his brain is dead and there is no hope of his getting any better. The only way we would know if Luke was uncomfortable was by watching his right eye and if it got red around it we knew he was in pain. Now we know for sure when Luke is in pain by his facial expressions and by the noises he makes, he was literally crying out today when he was being massaged letting us know he was not liking it and the second we stopped he stopped. WOW, that is just amazing.
I will be the first person to admit that this has been the most challenging, difficult and at times horrible year of my life, but it has also been a year of seeing God come down and do some mighty things in our family. Just the other night we where having a time of sharing testimonies at our church and Amy shared with the people how God had touched her and took away the horrible nightmares that she had on a daily basis of seeing her little brother floating dead in the water of our pool. She shared how God throughout this past year has touched her and healed the hurt that she has experienced from Luke's drowning, to where she used to wonder if God was going to really heal Luke to where now she has an assurance in her heart that God is going to heal Luke completely and totally.
We are so happy that you are still following Luke's constant steps toward his complete healing. We can never even begin to let you know how thankful we are for your continued prayers and support, I know that we mention this often but you can not even begin to imagine how much we truly appreciate all of you! We pray that God will bless you today with feeling His love in your hearts and fill you up with His joy, the joy that only He can give. Please keep Natalie, Lily and myself in your prayers as we fly down to CA to bring home my good friend Yoli and her kids. Also keep Luke, Amy, Isaiah and Ezekiel in your prayers as they are going to spend Saturday night at my sister, Jill's home, it will be the first time Luke will spend the night at someones home without Gordy or I there, Amy bless her heart will help teach Jill how to feed Luke and what to do in some of those tricky times when Luke's needs just a little bit of extra help. And don't forget Gordy and Daniel they will be staying home the entire time, Gordy will be alone the rest of nights with Luke so please pray that Luke will continue to sleep good as he has been doing lately. Thank you in advance for your prayers.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
P.S. I finally scheduled Luke for his Nissen Fundoplication surgery October 18th, but I continue to ask you to join us in our prayers that Luke won't need this sugery. This surgery would help him with the horrible indigestion and gastric reflux that he has on a daily basis.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
A Great Report on Luke's Toe's, Ankles and Knees
We had some great news today as I took Luke in for a evaluation on his leg splints. He had them made at the beginning of the year and at that time we were told they were not sure how long they would last. Well though Luke has not gained much weight he has gotten taller this past year, needless to say he has outgrown his leg splints.
It was so exciting to hear today that Luke's toes are looking awesome, they used to be bend over each other and now they are straight out. He kept looking at his ankles and made the comment that they are bending at least a 95 percent angle, which is awesome a 100 % bend is perfect. He felt his knee joints and said that they are feeling okay and that he was very happy to see the bend that we are getting in his legs, his legs used to be ramrod straight and now they are hanging down. He mentioned that we will want to talk to our PT before deciding what we should do next as far as helping his legs progress even better.
Do you remember that over the past year there have been many times that I've specifically asked for prayer that God would help Luke's legs to bend and his arm to straighten out. Well God is answering our prayers because his arms are straightening out and his legs while not bending perfectly yet are beginning to bend. As he talked about the future and the different options we might have I once again told him that I believe that Luke is going to be completely healed and will be walking and running sometime in the near future. It's so funny to see how people will respond to this they usually don't know what to say, a lot of them probably think that poor Mom it's too bad she just can't accept her child's handicapped. But they don't know the God that I serve, I know that nothing is too difficult for Him and saving and healing people is what He does best.
This week has been a very challenging one for me. I've had some very painful days to deal with. My back began to hurt last week and was getting worse every day until I was literally crying out in pain at various times through out the day. My Chriropractor wanted me to go in for a MRI, so that is what I did tonight, I'm glad that is over it was very uncomfortable to say the least. I will learn the results on Friday. Please be praying that God will completely heal my back, I was feeling so much better today so I'm believing that God has already began the healing process. It is so hard for me to take it easy when there are 101 things that I could be doing each day and it literally just about kills me to not be able to carry Luke around and help with his care. I've been crying out to the Lord for a touch and for wisdom to make the time I need to take care of myself. I know when I was walking faithfully up until Luke's accident last year that my back was feeling so wonderful, I'm hoping that I can begin to walk regularly again, I just have to take the time of which I'm always running short on. I've had a heavy heart lately, sometimes I get so impatient with God's timing in healing Luke and it just kills me to see him just laying around when he could be running and playing with his brothers. The part of my scripture verse from Hab. 2:2 & 3,that I've been clinging to lately is the part that says, "if it seems slow, don't despair." I realize that it must sound selfish to those that have lost a loved one or gone through the tragedy of losing your home to Hurricane Katrina, that here I am with Luke alive and getting better all the time, saying what are you whining about Sue??
Would you please continue to pray specifically for Luke's lungs to get better, he has a very strong cough and sneeze but he struggles daily to keep his lungs clear. We rarely have to suction him anymore, except in the morning, which is absolutely great. I was just telling a friend tonight how great he has been sleeping, I remember this time last year he never slept through the night, another answer to prayer. Would you also pray for Luke to smile and laugh again, somedays I feel I would do anything to see his precious beautiful smile again. Both Gordy and I are so encouraged to hear from all that are still praying and following along with Luke's updates and prayer requests. I look forward to the day that you will look to the blog and see in huge print that Luke has been completely and totally healed, it's coming don't doubt it for a moment.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
It was so exciting to hear today that Luke's toes are looking awesome, they used to be bend over each other and now they are straight out. He kept looking at his ankles and made the comment that they are bending at least a 95 percent angle, which is awesome a 100 % bend is perfect. He felt his knee joints and said that they are feeling okay and that he was very happy to see the bend that we are getting in his legs, his legs used to be ramrod straight and now they are hanging down. He mentioned that we will want to talk to our PT before deciding what we should do next as far as helping his legs progress even better.
Do you remember that over the past year there have been many times that I've specifically asked for prayer that God would help Luke's legs to bend and his arm to straighten out. Well God is answering our prayers because his arms are straightening out and his legs while not bending perfectly yet are beginning to bend. As he talked about the future and the different options we might have I once again told him that I believe that Luke is going to be completely healed and will be walking and running sometime in the near future. It's so funny to see how people will respond to this they usually don't know what to say, a lot of them probably think that poor Mom it's too bad she just can't accept her child's handicapped. But they don't know the God that I serve, I know that nothing is too difficult for Him and saving and healing people is what He does best.
This week has been a very challenging one for me. I've had some very painful days to deal with. My back began to hurt last week and was getting worse every day until I was literally crying out in pain at various times through out the day. My Chriropractor wanted me to go in for a MRI, so that is what I did tonight, I'm glad that is over it was very uncomfortable to say the least. I will learn the results on Friday. Please be praying that God will completely heal my back, I was feeling so much better today so I'm believing that God has already began the healing process. It is so hard for me to take it easy when there are 101 things that I could be doing each day and it literally just about kills me to not be able to carry Luke around and help with his care. I've been crying out to the Lord for a touch and for wisdom to make the time I need to take care of myself. I know when I was walking faithfully up until Luke's accident last year that my back was feeling so wonderful, I'm hoping that I can begin to walk regularly again, I just have to take the time of which I'm always running short on. I've had a heavy heart lately, sometimes I get so impatient with God's timing in healing Luke and it just kills me to see him just laying around when he could be running and playing with his brothers. The part of my scripture verse from Hab. 2:2 & 3,that I've been clinging to lately is the part that says, "if it seems slow, don't despair." I realize that it must sound selfish to those that have lost a loved one or gone through the tragedy of losing your home to Hurricane Katrina, that here I am with Luke alive and getting better all the time, saying what are you whining about Sue??
Would you please continue to pray specifically for Luke's lungs to get better, he has a very strong cough and sneeze but he struggles daily to keep his lungs clear. We rarely have to suction him anymore, except in the morning, which is absolutely great. I was just telling a friend tonight how great he has been sleeping, I remember this time last year he never slept through the night, another answer to prayer. Would you also pray for Luke to smile and laugh again, somedays I feel I would do anything to see his precious beautiful smile again. Both Gordy and I are so encouraged to hear from all that are still praying and following along with Luke's updates and prayer requests. I look forward to the day that you will look to the blog and see in huge print that Luke has been completely and totally healed, it's coming don't doubt it for a moment.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
New's about our wonderful trip and Luke's great evaluation
Sometimes it's hard for me to know where to begin sharing all the news I have to share after such a long time of not writing. I am thankful that Gordy was able to blog a few times during our vacation.
Thank you for your prayers about our vacation, I don't know how many times I said to Gordy and the kids that this was the best vacation we've ever had. The one and only thing I would of changed is that we would of been chasing Luke around the playground & beach instead of pushing him in his stroller. Praise the Lord, Luke stayed healthy the entire time. He seemed to enjoy all the stimulation that we gave him, taking him to the beach daily to play in the sand, fly kites, walk down the beach, sit and read and relax. I can not even begin to describe how wonderful it was not to have one appointment to go to for two whole weeks. We stayed in a campground right across from the Pacific Ocean and we could walk daily to the beach, it was great.
I knew people were praying for us as we hit the anniversary date of the accident. To be honest Monday the day before the 30th I woke up extremly depressed and crying, thinking back to a year ago, going through the day in my mind, thinking this is the last day I can say at this time last year our life was normal. That morning I just didn't know how I was going to make it through the day, but then I knew someone was praying, because I can't even begin to describe how I felt as the heaviness began to lift and after that I was okay that day and the next. I did shed a few tears on the way home thinking back to the year previous coming home from our long trip just before the accident, remembering how good Luke was in his car seat for such a long trip and then chasing him around the resturant on our way home.
The day after we came home we went to our local state fair, it is a huge fair full of animals, shopping, great food and lots of fun. We took Luke for the first couple hours with us and he seemed to really enjoy himself. On Saturday we were going to spend the day emptying out the trailier and getting it ready for storing away for winter. While Gordy and Daniel worked on that I ended up taking Natalie into the Dr. we thought maybe she had strep throat, but after a culture it came back negative, the Dr. thought maybe it was mono, but we really prayed and she began to feel a little better the next day and continues to feel better each day since. Though please be praying for Luke he seemed to come down with something yesterday, Lily also had a bit of a fever for a few days, so I'm praying that is what Luke has and by tomorrow he will be all better.
On Sunday after sharing a wonderful dinner with Gordy's sister's family in Seattle we headed up north to Anacortes to spend the night. The next morning Luke had his first follow up evaluation with the neurodevelopmentalist. She seemed to be pleased with the progress that Luke has made. He is getting his bobinski reflex back, that is when you tickle the bottom of a foot it should curl the toes, his toes are moving ever so slightly. She was also impressed to see his knees bending more, since at the last one we didn't have any bend at all, she gave us some more exercises to do with him to unlock them even more. She was also happy to see how well he is holding up his head and when we layed him down on his stomach he picked up his head and moved his body to look up at her wondering what she was going to do next. We came home encouraged by his progress with some new exercises to do with him to continue with the program. On the way home we stopped by his PT appt. and Gordy was able to see Luke push the switch button and drive the little car all over the building, I was excited to see him do it with his left hand. We don't see as much movement on his left side, therefore we were told to work with his left side 75% more than his right side when doing his exercises.
This week I'm trying to get a few projects accomplished before we begin school, the YMCA and piano lessons next week. I hope to get the deck painted, it was partially done during our house painting and needs to be finished along wth a few other Fall cleaning chores that really need to be done.
I am planning to schedule Luke's Fundoplication surgery the second week in October after Natalie, Lily and I get home from a trip down to CA to drive back with our good friends Yoli and her son Spencer and daughter Bonnie, they went down there in the middle of August with her husband, Juan, but he was sent to Egypt with his unit in the Army for 8 weeks, so I going to help with the driving home. I'm looking forward to going down there for a few days. Yoli was the faithful friend that has been in the Hospital every night that Luke has been there, so I wanted to wait until she got home to schedule the surgery, but I pray daily that we won't need it and by that time Luke will be healed of his reflux problem.
I will plan to post some pictures soon of our vacation and our home, as was requested by someone a while ago. I know many of you have never blogged or commented, you tell me all the time you read the blog but never comment, a while ago someone mentioned that they thought it would be encouraging for both Gordy and I to see all the people that are still out there praying for Luke's complete healing. I remember shortly after the accident talking to Jodie, who is Josiah's mom, Josiah had a near drowning accident 4 years ago, anyway she told me that people will eventually give up on the miracle of seeing Luke healed after a time of praying. My prayers and hopeful desires is that no one will give up, God is moving and hearing your faithful prayers and He is going to heal Luke in His timing, I'm just praying that it will be soon. It would be so wonderful to see who all is still out there after a year of faithful following along with Luke's progess. You will never even begin to know how much we appreciate all of you, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart, you are all the reason that I can still go one with a song in my heart.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
Thank you for your prayers about our vacation, I don't know how many times I said to Gordy and the kids that this was the best vacation we've ever had. The one and only thing I would of changed is that we would of been chasing Luke around the playground & beach instead of pushing him in his stroller. Praise the Lord, Luke stayed healthy the entire time. He seemed to enjoy all the stimulation that we gave him, taking him to the beach daily to play in the sand, fly kites, walk down the beach, sit and read and relax. I can not even begin to describe how wonderful it was not to have one appointment to go to for two whole weeks. We stayed in a campground right across from the Pacific Ocean and we could walk daily to the beach, it was great.
I knew people were praying for us as we hit the anniversary date of the accident. To be honest Monday the day before the 30th I woke up extremly depressed and crying, thinking back to a year ago, going through the day in my mind, thinking this is the last day I can say at this time last year our life was normal. That morning I just didn't know how I was going to make it through the day, but then I knew someone was praying, because I can't even begin to describe how I felt as the heaviness began to lift and after that I was okay that day and the next. I did shed a few tears on the way home thinking back to the year previous coming home from our long trip just before the accident, remembering how good Luke was in his car seat for such a long trip and then chasing him around the resturant on our way home.
The day after we came home we went to our local state fair, it is a huge fair full of animals, shopping, great food and lots of fun. We took Luke for the first couple hours with us and he seemed to really enjoy himself. On Saturday we were going to spend the day emptying out the trailier and getting it ready for storing away for winter. While Gordy and Daniel worked on that I ended up taking Natalie into the Dr. we thought maybe she had strep throat, but after a culture it came back negative, the Dr. thought maybe it was mono, but we really prayed and she began to feel a little better the next day and continues to feel better each day since. Though please be praying for Luke he seemed to come down with something yesterday, Lily also had a bit of a fever for a few days, so I'm praying that is what Luke has and by tomorrow he will be all better.
On Sunday after sharing a wonderful dinner with Gordy's sister's family in Seattle we headed up north to Anacortes to spend the night. The next morning Luke had his first follow up evaluation with the neurodevelopmentalist. She seemed to be pleased with the progress that Luke has made. He is getting his bobinski reflex back, that is when you tickle the bottom of a foot it should curl the toes, his toes are moving ever so slightly. She was also impressed to see his knees bending more, since at the last one we didn't have any bend at all, she gave us some more exercises to do with him to unlock them even more. She was also happy to see how well he is holding up his head and when we layed him down on his stomach he picked up his head and moved his body to look up at her wondering what she was going to do next. We came home encouraged by his progress with some new exercises to do with him to continue with the program. On the way home we stopped by his PT appt. and Gordy was able to see Luke push the switch button and drive the little car all over the building, I was excited to see him do it with his left hand. We don't see as much movement on his left side, therefore we were told to work with his left side 75% more than his right side when doing his exercises.
This week I'm trying to get a few projects accomplished before we begin school, the YMCA and piano lessons next week. I hope to get the deck painted, it was partially done during our house painting and needs to be finished along wth a few other Fall cleaning chores that really need to be done.
I am planning to schedule Luke's Fundoplication surgery the second week in October after Natalie, Lily and I get home from a trip down to CA to drive back with our good friends Yoli and her son Spencer and daughter Bonnie, they went down there in the middle of August with her husband, Juan, but he was sent to Egypt with his unit in the Army for 8 weeks, so I going to help with the driving home. I'm looking forward to going down there for a few days. Yoli was the faithful friend that has been in the Hospital every night that Luke has been there, so I wanted to wait until she got home to schedule the surgery, but I pray daily that we won't need it and by that time Luke will be healed of his reflux problem.
I will plan to post some pictures soon of our vacation and our home, as was requested by someone a while ago. I know many of you have never blogged or commented, you tell me all the time you read the blog but never comment, a while ago someone mentioned that they thought it would be encouraging for both Gordy and I to see all the people that are still out there praying for Luke's complete healing. I remember shortly after the accident talking to Jodie, who is Josiah's mom, Josiah had a near drowning accident 4 years ago, anyway she told me that people will eventually give up on the miracle of seeing Luke healed after a time of praying. My prayers and hopeful desires is that no one will give up, God is moving and hearing your faithful prayers and He is going to heal Luke in His timing, I'm just praying that it will be soon. It would be so wonderful to see who all is still out there after a year of faithful following along with Luke's progess. You will never even begin to know how much we appreciate all of you, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart, you are all the reason that I can still go one with a song in my heart.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Yet another miracle
Early this morning around 2:45am we were awoken by two loud explosions that sounded like gun shots and then moments later the sounds of people shouting "Fire". We all quickly exited the trailer to discover a tent less then 100 feet away fully engulfed in flames. Without my contacts in I thought the trees surrounding the tent were on fire and it is an absolute miracle that they weren't. One more time God was watching over our family as he kept the fire in check and prevented it from spreading to our camp site. Quickly a group of people came to the rescue with fire extinguishers, buckets and finally a few extra hoses that we connected to our hose to get water on the fire. The tent and its contents were reduce to smoldering rubble. The woman and daughter that were staying in at the tent site were sleeping in their van and had left a candle burning in the tent. We are grateful to God that nobody was injured and that everything that was damaged can be replaced.
It was encouraging to see others come to the aid of the woman. A family gave them a tent and some groceries. Others bought them new supplies so they could continue on there plan of a two week camping trip. Praise God for His faithfulneess.
We are having a wonderful time here in Newport and have decided to just stay here until returning home on Thursday so we can go "Do The Puyallup".
I must admit I am awe struck by the few images and stories I have seen regarding the aftermath of Katrina. My heart aches for those that have lost loved ones and are enduring great hardship. I have thought about Shane and Julie's family in Mississippi several times the last few days as the realization of Katrina's power unfolds. Father, I ask that you show great favor to these family members and allow them to return to their homes in Mississippi soon. I pray that every brick and every board would be completely in place and there would be no damage to their homes as a testimony of your goodness and grace. In the name of Jesus.
I pray that each of you has an awesome time relaxing with your family this Labor Day.
It was encouraging to see others come to the aid of the woman. A family gave them a tent and some groceries. Others bought them new supplies so they could continue on there plan of a two week camping trip. Praise God for His faithfulneess.
We are having a wonderful time here in Newport and have decided to just stay here until returning home on Thursday so we can go "Do The Puyallup".
I must admit I am awe struck by the few images and stories I have seen regarding the aftermath of Katrina. My heart aches for those that have lost loved ones and are enduring great hardship. I have thought about Shane and Julie's family in Mississippi several times the last few days as the realization of Katrina's power unfolds. Father, I ask that you show great favor to these family members and allow them to return to their homes in Mississippi soon. I pray that every brick and every board would be completely in place and there would be no damage to their homes as a testimony of your goodness and grace. In the name of Jesus.
I pray that each of you has an awesome time relaxing with your family this Labor Day.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
One Year and we still believe in miracles!
It has been one year today since Luke's accident. A year ago this night, I was grateful to God for the first miracle of raising Luke from the dead, as Luke had been dead 30 minutes before being revived in the ER. While grateful, we were still seeking God for a second miracle of complete restoration of Luke's brain and body.
I know that one day God will completely heal Luke, it wont be the PT or HBOT or other things, it will be God and God alone that will get and deserve the credit. I know this beyond a shadow of a doubt, because God has spoken it to me several times and several ways. So, it is not a matter of if God will heal Luke, it is a matter of when, and I do not know when that will be.
Today we saw a couple of mini miracles, but miracles none the less. The first one occured shortly after Daniel, Amy and I left to go golfing. Sue was taking a shower and the boys were at the playground playing. At the playground Isaiah got hit on the head by a piece of wood. Natalie ran to the bathroom and shout to Sue that Isaiah had blood gushing from the back of his head. Sue quickly jumped out of the shower and ran to Isaiah and found him with lots of blood dripping down the back of his head and neck and soaking into the collar of his shirt. Sue and Natalie laid hands on Isaiah and asked God to stop the bleeding and heal Isaiah. God heard their prayer and the bleeding stopped and there is not even a bump where he was hit with the board. Praise God he still hears and answers prayer.
We are camping along the Oregon coast just outside of Newport. When Sue made the reservation, she made it from Sunday to Thursday the 1st of Sept. She had called last week asking if there was any chance of extending the reservation through labor day weekend. The person on the phone said there was a waiting list and it probably wouldnt do any good but they would add us to the list. On Monday I spoke to the ranger that is in charge of the waiting list and he said that we were number 7. I asked him what the chances were and he said "I wouldn't hold my breath, it is very unlikely" When I told Sue she said, well we need to pray. I said, it will be a miracle, if we get to stay beyond Friday noon. She said, I believe in miracles, do you. I must admit, at times, it is easy to loose heart and not trust that it will all work out. As you know, Luke's equipment requires power to run, and I wondered, what we were going to do. So, I went to the store an inverter to power Luke's machines from battery. Oh ye of little faith. Today around lunch time a ranger stopped by and handed Natalie a new ticket with the date 9/5 on it. I said to Natalie, what is that. She said, it is our new ticket, we can stay longer. I said, isn't 9/5 Labor Day? Sue said, yes it is and I told you that it would work out. Well, it is an absolute miracle, go ahead, I dare you to try and get a camping spot in just about any campground in the USA this weekend, it is not an easy task, however it is not too difficult for God. Well this evening, I returned the inverter, as we won't be needing it after all.
Finally, Sue and I want to share a verse with you.
Phil 1:3 "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,"
This past year has been extremely difficult and we greatly appreciate each and everyone of you that have faithfully prayed for our family this past year. My prayer is that God will bless you and encourage you in the faith. Many have said to us that our faith inspires them, and I want to say that your prayers inspire us. Luke's healing is just a matter of time and it is not just ours but it belongs to all of you and when that day arrives, we can all rejoice in God's goodness together.
We Love you all so much,
Gordy, Sue, Daniel, Amy, Natalie, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Luke and Lily
I know that one day God will completely heal Luke, it wont be the PT or HBOT or other things, it will be God and God alone that will get and deserve the credit. I know this beyond a shadow of a doubt, because God has spoken it to me several times and several ways. So, it is not a matter of if God will heal Luke, it is a matter of when, and I do not know when that will be.
Today we saw a couple of mini miracles, but miracles none the less. The first one occured shortly after Daniel, Amy and I left to go golfing. Sue was taking a shower and the boys were at the playground playing. At the playground Isaiah got hit on the head by a piece of wood. Natalie ran to the bathroom and shout to Sue that Isaiah had blood gushing from the back of his head. Sue quickly jumped out of the shower and ran to Isaiah and found him with lots of blood dripping down the back of his head and neck and soaking into the collar of his shirt. Sue and Natalie laid hands on Isaiah and asked God to stop the bleeding and heal Isaiah. God heard their prayer and the bleeding stopped and there is not even a bump where he was hit with the board. Praise God he still hears and answers prayer.
We are camping along the Oregon coast just outside of Newport. When Sue made the reservation, she made it from Sunday to Thursday the 1st of Sept. She had called last week asking if there was any chance of extending the reservation through labor day weekend. The person on the phone said there was a waiting list and it probably wouldnt do any good but they would add us to the list. On Monday I spoke to the ranger that is in charge of the waiting list and he said that we were number 7. I asked him what the chances were and he said "I wouldn't hold my breath, it is very unlikely" When I told Sue she said, well we need to pray. I said, it will be a miracle, if we get to stay beyond Friday noon. She said, I believe in miracles, do you. I must admit, at times, it is easy to loose heart and not trust that it will all work out. As you know, Luke's equipment requires power to run, and I wondered, what we were going to do. So, I went to the store an inverter to power Luke's machines from battery. Oh ye of little faith. Today around lunch time a ranger stopped by and handed Natalie a new ticket with the date 9/5 on it. I said to Natalie, what is that. She said, it is our new ticket, we can stay longer. I said, isn't 9/5 Labor Day? Sue said, yes it is and I told you that it would work out. Well, it is an absolute miracle, go ahead, I dare you to try and get a camping spot in just about any campground in the USA this weekend, it is not an easy task, however it is not too difficult for God. Well this evening, I returned the inverter, as we won't be needing it after all.
Finally, Sue and I want to share a verse with you.
Phil 1:3 "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,"
This past year has been extremely difficult and we greatly appreciate each and everyone of you that have faithfully prayed for our family this past year. My prayer is that God will bless you and encourage you in the faith. Many have said to us that our faith inspires them, and I want to say that your prayers inspire us. Luke's healing is just a matter of time and it is not just ours but it belongs to all of you and when that day arrives, we can all rejoice in God's goodness together.
We Love you all so much,
Gordy, Sue, Daniel, Amy, Natalie, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Luke and Lily
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Just had to share with you all about Luke's great day!
I know many of you might be surprised to see such a quick update after just getting one yesterday, but I had to share some good news. Luke had a great day today. First we went to a PT/OT appt this morning and he was fitted for a new chair to sit in at home and also had his stroller fixed so that it could be more comfortable for him. While we were there we went into a room filled with switch toys and many amazing electronic devices. They hooked up a switch button to a tape recorder and put on a children's tape and Luke made it go and then made it stop and then continued to make the music go as he was asked to do so. He also made it go with touching his head to a special switch that the music came directly out of. It was so exciting for me to hear both his PT and OT say that he is definitely following directions on command.
We then left there and went directly to an eye specialist. I know I mentioned that we went there last month and Luke fell asleep almost immediately so that we could not really get a good assesment done on his eyes. Today he stayed awake and I was so excited as he looked straight at the Dr. as he asked him to and he also was doing exactly what his eyes were supposed to be doing. The Dr. shone a light right into his eyes and watched as his pupils did exactly what they should be doing. Then he layed him on the floor and hung a ball to the side and just above his head, the Dr. then said that he looked at the ball and reached for it, it was called a special name though for the life of me I can't remember, but he said that it was how a newborn reaches for things when he is beginning to realize that he can make his hand reach for something that his eyes sees. I had also told the the Dr. that I've been seeing a lot more blinking lately and he told me that is excellent it means that he is actually adjusting his vision to things around him and one last thing that I've noticed lately is that I sometimes see just below his eye quiver a bit and the Dr. said that that means he is trying hard to adjust his eyes to see clearly. PTL, our God is moving just as I knew He would, healing Luke from the inside out. The Dr. also said that the things that he is seeing means the cortex part of the brain is beginning to function once again.
Then tonight Natalie and I took him out the HBOT center for a dive and he was trying to lift up his head and body to watch PSALTY the singing song book video. I told him that he could sit up if he wanted to but he's just not ready for that yet. He seems to continue to be so aware of things around him it is so wonderful to see him take an interest in what is going on. One last thing to share is that he is doing so much better at coughing and getting the junk out of his lungs, but he stills needs prayer that he won't have to do that anymore because his lungs will be completely cleared up. I'm so happy that he continues to stay healthy and we plan to leave this Friday Lord willing for our camping trip.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
We then left there and went directly to an eye specialist. I know I mentioned that we went there last month and Luke fell asleep almost immediately so that we could not really get a good assesment done on his eyes. Today he stayed awake and I was so excited as he looked straight at the Dr. as he asked him to and he also was doing exactly what his eyes were supposed to be doing. The Dr. shone a light right into his eyes and watched as his pupils did exactly what they should be doing. Then he layed him on the floor and hung a ball to the side and just above his head, the Dr. then said that he looked at the ball and reached for it, it was called a special name though for the life of me I can't remember, but he said that it was how a newborn reaches for things when he is beginning to realize that he can make his hand reach for something that his eyes sees. I had also told the the Dr. that I've been seeing a lot more blinking lately and he told me that is excellent it means that he is actually adjusting his vision to things around him and one last thing that I've noticed lately is that I sometimes see just below his eye quiver a bit and the Dr. said that that means he is trying hard to adjust his eyes to see clearly. PTL, our God is moving just as I knew He would, healing Luke from the inside out. The Dr. also said that the things that he is seeing means the cortex part of the brain is beginning to function once again.
Then tonight Natalie and I took him out the HBOT center for a dive and he was trying to lift up his head and body to watch PSALTY the singing song book video. I told him that he could sit up if he wanted to but he's just not ready for that yet. He seems to continue to be so aware of things around him it is so wonderful to see him take an interest in what is going on. One last thing to share is that he is doing so much better at coughing and getting the junk out of his lungs, but he stills needs prayer that he won't have to do that anymore because his lungs will be completely cleared up. I'm so happy that he continues to stay healthy and we plan to leave this Friday Lord willing for our camping trip.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
Monday, August 22, 2005
Our home is painted green and it looks great!
Once again I begin this post by saying that we've been extremely busy over the last few weeks. I am so happy to tell you that our house is painted and it looks awesome. We hired a few of Daniel's friends from GTC to help out, Josh & Shane blessed us by doing a great job and we blessed them by helping them get some of there money for going back to GTC for a second year. I'm once again blessed with the realization that I have what I feel are the greatest kids alive. Daniel and Natalie helped paint 4 straight days and Amy kept the house going along with cooking wonderful breakfasts, preparing lunches and making delicious dinners, no one went hungry. Gordy helped 3 of the days painting and I just helped to keep things going. I was able to go a Christian Homeschool Conference in Oregon on Friday and Saturday, so I came home to a job well done. I was telling someone the other day you know you've raised your children right when they can complete a job and keep the house going and everything looks great when you come home.
I know some of you are saying enough, what about Luke? Luke is doing very good. He has stayed healthy these last few weeks, though he continues to struggle at time with his breathing and secretions. His legs are looking better to me all the time and he is getting more bend in his knees. He stays busy with HBOT treatments, PT appts. and Dr. appts. We had his gastric emptying study done and found out at the surgeon appt. last week that he is having reflux and it looks like his stomach is emptying just fine, which was what we expected from what we see of him every day. She, the surgeon would like to do a Nissen Fundoplication on him, I know some of you have asked what that is. It is a surgery where they take the end of the esophagus and basically wrap part of it around his stomach so that the person having it done can not burp up gastric juices or throw up anymore. That is a very simple answer to a complex question, if you would like to more know about it go out to the internet and type it in and it will show pictures and tell you more than you ever wanted to know.
I recently have been feeling that Luke is very near his complete healing. If you have been reading this blog for long you know that we feel that Luke will one day be completely healed, he will walk, talk, run, play and do everything else a child of his age can do. We have had him prayed for by many people over the year and this past week we took him into have special prayer over him, I truly had felt that last week was going to be the week we saw his healing take place. Well on Wednesday morning as I was sitting by his crib crying out to the Lord once again, knowing in my heart that God is going to heal him but just not seeing it I began to feel extremely discouraged, depressed and filled with despair. I realized that it was an attack from the pit of hell, some of you may not realize but if you are a Christian you will live in a constant battle against principalities and powers of darkness. That said, I begin to literally cry out to God and tell satan and his demons that he can not have power over me because when I gave my life over to God I was covered by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, when He died on the cross for my sins and since I've asked him to forgive me of my sins and to come into my heart He protects me and helps me do battle on a daily basis. Needless to say I came out of that prayer time feeling victorious knowing that God is going to heal Luke and felling the strength, joy and peace that only God can give to those that serve Him.
We decided to have him prayed for on Sunday after church, it is basically the first time that we asked the whole church to lay hands on him and to pray for a miraculous healing. It was a awesome time of prayer and we were told by Pastor John, who also happens to be my brother in law, that the Lord told him that Luke is healed and we are supposed to be giving thanks for that healing. Then last night Josh, one of Daniels friends that our family has all taken into our hearts, called with some great news, that as his father was praying for Luke's healing he told Josh the same thing that we had heard that morning, that Luke is healed and that his healing will bring great glory to the name of the Lord. I guess my prayer is that we will begin to see his healing this week and once again be filled with God patience knowing it will happen very soon.
We are hoping to leave this Friday for a much needed vacation. We plan to spend some time down on the Oregon Coast, one of our favorite places to go. Please pray that Luke will stay healthy and this will be a time of refreshing and renewing, as each of us needs a break from work and appointments. Thank you for your continued prayer support you are what makes the difference in our lives.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
I know some of you are saying enough, what about Luke? Luke is doing very good. He has stayed healthy these last few weeks, though he continues to struggle at time with his breathing and secretions. His legs are looking better to me all the time and he is getting more bend in his knees. He stays busy with HBOT treatments, PT appts. and Dr. appts. We had his gastric emptying study done and found out at the surgeon appt. last week that he is having reflux and it looks like his stomach is emptying just fine, which was what we expected from what we see of him every day. She, the surgeon would like to do a Nissen Fundoplication on him, I know some of you have asked what that is. It is a surgery where they take the end of the esophagus and basically wrap part of it around his stomach so that the person having it done can not burp up gastric juices or throw up anymore. That is a very simple answer to a complex question, if you would like to more know about it go out to the internet and type it in and it will show pictures and tell you more than you ever wanted to know.
I recently have been feeling that Luke is very near his complete healing. If you have been reading this blog for long you know that we feel that Luke will one day be completely healed, he will walk, talk, run, play and do everything else a child of his age can do. We have had him prayed for by many people over the year and this past week we took him into have special prayer over him, I truly had felt that last week was going to be the week we saw his healing take place. Well on Wednesday morning as I was sitting by his crib crying out to the Lord once again, knowing in my heart that God is going to heal him but just not seeing it I began to feel extremely discouraged, depressed and filled with despair. I realized that it was an attack from the pit of hell, some of you may not realize but if you are a Christian you will live in a constant battle against principalities and powers of darkness. That said, I begin to literally cry out to God and tell satan and his demons that he can not have power over me because when I gave my life over to God I was covered by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, when He died on the cross for my sins and since I've asked him to forgive me of my sins and to come into my heart He protects me and helps me do battle on a daily basis. Needless to say I came out of that prayer time feeling victorious knowing that God is going to heal Luke and felling the strength, joy and peace that only God can give to those that serve Him.
We decided to have him prayed for on Sunday after church, it is basically the first time that we asked the whole church to lay hands on him and to pray for a miraculous healing. It was a awesome time of prayer and we were told by Pastor John, who also happens to be my brother in law, that the Lord told him that Luke is healed and we are supposed to be giving thanks for that healing. Then last night Josh, one of Daniels friends that our family has all taken into our hearts, called with some great news, that as his father was praying for Luke's healing he told Josh the same thing that we had heard that morning, that Luke is healed and that his healing will bring great glory to the name of the Lord. I guess my prayer is that we will begin to see his healing this week and once again be filled with God patience knowing it will happen very soon.
We are hoping to leave this Friday for a much needed vacation. We plan to spend some time down on the Oregon Coast, one of our favorite places to go. Please pray that Luke will stay healthy and this will be a time of refreshing and renewing, as each of us needs a break from work and appointments. Thank you for your continued prayer support you are what makes the difference in our lives.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
WOW, what a day!
Today started out very exciting to say the least. I was in the shower when I heard through the door Amy yelling with a panicked voice MOM, Luke just had his G-J tube accidently pulled out. I could not hear what she was saying and just hearing the panic in her voice thought, oh no Luke is not breathing and thinking how can that be since he was doing okay just a few minutes ago. But then I realized that she was saying that his tube had been pulled out, what should she and Natalie do. I immediately called the Dr.'s office and they put me on hold for a few minutes, finally she came back and told me that she had paged someone and they would call me back. Well I finished getting ready and still no call from the office, so I decided that I better take Luke into the ER so that they could tell me what to do. While I was driving the Dr.'s office finally called and told me to go ahead and go to the ER. When I got there I realized that I drove the car without any strollers in the back and had to carry Luke, his suction machine/diaper bag and my heavy purse, I was just about to go in the door when they called back to tell me to come to the office instead, needless to say I was out of breath by the time I got back to the car and over to the Dr.'s office. The nurse was able to put in a tube and told me that I would probably have to wait at least 4 to 6 hours before having the procedure done since he had just been fed through his g-tube into his stomach. I had resigned myself to think that I would be spending another day in the Dr.'s office and at the Hospital when the nurse came back and said that since Luke had only had about 50 mls go into his stomach they thought that they could get me in right away.
As I was on my way to the Hospital I had called a few family members and friends to pray and they in turn called even more people to pray, I thought about all of our faithful friends out there in blog land and I was wishing there was an easy way to let you all know. Needless to say, I felt the Lord going before us each step of the way. The nurse came back almost immediately and told us since it was such a small amount of food that they could take us over at the hospital right now. We were out of the Hospital by 12:00, which was awesome considering what we had been told earlier.
Here's an update on how Luke's Gastronologist appt went last Friday. After discussing with the Dr. our concerns about Luke's reflux problem that he has been having for a long time, we all thought that a Nissen Fundoplication was probably the best road to go down. Before we can schedule that procedure we first need to have a gastric emptying study done on him. So we go in tomorrow, Wednesday for a gastric emptying study, please be praying for Luke as he will have to lay on a straight board, for an hour, while they feed him some of his formula into his g-tube with some radio active fluid in it and then watch with an X-ray machine on a computer screen to see if his stomach is emptying okay. We will meet with the surgeon next Tuesday afternoon to talk to him about the results and whether Luke is a good candidate for this procedure. It will be at least a 5 day stay in the Hospital if we have it done we are not looking forward to that of course, but are hoping that it will make a huge difference in Luke's health.
Please be praying that God will continue to help Luke keep his lungs free from excess secretions and to keep him breathing smoothly. We've not had to use any oxygen for almost a month now which has been an awesome thing. We continue to see progress with Luke's arms, wrists and fingers relaxing on a daily basis and we are also seeing more of a bend in Luke's legs PTL. Our new PT has been showing me some wonderful ways to help Luke get more productive coughs and help him to be able to take big breaths of air.
We were blessed once again on Saturday. Phillip and KimDeBord, who we had never met before but have been praying for Luke and our family since last August volunteered to come over and pressure wash our home for free. What a huge job! Phillip also got our roof clean at the same time. We are now getting the paint picked out, we are going with darker green for the home and a light mint green for the trim. We hope to have the house completely painted by August 20th. Please be praying that it will go smoothly and that we will be able to get it done without any major setbacks. Also be praying that we will be able to take our camping trip in our trailer at the end of August, we all feel like we need some time to relax and just have a time of no schedules and some fun family time together. We hope to be able to go to the Oregon coast if Luke is healthy, one of our most favorite places to go.
We pray that our Heavenly Father will bless you with His peace and love today.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
As I was on my way to the Hospital I had called a few family members and friends to pray and they in turn called even more people to pray, I thought about all of our faithful friends out there in blog land and I was wishing there was an easy way to let you all know. Needless to say, I felt the Lord going before us each step of the way. The nurse came back almost immediately and told us since it was such a small amount of food that they could take us over at the hospital right now. We were out of the Hospital by 12:00, which was awesome considering what we had been told earlier.
Here's an update on how Luke's Gastronologist appt went last Friday. After discussing with the Dr. our concerns about Luke's reflux problem that he has been having for a long time, we all thought that a Nissen Fundoplication was probably the best road to go down. Before we can schedule that procedure we first need to have a gastric emptying study done on him. So we go in tomorrow, Wednesday for a gastric emptying study, please be praying for Luke as he will have to lay on a straight board, for an hour, while they feed him some of his formula into his g-tube with some radio active fluid in it and then watch with an X-ray machine on a computer screen to see if his stomach is emptying okay. We will meet with the surgeon next Tuesday afternoon to talk to him about the results and whether Luke is a good candidate for this procedure. It will be at least a 5 day stay in the Hospital if we have it done we are not looking forward to that of course, but are hoping that it will make a huge difference in Luke's health.
Please be praying that God will continue to help Luke keep his lungs free from excess secretions and to keep him breathing smoothly. We've not had to use any oxygen for almost a month now which has been an awesome thing. We continue to see progress with Luke's arms, wrists and fingers relaxing on a daily basis and we are also seeing more of a bend in Luke's legs PTL. Our new PT has been showing me some wonderful ways to help Luke get more productive coughs and help him to be able to take big breaths of air.
We were blessed once again on Saturday. Phillip and KimDeBord, who we had never met before but have been praying for Luke and our family since last August volunteered to come over and pressure wash our home for free. What a huge job! Phillip also got our roof clean at the same time. We are now getting the paint picked out, we are going with darker green for the home and a light mint green for the trim. We hope to have the house completely painted by August 20th. Please be praying that it will go smoothly and that we will be able to get it done without any major setbacks. Also be praying that we will be able to take our camping trip in our trailer at the end of August, we all feel like we need some time to relax and just have a time of no schedules and some fun family time together. We hope to be able to go to the Oregon coast if Luke is healthy, one of our most favorite places to go.
We pray that our Heavenly Father will bless you with His peace and love today.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
We continue to learn how to be still and know that God continues to heal Luke in His timing
Today was a great day for Luke and myself. I took Luke to a HBOT session and on the way to his PT appt from there he was moving his arms up and down, more than I've seen him move since the accident. Then at his PT appt. his PT set him up to try out some big switches, which are buttons that you push to make a toy go. He first tried an Elmo singing, he didn't seem that interested in it so we tried a train. He seemed to love the train and was actually pushing the switch to make it go, I started to cry happy tears as I watched him take true interest in the toy that he was playing with. She then put him into a neat little electrical car of sorts. All he had to do was hit the button to make it go and take his hand off it to stop it. He was making it go and he was holding up his head so well during his ride and then he actually stopped and started the car all by his self. I was so excited to see him doing something that he really enjoyed.
As I was reading in a devotional book by, Peacemakers Ministry yesterday it really ministered to my soul. The scripture was from Ps. 46:10 Be still and know that I am God. It said; Anxious soul, God is saying to you today, "Be still, and know that I am God." And there's a reason He's saying it. Your activity, when born out of anxiety, actually prevents Him from showing Himself strong on your behalf. That doesn't mean you're to be passive or lazy: it just means you're to do whatever, He leads you to do without running ahead of Him in the energy of the flesh! It also means you're to submit to Him first, then slow down and wait! In other words, make sure you have a sense of peace to go along with the ideas you believe He's given you. Ask Him to reveal to you His will in the matter, then"be still" and acknowledge that He's God. He's in charge, He knows what He's doing! Learn to trust Him without always demanding to know what He's going to do, when He going to do it and how He's going to carry it out.
Jesus said, "I am the vine, and ye are the branches" Jn. 15:5 Until you really embrace those words you'll keep trying to do things that only God can do - like blessing yourself, promoting your own minstry, solving your own problems, trying to get Luke healed faster and answering your own prayers. Or worse, you'll try to cover up for Him because you think He's not doing it fast enough, or in the way it should be done. Give it up! Try less and trust more! Jesus said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches." All you have to do is stay connected.
I thought that this was such a good devotional. As I was sharing with Daniel about the devotional and what the Lord had been dealing with me he had me read from Gal. 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? I thought how right on with what the Lord is saying to me He began the healing in Luke on the day of the accident and since then I've been trying to get it to move along faster with all the treatments and programs etc.. I'm not saying that I think we should of sat back and did nothing but I am saying that I realize I can not hurry up his healing process, it has to be God's doing not mine. Oh, the things I am learning!
Thank you for your prayers for myself they are working. I really feel as I had a good prayer time on Sunday night that God heard me cry out and he is helping me to feel so much better. I've been amazed all day at how much better I'm doing, I ask my self why I'm amazed when I know for a fact that God is hearing all your prayers and He is answering them.
Please be praying that God will give Gordy and I wisdom in knowing for sure what to do about the Nissen Fundoplication procedure for Luke. We are feeling more and more like we should go ahead and have it done. We have a Dr. appt with his gastronologist on Friday to discuss it. I'm so thankful that God said in His word to ask for wisdom and He will give it to us, I feel confident that He will give us the peace that we are asking for in knowing His will for this sitution.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
As I was reading in a devotional book by, Peacemakers Ministry yesterday it really ministered to my soul. The scripture was from Ps. 46:10 Be still and know that I am God. It said; Anxious soul, God is saying to you today, "Be still, and know that I am God." And there's a reason He's saying it. Your activity, when born out of anxiety, actually prevents Him from showing Himself strong on your behalf. That doesn't mean you're to be passive or lazy: it just means you're to do whatever, He leads you to do without running ahead of Him in the energy of the flesh! It also means you're to submit to Him first, then slow down and wait! In other words, make sure you have a sense of peace to go along with the ideas you believe He's given you. Ask Him to reveal to you His will in the matter, then"be still" and acknowledge that He's God. He's in charge, He knows what He's doing! Learn to trust Him without always demanding to know what He's going to do, when He going to do it and how He's going to carry it out.
Jesus said, "I am the vine, and ye are the branches" Jn. 15:5 Until you really embrace those words you'll keep trying to do things that only God can do - like blessing yourself, promoting your own minstry, solving your own problems, trying to get Luke healed faster and answering your own prayers. Or worse, you'll try to cover up for Him because you think He's not doing it fast enough, or in the way it should be done. Give it up! Try less and trust more! Jesus said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches." All you have to do is stay connected.
I thought that this was such a good devotional. As I was sharing with Daniel about the devotional and what the Lord had been dealing with me he had me read from Gal. 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? I thought how right on with what the Lord is saying to me He began the healing in Luke on the day of the accident and since then I've been trying to get it to move along faster with all the treatments and programs etc.. I'm not saying that I think we should of sat back and did nothing but I am saying that I realize I can not hurry up his healing process, it has to be God's doing not mine. Oh, the things I am learning!
Thank you for your prayers for myself they are working. I really feel as I had a good prayer time on Sunday night that God heard me cry out and he is helping me to feel so much better. I've been amazed all day at how much better I'm doing, I ask my self why I'm amazed when I know for a fact that God is hearing all your prayers and He is answering them.
Please be praying that God will give Gordy and I wisdom in knowing for sure what to do about the Nissen Fundoplication procedure for Luke. We are feeling more and more like we should go ahead and have it done. We have a Dr. appt with his gastronologist on Friday to discuss it. I'm so thankful that God said in His word to ask for wisdom and He will give it to us, I feel confident that He will give us the peace that we are asking for in knowing His will for this sitution.
Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Finally a long overdue update on Luke!
I know many of you are wondering how Luke is doing. I’m sorry for not updating the blog earlier. I have tried on two accounts to update only to lose my entire update to the computer. Luke is doing okay, he has had some awesome days and he has had some very hard days. We’ve had some busy days with celebrating our 22nd wedding anniversary, Daniel’s 20th birthday, Amy went away to Kids camp as a counselor and had a awesome time, Isaiah went a VBS last week and just the busyness of all Luke’s appts makes my head spin at times. Thursday's are our fun days this summer, with lots of trips to various parks and lakes.
We took Luke to an eye specialist last week and we learned that Luke is tracking some and also that his vision is about 20/240, he sees about as far as a newborn. I was bummed because right after we got there he fell asleep and we couldn’t wake him up to continue with the examination, therefore it was not a through exam. One thing he did to try to wake him up was have me sit in a chair with him and twirl one way 3 times and then look at his eyes and then twirl the other way 3 times. His eyes on both accounts continued to go after I stopped which was what was supposed to happen. The Dr. feels that since Luke has favored looking to the right for so long we need to help him unlock the muscles in his eyes so that he will feel more comfortable looking the other way. We were sent home with some exercises to do with him and asked to come back in a month.
We were going to have a PH reflux test done on Luke this week, but when we began to take him off his Zantac medicine, he started coughing, sneezing and gagging just about non-stop within 12 hours. Gordy and I finally decided that we could not put Luke through this for 5 days just so that we could learn that he is having a reflux problem, which we already knew from what he was showing us off the medicine. It was a very hard day to say the least and it just happened to be on our 22nd anniversary, my mom called to wish me a Happy Anniversary and I told her it was anything but a happy day. My nurse had told me that if Luke didn’t start to get better we were going to end up back in the Hospital. Needless to say she prayed that God would touch him and we decided to give him his medicine and within a half hour he was doing almost 100% better.
Yesterday we experienced a very similar situation to last Friday making us wonder if we need to up his Zantac. We ended up giving him an extra dose after we got home from his PT and HBOT sessions. Once again he was doing better within a very short time. We are both feeling like he needs to have this Nissen Fundoplicaiton surgery done, though we aren’t looking forward to another surgery or hospital stay. I’ve had two different friends who have had their children have the surgery and both have said that it changed their children’s lives and was the best choice they could of made.
I continue to feel like I’m riding on the worst possible roller coaster ride. One day I will be so sure that Luke is going to be healed soon and I have the joy of the Lord as my strength and then the next day I will be in the depth’s of despair. I think that the closer we come to the anniversary date of the accident the harder it is for me to see Luke the way he has become. I think back to this time last year when Luke was running around laughing and playing and I desperately miss that precious little boy. On some days it literally hurts me just to think about those days and it honestly zaps all the energy out of me. I told Gordy that I just don’t think that I have the strength to help with painting the house next month. We’ve been planning to paint it for some time it really needs it badly. Anyway I wish we could just hire someone to come and paint it for us, but we just can’t justify spending the money when we could spend that money on Luke’s HBOT treatments, special appts, etc… I don’t tell you this to feel sorry for me, but just to let you know that I really feel like I’m gong to need some extra prayer this month, I don’t want to be depressed all month and as many of you know quite often the mom sets the tone for the house, therefore I want our home to be a happy place not a depressed place to live.
God is faithful to give me a special verse the other day it is O my people, trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. Psalms 62:8 God continues to remind me to trust in Him and he will give me a special place of refuge where I can lean on Him to be my strength, this sounds a whole lot easier to do then it is, but I know with His help I can continue to trust Him with the timing of Luke’s healing process. Please pray specifically for Luke to get rid of this congestion that he has been dealing with, also continue to pray that God will keep on touching his muscles to relax and his legs to bend. My one last prayer request is that God will bless us with showing us Luke’s smile again, I feel like it would be one of the happiest days of my life just to see that precious smile.
As I mention time and again your prayers keep us going! I pray today that God will bless you with an awesome day and today will be the day that you will see a miracle happen in your life.
Love in Christ,
Luke’s Mommy Sue
We took Luke to an eye specialist last week and we learned that Luke is tracking some and also that his vision is about 20/240, he sees about as far as a newborn. I was bummed because right after we got there he fell asleep and we couldn’t wake him up to continue with the examination, therefore it was not a through exam. One thing he did to try to wake him up was have me sit in a chair with him and twirl one way 3 times and then look at his eyes and then twirl the other way 3 times. His eyes on both accounts continued to go after I stopped which was what was supposed to happen. The Dr. feels that since Luke has favored looking to the right for so long we need to help him unlock the muscles in his eyes so that he will feel more comfortable looking the other way. We were sent home with some exercises to do with him and asked to come back in a month.
We were going to have a PH reflux test done on Luke this week, but when we began to take him off his Zantac medicine, he started coughing, sneezing and gagging just about non-stop within 12 hours. Gordy and I finally decided that we could not put Luke through this for 5 days just so that we could learn that he is having a reflux problem, which we already knew from what he was showing us off the medicine. It was a very hard day to say the least and it just happened to be on our 22nd anniversary, my mom called to wish me a Happy Anniversary and I told her it was anything but a happy day. My nurse had told me that if Luke didn’t start to get better we were going to end up back in the Hospital. Needless to say she prayed that God would touch him and we decided to give him his medicine and within a half hour he was doing almost 100% better.
Yesterday we experienced a very similar situation to last Friday making us wonder if we need to up his Zantac. We ended up giving him an extra dose after we got home from his PT and HBOT sessions. Once again he was doing better within a very short time. We are both feeling like he needs to have this Nissen Fundoplicaiton surgery done, though we aren’t looking forward to another surgery or hospital stay. I’ve had two different friends who have had their children have the surgery and both have said that it changed their children’s lives and was the best choice they could of made.
I continue to feel like I’m riding on the worst possible roller coaster ride. One day I will be so sure that Luke is going to be healed soon and I have the joy of the Lord as my strength and then the next day I will be in the depth’s of despair. I think that the closer we come to the anniversary date of the accident the harder it is for me to see Luke the way he has become. I think back to this time last year when Luke was running around laughing and playing and I desperately miss that precious little boy. On some days it literally hurts me just to think about those days and it honestly zaps all the energy out of me. I told Gordy that I just don’t think that I have the strength to help with painting the house next month. We’ve been planning to paint it for some time it really needs it badly. Anyway I wish we could just hire someone to come and paint it for us, but we just can’t justify spending the money when we could spend that money on Luke’s HBOT treatments, special appts, etc… I don’t tell you this to feel sorry for me, but just to let you know that I really feel like I’m gong to need some extra prayer this month, I don’t want to be depressed all month and as many of you know quite often the mom sets the tone for the house, therefore I want our home to be a happy place not a depressed place to live.
God is faithful to give me a special verse the other day it is O my people, trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. Psalms 62:8 God continues to remind me to trust in Him and he will give me a special place of refuge where I can lean on Him to be my strength, this sounds a whole lot easier to do then it is, but I know with His help I can continue to trust Him with the timing of Luke’s healing process. Please pray specifically for Luke to get rid of this congestion that he has been dealing with, also continue to pray that God will keep on touching his muscles to relax and his legs to bend. My one last prayer request is that God will bless us with showing us Luke’s smile again, I feel like it would be one of the happiest days of my life just to see that precious smile.
As I mention time and again your prayers keep us going! I pray today that God will bless you with an awesome day and today will be the day that you will see a miracle happen in your life.
Love in Christ,
Luke’s Mommy Sue
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Great News about Luke and sad news about our trip across America
Luke is doing amazing things this week. I do believe after struggling with this infection in his lungs for so long, it is finally going away, praise the Lord. Luke has begun to be more vocal these past few days and much more expressive in the facial looks he is giving us. There is something different about his eyes, they are tracking so much better and when you look into them you can see that he is recognizing what he is seeing, instead of the blank look that has haunted him for so long. To say this is exciting is to put it mildly.
Today Luke took a friend with him on a dive in the HBOT. Josiah is 6 ½ years old and had a near drowning accident 4 years ago in June. He has made some great progress, especially after his HBOT sessions. Luke really seemed to enjoy having someone in the chamber with him. He kept lifting up his head to see what was going on. We began putting him on his stomach the last time we were there, because he relaxes so much more when he is on his stomach. It was awesome to see him lift his head up to look around, we’ve seen him lift his head up for a few seconds, but nothing like today where he would pick it up and keep it up for a bit of time and then put it down only to continue to do this off and on through out the entire dive time.
When Mary our nurse put him to bed tonight his heart rate was down in the low 100’s and even has dipped a little lower than that. We haven’t seen his numbers that low in a long time. He is also keeping his oxygen numbers up, which has been wonderful. Gordy came back to bed last night after hearing Luke's alarm go off, it seems he just couldn't get Lukes oxygen rate up above the 80's so he gave him some oxygen he came into bed saying that he didn’t know what was happening. I went into the room and checked his toe, where the sensor is located only to find it half on, I adjusted it and his numbers went back up to 96, we know that we should always check the sensor first, but in the middle of the night you get kind of groggy after numerous times of being woke up to alarms. I was so glad to see his oxygen rate that high during the deep sleep he was in.
Last night as I was sitting in the car waiting for Gordy to go into Lowe’s to buy some Bee killer, we have a nest of bees out in the back yard. I was a bit discouraged and very tired and the Lord ministered to my heart by saying I’m healing Luke from the inside out, you may not always be able to see what I’m doing, just don’t give up hope. I was so thankful for that word and then today when I saw Luke lift up his head over and again, I was reminded of God’s healing touch in Luke’s life.
Part of the reason I was so discouraged is because Gordy and I finally decided after much prayer and thought, not to take our trip across America that we have been looking forward to for years. We’ve decided with Luke’s fragile health situation we just wouldn’t be wise doing it at this time. To say that I was disappointed is to put it mildly. We are hoping that perhaps by next year Luke will be stable enough or perhaps by then healed completely so that we can go on with our plans. Please be praying that we will still be able to spend some awesome time with the kids this summer taking some shorter trips close to home.
God is answering your prayers about Luke’s trach whole closing up again, it seems like hardly anything is coming out of his whole, which is great news. Along with all the other things I’ve mentioned this week has been a huge turn around from the last week in the Hospital. He continues to struggle a bit taking his food into the G-port of his feeding tube, please continue to pray that he will be able to take his full bolus feedings through out the day without gagging and thowing up.
I need to sign off to get some much needed sleep, we are all getting healthy. The only ones with a bit of a cough left in the home are Lily and myself. I pray that you will have a blessed day today
Love in Christ,
Luke’s Mommy Sue
Today Luke took a friend with him on a dive in the HBOT. Josiah is 6 ½ years old and had a near drowning accident 4 years ago in June. He has made some great progress, especially after his HBOT sessions. Luke really seemed to enjoy having someone in the chamber with him. He kept lifting up his head to see what was going on. We began putting him on his stomach the last time we were there, because he relaxes so much more when he is on his stomach. It was awesome to see him lift his head up to look around, we’ve seen him lift his head up for a few seconds, but nothing like today where he would pick it up and keep it up for a bit of time and then put it down only to continue to do this off and on through out the entire dive time.
When Mary our nurse put him to bed tonight his heart rate was down in the low 100’s and even has dipped a little lower than that. We haven’t seen his numbers that low in a long time. He is also keeping his oxygen numbers up, which has been wonderful. Gordy came back to bed last night after hearing Luke's alarm go off, it seems he just couldn't get Lukes oxygen rate up above the 80's so he gave him some oxygen he came into bed saying that he didn’t know what was happening. I went into the room and checked his toe, where the sensor is located only to find it half on, I adjusted it and his numbers went back up to 96, we know that we should always check the sensor first, but in the middle of the night you get kind of groggy after numerous times of being woke up to alarms. I was so glad to see his oxygen rate that high during the deep sleep he was in.
Last night as I was sitting in the car waiting for Gordy to go into Lowe’s to buy some Bee killer, we have a nest of bees out in the back yard. I was a bit discouraged and very tired and the Lord ministered to my heart by saying I’m healing Luke from the inside out, you may not always be able to see what I’m doing, just don’t give up hope. I was so thankful for that word and then today when I saw Luke lift up his head over and again, I was reminded of God’s healing touch in Luke’s life.
Part of the reason I was so discouraged is because Gordy and I finally decided after much prayer and thought, not to take our trip across America that we have been looking forward to for years. We’ve decided with Luke’s fragile health situation we just wouldn’t be wise doing it at this time. To say that I was disappointed is to put it mildly. We are hoping that perhaps by next year Luke will be stable enough or perhaps by then healed completely so that we can go on with our plans. Please be praying that we will still be able to spend some awesome time with the kids this summer taking some shorter trips close to home.
God is answering your prayers about Luke’s trach whole closing up again, it seems like hardly anything is coming out of his whole, which is great news. Along with all the other things I’ve mentioned this week has been a huge turn around from the last week in the Hospital. He continues to struggle a bit taking his food into the G-port of his feeding tube, please continue to pray that he will be able to take his full bolus feedings through out the day without gagging and thowing up.
I need to sign off to get some much needed sleep, we are all getting healthy. The only ones with a bit of a cough left in the home are Lily and myself. I pray that you will have a blessed day today
Love in Christ,
Luke’s Mommy Sue
Sunday, July 10, 2005
God once again pours out His strength upon us as we put all our trust in Him
It’s hard to know where to begin in summarizing this past week in both Luke’s life, our family and mine. First of all I have to let you all know that I’m so thankful for your prayers once again. God is so faithful in hearing the prayers of all those that cry out to Him.
It was scary taking Luke back to the Hospital again knowing that we would probably be there for a few days. We knew that Luke was sick but just didn’t realize how bad off he was until Wednesday morning when I went to change his diaper his legs and arms were looking all blotchy, it scared me to put it mildly. We just were not able to get his high fever under control though his arms and legs were freezing cold. Basically all his oxygen was going to keep his vital organs going.
The Emergency Dr. took one look at Luke and said immediately he was not sure what is going on but I do know he will be staying here until he gets better. We then had the x-ray machine come in and x-ray him and they begin taking his blood for tests and also a sample of his secretions to see if he had an infection in his lungs. God began to work immediately at getting Luke better because the Dr. was amazed that his x-ray of the lungs looked as good as it did, though it did show fluid, letting us know that he had pneumonia. Then when we received his blood test back he was once again surprised to see that it was not as bad as he thought it would be.
The hardest part of that morning was trying to get an IV in him so that they could start hydrating him since he was dehydrated from being so sick and throwing up all the food and water we had been putting down him. Since his limbs were so cold it was hard to get an IV in him. One of the IV therapist said that she thought Luke needed to go to the PICU and not even think about putting him on the floor. I kept crying out to the Lord that I can do all things through you who strengthen me, but I beg of you not to allow Luke to go the PICU. I knew that going to the PICU would mean that I could not keep Lily in the room with me over night and I was not planning on leaving Luke alone.
Needless to say God was hearing my cries and when the Dr. from the floor and the head nurse came to see him they thought that he would be able to stay out on the floor. The nurse had meet us before and knew that I had a baby and would need to keep her with me so that I could feed her since she still nurses. The nurse even made the comment that he was looking better by the minute, God in His great mercy and grace opened the door for us to go to the floor and blessed us with one of the best rooms, a double room that they gave to us as a private room and even suggested we bring in a portable crib for Lily. I felt spoiled, as I looked out the window at a beautiful view of Old Tacoma and the waterfront. I could feel the favor of the Lord being poured out on during this difficult time.
As I was looking out the window with tears in my eyes at being back at the Hospital and knowing that they had just put another IV in Luke’s arm and that he would wake up finding a brace on it to keep it straight I was almost at the end of what I felt I could take. But just then I looked out the window and found a church with a cross on the top and I felt the Lord comforting me in the way that only God can. Whispering in my ear that He was there with me and that everything would be okay.
There is so much that I could share but I realize that this is already getting too long. But I will tell you another time that God comforted both Gordy and myself. The Dr. that took out Luke’s trach thought perhaps he was aspirating and wanted to do another swallow gram on Luke. Well as we sat there during the hour and half procedure watching the radioactive fluid that they had just given to Luke to swallow go down slowly we knew that he was aspirating some into his lungs. I sat there with tears running down my face and just as if God was sitting right by my side I once again heard Him say to me in that small still voice, I am the God that is healing Luke, JUST KEEP TRUSTING IN ME! Later as I was talking to Gordy he mentioned that he too was reminded by God, as he was sitting there feeling so discouraged, of the vision that he had when Luke had his trach taken out of him giving Luke to Jesus and Jesus breathing his breath into Luke and then Jesus putting him down to run back to his daddy’s arms. God is so faithful to lift us up when don’t have the strength to go on.
We heard many discouraging things this past week, the Dr. who took out Luke’s trach thinks that he made a mistake and even suggested that we should think about putting it back in. His gastronologist Dr. said that Luke may be refluxing his food and we should think about getting a Nissen Wrap put on his esophagus, which would be a major surgery. I left the Hospital feeling pretty discouraged, but at the same time knowing that God is able to do all things in His timing and looking at Luke these last few days his eyes seem to be brighter and he seems to be getting stronger by the minute. Only God knows what is healing in his brain and I do believe it is being healed slowly, surely and steadily, just as the scripture in Habakkuk 2:2-3 says.
Somehow Luke’s trach whole that was so small got reopened and his secretions are being sneezed and coughed out it, please be praying that this will close soon. Also please be praying that Luke will continue to be able to handle his feedings, he is on many new medications and I think some of them are making it difficult to keep his food down, when fed through his G-port, which goes directly into his stomach. Also be praying that Luke’s pneumonia will be gone forever and he will never have to go through this again. We need prayer for Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Lily, Gordy and myself that we will be touched by His healing touch we are all coughing and feeling a bit under the weather.
If you are still reading this book you truly are a faithful partner and I sure do appreciate you and all your prayers.
Love in Christ,
Luke’s Mommy Sue
It was scary taking Luke back to the Hospital again knowing that we would probably be there for a few days. We knew that Luke was sick but just didn’t realize how bad off he was until Wednesday morning when I went to change his diaper his legs and arms were looking all blotchy, it scared me to put it mildly. We just were not able to get his high fever under control though his arms and legs were freezing cold. Basically all his oxygen was going to keep his vital organs going.
The Emergency Dr. took one look at Luke and said immediately he was not sure what is going on but I do know he will be staying here until he gets better. We then had the x-ray machine come in and x-ray him and they begin taking his blood for tests and also a sample of his secretions to see if he had an infection in his lungs. God began to work immediately at getting Luke better because the Dr. was amazed that his x-ray of the lungs looked as good as it did, though it did show fluid, letting us know that he had pneumonia. Then when we received his blood test back he was once again surprised to see that it was not as bad as he thought it would be.
The hardest part of that morning was trying to get an IV in him so that they could start hydrating him since he was dehydrated from being so sick and throwing up all the food and water we had been putting down him. Since his limbs were so cold it was hard to get an IV in him. One of the IV therapist said that she thought Luke needed to go to the PICU and not even think about putting him on the floor. I kept crying out to the Lord that I can do all things through you who strengthen me, but I beg of you not to allow Luke to go the PICU. I knew that going to the PICU would mean that I could not keep Lily in the room with me over night and I was not planning on leaving Luke alone.
Needless to say God was hearing my cries and when the Dr. from the floor and the head nurse came to see him they thought that he would be able to stay out on the floor. The nurse had meet us before and knew that I had a baby and would need to keep her with me so that I could feed her since she still nurses. The nurse even made the comment that he was looking better by the minute, God in His great mercy and grace opened the door for us to go to the floor and blessed us with one of the best rooms, a double room that they gave to us as a private room and even suggested we bring in a portable crib for Lily. I felt spoiled, as I looked out the window at a beautiful view of Old Tacoma and the waterfront. I could feel the favor of the Lord being poured out on during this difficult time.
As I was looking out the window with tears in my eyes at being back at the Hospital and knowing that they had just put another IV in Luke’s arm and that he would wake up finding a brace on it to keep it straight I was almost at the end of what I felt I could take. But just then I looked out the window and found a church with a cross on the top and I felt the Lord comforting me in the way that only God can. Whispering in my ear that He was there with me and that everything would be okay.
There is so much that I could share but I realize that this is already getting too long. But I will tell you another time that God comforted both Gordy and myself. The Dr. that took out Luke’s trach thought perhaps he was aspirating and wanted to do another swallow gram on Luke. Well as we sat there during the hour and half procedure watching the radioactive fluid that they had just given to Luke to swallow go down slowly we knew that he was aspirating some into his lungs. I sat there with tears running down my face and just as if God was sitting right by my side I once again heard Him say to me in that small still voice, I am the God that is healing Luke, JUST KEEP TRUSTING IN ME! Later as I was talking to Gordy he mentioned that he too was reminded by God, as he was sitting there feeling so discouraged, of the vision that he had when Luke had his trach taken out of him giving Luke to Jesus and Jesus breathing his breath into Luke and then Jesus putting him down to run back to his daddy’s arms. God is so faithful to lift us up when don’t have the strength to go on.
We heard many discouraging things this past week, the Dr. who took out Luke’s trach thinks that he made a mistake and even suggested that we should think about putting it back in. His gastronologist Dr. said that Luke may be refluxing his food and we should think about getting a Nissen Wrap put on his esophagus, which would be a major surgery. I left the Hospital feeling pretty discouraged, but at the same time knowing that God is able to do all things in His timing and looking at Luke these last few days his eyes seem to be brighter and he seems to be getting stronger by the minute. Only God knows what is healing in his brain and I do believe it is being healed slowly, surely and steadily, just as the scripture in Habakkuk 2:2-3 says.
Somehow Luke’s trach whole that was so small got reopened and his secretions are being sneezed and coughed out it, please be praying that this will close soon. Also please be praying that Luke will continue to be able to handle his feedings, he is on many new medications and I think some of them are making it difficult to keep his food down, when fed through his G-port, which goes directly into his stomach. Also be praying that Luke’s pneumonia will be gone forever and he will never have to go through this again. We need prayer for Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Lily, Gordy and myself that we will be touched by His healing touch we are all coughing and feeling a bit under the weather.
If you are still reading this book you truly are a faithful partner and I sure do appreciate you and all your prayers.
Love in Christ,
Luke’s Mommy Sue
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Guess who is home
If you guessed, Luke, Lily and Sue, you would be correct. They arrived home from the hospital this afternoon. Luke had a great night last night and the doctor decided to let him go home.
Again, I would like to thank each and every one of you that have been praying we truly appreciate it. Please continue to pray for Lukes complete recovery and that this pneumonia is behind him.
Keep looking up.
Again, I would like to thank each and every one of you that have been praying we truly appreciate it. Please continue to pray for Lukes complete recovery and that this pneumonia is behind him.
Keep looking up.
Friday, July 08, 2005
Luke may get to go home soon
We are hoping Luke will get to go home soon. The doctors say that as soon as Luke doesnt need as much oxygen and continues to take his food and continues to not have a fever, then we can take him home. Luke took all of his food today with no problems, this is a big praise. Luke has not had a fever today, this is another big praise. His heart rate has been fairly normal, thank You Lord. We just need for him to breath better and not need as much oxygen. Continue to pray for his breathing. We hope that he might get to go home tomorrow, we will let you know.
Over the last few days when I discussed Lukes heart rate, I referred to it as BPS, it should be BPM. Today as I was watching the Tour De France, they were monitoring the riders heart rate as BPM (Beats Per Minute). It got me thinking, where did I come up with BPS, certaintly not Beats Per Second. Then it dawned on me, being the techie that I am BPS stands for Bytes Per Second. Hmmmm....I know Luke is connected to a lot of things, but the internet is not one of them. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused you if you though Lukes heart rate was 200 Beats Per Second :)
Thank you for praying.
Keep looking up!
Over the last few days when I discussed Lukes heart rate, I referred to it as BPS, it should be BPM. Today as I was watching the Tour De France, they were monitoring the riders heart rate as BPM (Beats Per Minute). It got me thinking, where did I come up with BPS, certaintly not Beats Per Second. Then it dawned on me, being the techie that I am BPS stands for Bytes Per Second. Hmmmm....I know Luke is connected to a lot of things, but the internet is not one of them. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused you if you though Lukes heart rate was 200 Beats Per Second :)
Thank you for praying.
Keep looking up!
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Keep praying
Well, it has been another long day at the hospital. Luke seems to be taking the food fine, pray that he will continue to take it. His breathing has not improved significantly, they still have him on 1.5 litres of oxygen, he needs to get stronger and he needs to regain his strong cough. The doctors are concerned about the ongoing fight he has had with the respiratory infections. Please pray that this will be the absolutely last one and that the antibotics will do the trick. Also pray that his breathing will get stronger day by day, moment by moment. With God's grace, Luke may go home tomorrow.
God's blessing on you.
God's blessing on you.
Update from the hospital
The doctor came by Luke's room a little while ago and said that if Luke tolerates his food today and his breathing improves that at best, he might get to go home tomorrow. Please pray that he would take his food without any issues. Regarding his breathing, he is currently on oxygen and they probably wont let him go home until he does not need it. Please pray that his breathing would improve and that they could turn off the oxygen.
Lily has developed a bit of a cough, so if you would keep her in your prayers, we would appreciate it.
Sue seems to be doing well, although I know she is tired from getting just a little bit of sleep. I am trying to get her to go home for just a while today and take a nap.
Thank you for your prayers.
Lily has developed a bit of a cough, so if you would keep her in your prayers, we would appreciate it.
Sue seems to be doing well, although I know she is tired from getting just a little bit of sleep. I am trying to get her to go home for just a while today and take a nap.
Thank you for your prayers.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
The end of a long day
Sorry I have not blogged sooner. I am sure you are all waiting for news.
When we arrived, Luke had 103 fever his heart rate was around 200 and he was laboring to breath. His body was hot and his arms and legs were cold. His body was modeling (blotchy looking), this indicates that his circulation was poor. And he was dehydrated.
They started by giving him an IV, which was no easy task, it required multiple sticks to get on started and then because it was so small, they had to replace it later in the day. Once they had an IV, they began to pump the fluids in to rehydrate his body. Next, they gave him Ibuprofen to deal with the fever. Right around the time the fever broke, Julie was posting her prayer that God would drive out the fever and that he would send the right doctors. He answered her prayer on all counts. Once the fever broke, his heart rate began to slowly drop.
At this point, they took us upstairs to his room on the floor, which is a huge praise. It is a large two person room that only has Luke in it right now. Throughout the remainder of the afternoon, Luke's vitals improved. Finally around 3:00 he fell into a very deep sleep and he look 1000% better then when we brought him in. His temp was 100, his heart rate was down to 128 bps and he was breathing comfortably.
He was still sleeping when I left a little after 7:00. Sue and Lily along with our friend Yoli are going to spend the night in Luke's room.
Thank you for your prayers, we can tell and they are making a huge difference. Today, it was kind of like there was this miraculous turn around for no reason. However the reason is because God is answering prayer. I have a few specific prayers that I would like for you to pray about.
First, pray that his breathing will stabilize. I talked to Sue a while ago and she said that his oxygen level would drop all of a sudden from 97 or 98 to mid 80's.
Second, pray that the fever will stay away.
Finally, pray that the infection will be cured once and for all.
Words cannot begin to express my gratitude for you faithful friends and family. May God richly bless you as you pour out prayers for Luke.
Blessings!
When we arrived, Luke had 103 fever his heart rate was around 200 and he was laboring to breath. His body was hot and his arms and legs were cold. His body was modeling (blotchy looking), this indicates that his circulation was poor. And he was dehydrated.
They started by giving him an IV, which was no easy task, it required multiple sticks to get on started and then because it was so small, they had to replace it later in the day. Once they had an IV, they began to pump the fluids in to rehydrate his body. Next, they gave him Ibuprofen to deal with the fever. Right around the time the fever broke, Julie was posting her prayer that God would drive out the fever and that he would send the right doctors. He answered her prayer on all counts. Once the fever broke, his heart rate began to slowly drop.
At this point, they took us upstairs to his room on the floor, which is a huge praise. It is a large two person room that only has Luke in it right now. Throughout the remainder of the afternoon, Luke's vitals improved. Finally around 3:00 he fell into a very deep sleep and he look 1000% better then when we brought him in. His temp was 100, his heart rate was down to 128 bps and he was breathing comfortably.
He was still sleeping when I left a little after 7:00. Sue and Lily along with our friend Yoli are going to spend the night in Luke's room.
Thank you for your prayers, we can tell and they are making a huge difference. Today, it was kind of like there was this miraculous turn around for no reason. However the reason is because God is answering prayer. I have a few specific prayers that I would like for you to pray about.
First, pray that his breathing will stabilize. I talked to Sue a while ago and she said that his oxygen level would drop all of a sudden from 97 or 98 to mid 80's.
Second, pray that the fever will stay away.
Finally, pray that the infection will be cured once and for all.
Words cannot begin to express my gratitude for you faithful friends and family. May God richly bless you as you pour out prayers for Luke.
Blessings!
At the Hospital
Well, here I am blogging from a familiar place, the family room of the hospital. This morning we brought Luke to the ER because he has a high fever (103) and is laboring to breath. The doctors have determined that Luke has developed pneumonia and they are in the process of admitting him to the hospital.
This past weekend we went to Eastern Washington to visit Sue's sister Lori over the 4th of July. On Monday night Luke began running a fever. We thought it was the flu as Daniel and Isaiah have both had the flu the last week. It is possible that Luke did catch the flu, however it has turned into pneumonia. We came home yesterday from Eastern Washington and Luke has continued to run a high fever with labored breathing, so here we are at the hospital.
With a high fever the heart will beat an extra 10 bps for each degree over normal, as a general rule of thumb. In Luke's case, that means an extra 50 bps to his normal 130-170 giving him a high heart rate that has exceeded 200 bps at times.
Please pray that they will be able to get the fever under control which will reduce his heart rate and that he wont labor to breath. Also, that the antibiotics will get rid of the infection once and for all. Sue or I will blog again later when we know more.
Thank you for your prayers.
This past weekend we went to Eastern Washington to visit Sue's sister Lori over the 4th of July. On Monday night Luke began running a fever. We thought it was the flu as Daniel and Isaiah have both had the flu the last week. It is possible that Luke did catch the flu, however it has turned into pneumonia. We came home yesterday from Eastern Washington and Luke has continued to run a high fever with labored breathing, so here we are at the hospital.
With a high fever the heart will beat an extra 10 bps for each degree over normal, as a general rule of thumb. In Luke's case, that means an extra 50 bps to his normal 130-170 giving him a high heart rate that has exceeded 200 bps at times.
Please pray that they will be able to get the fever under control which will reduce his heart rate and that he wont labor to breath. Also, that the antibiotics will get rid of the infection once and for all. Sue or I will blog again later when we know more.
Thank you for your prayers.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
I'm thankful for God's forgiving power
Here’s an update to let you know how Luke is doing. We decided to call his Pulmonologist last Friday and ask him to put Luke on a very strong antibiotic that has to be inhaled through a nebulizer machine. He has been struggling with his oxygen levels for so long and his heart rate has been going crazy, so Gordy and I felt that he just hasn’t gotten over the infection that they found in his lungs when they took out his trach. I know that you are all praying for Luke and I would ask you to please pray that he will once and for all get all this infection out of his lungs and that he would begin to breath normal again. It would be so awesome to a have a whole day of quiet breathing.
He continues to amaze us with how alert he is becoming, yesterday when he had to go into the Hospital for a new G-J tube, because the other one was leaking, he had a look of pain as the nurse tried to get an ivy line into his foot. Though it broke my heart to see such a look of pain, it also gave me tears of joy, because a few months ago he would of not shown that emotion on his face. Please pray that now that he has a new tube put in he will stop throwing up when we feed him through his G-tube, which goes straight to his stomach. He also continues to get better head control, just yesterday at his PT appt. he was put on a little bike and was able to hold his head up while be pushed on it with little help, he seemed to really enjoy the ride. His PT was so pleased at the bend that she was getting in his right leg, continue to pray that he will bend both legs without any help.
Last week was a busy week for me I decided to go to a Christian Conference called the Jesus Ministry Conference. Basically, teaching us how to hear God’s voice better and helping us learn more about what Jesus did in His days on earth and showing us that when He left to go back to Heaven that He left us with the Holy Spirit to give us power to do even greater things than He did while He was here. It was powerful. One evening Daniel went with me and God really did an awesome thing in his life during the prayer time afterward. Gordy was an awesome Dad staying at home with the boys, he realized that it's almost impossible to get anything accomplished besides the care of Luke at times.
For me it was a powerful time of healing. I’ve really struggled with being able to forgive myself for Luke’s accident. As you could probably imagine having a child drown in the back yard is something that is so hard to get over because you know it might of been prevented. All the questions that I’ve had go through my mind, the only ifs: If I would of never bought the pool, if only the cover had been on the pool, if I had only allowed Gordy to take it down before we went on our vacation as he had wanted too, if I had only known he was awake as I thought he was sleeping when it happened. You get the picture, I could go on and on. Anyway the thought that I could forgive myself has almost been impossible to believe, but on Saturday during a prayer time the Lord really did a great work in my heart, I truly began to believe that I can forgive myself and felt something literally break during our time or prayer. Only those that have had children go through something like this can even begin to understand the feelings of pain that I’ve gone through this last year and I know without a shadow of a doubt that God is able to heal my heart just as he is slowly healing Luke’s brain and body, now I just have to believe that I too will be able to continue what I believe began on Saturday with forgiving myself just as God has freely forgiven me.
Our family will be spending the 4th of July with my sister and her husband in Eastern Washington. Please keep us in your prayers that our trip will go smoothly and that Luke will stay healthy. We want to wish you all a happy 4th of July!
Love in Christ,
Luke’s Mommy Sue
He continues to amaze us with how alert he is becoming, yesterday when he had to go into the Hospital for a new G-J tube, because the other one was leaking, he had a look of pain as the nurse tried to get an ivy line into his foot. Though it broke my heart to see such a look of pain, it also gave me tears of joy, because a few months ago he would of not shown that emotion on his face. Please pray that now that he has a new tube put in he will stop throwing up when we feed him through his G-tube, which goes straight to his stomach. He also continues to get better head control, just yesterday at his PT appt. he was put on a little bike and was able to hold his head up while be pushed on it with little help, he seemed to really enjoy the ride. His PT was so pleased at the bend that she was getting in his right leg, continue to pray that he will bend both legs without any help.
Last week was a busy week for me I decided to go to a Christian Conference called the Jesus Ministry Conference. Basically, teaching us how to hear God’s voice better and helping us learn more about what Jesus did in His days on earth and showing us that when He left to go back to Heaven that He left us with the Holy Spirit to give us power to do even greater things than He did while He was here. It was powerful. One evening Daniel went with me and God really did an awesome thing in his life during the prayer time afterward. Gordy was an awesome Dad staying at home with the boys, he realized that it's almost impossible to get anything accomplished besides the care of Luke at times.
For me it was a powerful time of healing. I’ve really struggled with being able to forgive myself for Luke’s accident. As you could probably imagine having a child drown in the back yard is something that is so hard to get over because you know it might of been prevented. All the questions that I’ve had go through my mind, the only ifs: If I would of never bought the pool, if only the cover had been on the pool, if I had only allowed Gordy to take it down before we went on our vacation as he had wanted too, if I had only known he was awake as I thought he was sleeping when it happened. You get the picture, I could go on and on. Anyway the thought that I could forgive myself has almost been impossible to believe, but on Saturday during a prayer time the Lord really did a great work in my heart, I truly began to believe that I can forgive myself and felt something literally break during our time or prayer. Only those that have had children go through something like this can even begin to understand the feelings of pain that I’ve gone through this last year and I know without a shadow of a doubt that God is able to heal my heart just as he is slowly healing Luke’s brain and body, now I just have to believe that I too will be able to continue what I believe began on Saturday with forgiving myself just as God has freely forgiven me.
Our family will be spending the 4th of July with my sister and her husband in Eastern Washington. Please keep us in your prayers that our trip will go smoothly and that Luke will stay healthy. We want to wish you all a happy 4th of July!
Love in Christ,
Luke’s Mommy Sue
Monday, June 20, 2005
We had a great weekend with some big challenges!
What a weekend! We had a great time camping and though the weather forecast said that it would be raining all weekend it ended up being beautiful, with some rain, but also a lot of sunshine. Our trailer worked out great for our family, but we are still trying to figure out what will be the best mattress for Gordy and myself, I ended up with quite a bad back ache.
Luke had a hard weekend. The first night was hard with his heart rate going up, but during Friday it came back down and he had a good day. Well that night he went to bed kind of cold and when we woke up to his alarms he had a high fever and had to go on oxygen. I spent the first couple hours up with him and then I finally woke up Gordy to take a shift with him. We decided on Saturday after a late breakfast that we would take him into the urgent care. I volunteered to take him because I wanted Gordy to have a wonderful Father’s Day weekend with the Kids.
It ended up being a very hard day, but I knew that God was right by my side. My mom who had come up to the campground to visit us wanted to follow me into Olympia, but I said no, because I didn’t know where I would have to take him. Needless to say, after calling and finding out that I could take him to the Urgent Care in Olympia, I was wishing that I would of said yes to my Mom’s help with Lily. I called her to see where she was and when she told me, I realized that I must be very near her, just to look up and see her car. She followed me to the Urgent Care and took Lily for me, which was a huge blessing.
When Luke finally got to the Dr. he was not doing well, I had to stop twice to get him to settle down and give him some medicine on the way in. When they hooked him up to the oxymeter his numbers where real bad and his heart rate was above 200, they put him on some oxygen and asked what I could do to help get him settled down, I told them that if I could hold him that would help and sure enough he began to start breathing better and his heart rate began to come down slowly but surely. He does have an ear infection and I told the Dr. that I’m just not sure if the staph infection in his lungs from April had gone away. They did an X-ray and PTL there was no fluid showing up in his lungs, though the Dr. thought it did not look completely clear he did not think it was pneumonia.
I was wondering why God did not heal him of his ear infection and why we had to go into Urgent care, but I really believe it was to see this specific Dr. He said that he was going to put Luke on Augmentin which would help get rid of his ear infection and also get rid of any staph problems he had if that was what was wrong with his lungs.
I ended up going home to get some more oxygen and decided to go on back out to the trailer which was only about an hour away from home and I was so glad I did, Luke began to settle down almost immediately when I got back and he ended up having a great night. The next day I kept looking at him and couldn’t believe what a difference a day could make. He continues to just get better every day. Today he tolerated his feedings great and his lungs have sounded awesome all day long.
I’ll be honest once again and let you know I was really questioning God about why He allowed this to happen this weekend and once again I felt my Heavenly Father ask me if I trust Him, I was having a hard time doing this, but I told God once again I do trust you Lord. He is faithful and I know that He continues to take us down this journey, that we would never have chosen, but He knows that we are able to handle it. I know that He is working in our lives and many others as we continue on.
We ended up having a wonderful Sunday, we decided instead of going into church we would have our own little family service. It was wonderful, we just sang some songs, and each of the kids shared why they appreciate Gordy and read a few scriptures. Afterward we went swimming, then had a wonderful BBQ lunch and ended the day with Gordy going putt putt golfing with some of the kids, while Amy and I brought home Luke and Lily, I couldn’t have asked for a better day.
I have to ask for prayer for a close friend’s daughter. I know that I’ve mentioned Abbie before to you, she is a little girl that had a near drowning accident on May 3, 2004. Needless to say she is far exceeding anything the Dr’s had hoped for, but right now she is very sick and needs your prayers. If you would like to learn more about her just go to http://www.prayforabby.com/ and you will be inspired by Tiffany’s faith and what God is doing in her life.
Really quick because I know this is already too long. Lily is doing better and is her happy little self. I did take Isaiah in to the Dr. today and he also has an ear infection, it seems to be going around the family. Please be praying that God will clear up all these infections.
One last side note, Daniel moved back home after completing his year at GTC down in Centralia and we are so enjoying having him back home, though I was saying to Gordy our food budget will probably go up a bit having him here, HA HA. He is working with Greg Gunderson, the dad of the family that he lived with last year and is learning how to do tile work, while saving his money to set up his own music studio. He wants to eventually have his own recording studio to record worship music around the world.
Well that is enough for now. Hope all is going well for you out there in blog land. Happy Summer!
Love in Christ,
Luke’s Mommy Sue
Luke had a hard weekend. The first night was hard with his heart rate going up, but during Friday it came back down and he had a good day. Well that night he went to bed kind of cold and when we woke up to his alarms he had a high fever and had to go on oxygen. I spent the first couple hours up with him and then I finally woke up Gordy to take a shift with him. We decided on Saturday after a late breakfast that we would take him into the urgent care. I volunteered to take him because I wanted Gordy to have a wonderful Father’s Day weekend with the Kids.
It ended up being a very hard day, but I knew that God was right by my side. My mom who had come up to the campground to visit us wanted to follow me into Olympia, but I said no, because I didn’t know where I would have to take him. Needless to say, after calling and finding out that I could take him to the Urgent Care in Olympia, I was wishing that I would of said yes to my Mom’s help with Lily. I called her to see where she was and when she told me, I realized that I must be very near her, just to look up and see her car. She followed me to the Urgent Care and took Lily for me, which was a huge blessing.
When Luke finally got to the Dr. he was not doing well, I had to stop twice to get him to settle down and give him some medicine on the way in. When they hooked him up to the oxymeter his numbers where real bad and his heart rate was above 200, they put him on some oxygen and asked what I could do to help get him settled down, I told them that if I could hold him that would help and sure enough he began to start breathing better and his heart rate began to come down slowly but surely. He does have an ear infection and I told the Dr. that I’m just not sure if the staph infection in his lungs from April had gone away. They did an X-ray and PTL there was no fluid showing up in his lungs, though the Dr. thought it did not look completely clear he did not think it was pneumonia.
I was wondering why God did not heal him of his ear infection and why we had to go into Urgent care, but I really believe it was to see this specific Dr. He said that he was going to put Luke on Augmentin which would help get rid of his ear infection and also get rid of any staph problems he had if that was what was wrong with his lungs.
I ended up going home to get some more oxygen and decided to go on back out to the trailer which was only about an hour away from home and I was so glad I did, Luke began to settle down almost immediately when I got back and he ended up having a great night. The next day I kept looking at him and couldn’t believe what a difference a day could make. He continues to just get better every day. Today he tolerated his feedings great and his lungs have sounded awesome all day long.
I’ll be honest once again and let you know I was really questioning God about why He allowed this to happen this weekend and once again I felt my Heavenly Father ask me if I trust Him, I was having a hard time doing this, but I told God once again I do trust you Lord. He is faithful and I know that He continues to take us down this journey, that we would never have chosen, but He knows that we are able to handle it. I know that He is working in our lives and many others as we continue on.
We ended up having a wonderful Sunday, we decided instead of going into church we would have our own little family service. It was wonderful, we just sang some songs, and each of the kids shared why they appreciate Gordy and read a few scriptures. Afterward we went swimming, then had a wonderful BBQ lunch and ended the day with Gordy going putt putt golfing with some of the kids, while Amy and I brought home Luke and Lily, I couldn’t have asked for a better day.
I have to ask for prayer for a close friend’s daughter. I know that I’ve mentioned Abbie before to you, she is a little girl that had a near drowning accident on May 3, 2004. Needless to say she is far exceeding anything the Dr’s had hoped for, but right now she is very sick and needs your prayers. If you would like to learn more about her just go to http://www.prayforabby.com/ and you will be inspired by Tiffany’s faith and what God is doing in her life.
Really quick because I know this is already too long. Lily is doing better and is her happy little self. I did take Isaiah in to the Dr. today and he also has an ear infection, it seems to be going around the family. Please be praying that God will clear up all these infections.
One last side note, Daniel moved back home after completing his year at GTC down in Centralia and we are so enjoying having him back home, though I was saying to Gordy our food budget will probably go up a bit having him here, HA HA. He is working with Greg Gunderson, the dad of the family that he lived with last year and is learning how to do tile work, while saving his money to set up his own music studio. He wants to eventually have his own recording studio to record worship music around the world.
Well that is enough for now. Hope all is going well for you out there in blog land. Happy Summer!
Love in Christ,
Luke’s Mommy Sue
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