Change of plans

Just a quick update. Two weeks ago we got word from KCRC (Kluge rehab) that although Luke has been cleared for PE and recess they are not permitting him to play organized sports for 1 year from the date of the injury. Luke was all signed up and pumped for basketball season with his team at school, so this was a disappointment for all of us. He is able to participate in the drills but has to sit out games. He handled the news better than expected. Of course we want what is best for him, it’s just hard to continue to change this up on him after being told “yes you can!” . He is exercising and doing golf so he is staying active. Last weekend him and Andrew biked 3 miles next to me while I ran. He used to call himself my trainer and loved to come with me. This was the first time he rode alongside of me since he was hurt. It was great and he knew he had accomplished something big!! Way to go Luke and Andrew!!

Luke, Ella, Maleah, & Andrew

Happy new year, and we hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!  We spent almost 2 weeks in Florida with my family and some of Ben’s family.  It was busy with holiday festivities and lots of people to see….but at the same time we were able to relax and recharge.  We enjoyed everyday we were there!  I was able to catch up with family and friends, Ben got some golfing in, and one day my Dad took the boys to the aquarium.  Ben also took the boys fishing, shark’s teeth searching on Venice beach and we spent Christmas Eve morning at Siesta Key Beach.  The water was very cold but the kids didn’t care as they raced down the beach splashing and having such a great time…did our hearts good to watch it all!  It seems to me that these times we spend together playing and enjoying our time are maginified in my heart and mind.  Even when it’s nothing special we are doing, God’s goodness and presence surrounds us…and it IS special just to be together.  I don’t take our time for granted.  It’s even enjoyable for us to watch the kids annoy or fight with eachother. Never thought I’d say that! 

   

So some of you have asked about pictures from the Duke game that Ben and Luke went to. (Since I did say I would put them on here.)  Well, I am sad to say that I may have lost pictures from April ‘09 through December ‘ 09…meaning all summer and yes, the Duke game.  I am going to send off my CD and try to recover them….I was pretty much heart-broken over it.  I love taking pictures of my family,capturing all those memories, and to lose 9months worth, especially with our summer, was hard.  So, I will put the pictures on if or when I get them!

School is back in session and we are getting back into our routine.  Basketball will start in a few weeks and the boys are excited about that.  We are going to be helping Luke build up his strength and stamina, he still tires easily and this will be a challenge for him.  His body is still healing and is out of shape so  please continue to pray for him.  Thank you all!

~Lindsey

Eye Update

Just wanted to give you all an update from Luke’s big eye exam he had last Wednesday.  After about 4 hours of testing and questions for Luke, the doctor came to these conclusions: 1) There is no damage to Luke’s actual eye or optical nerve-which is great news.  2)His eyes are not  working totally together yet-left is still slower than the right.  3)His pupils don’t constrict or react quickly-it’s like the pupils of a 60-70 year old person.  4) He is farsighted, which doc says most kids his age are.

Luke does well with his glasses and rarely complains of vision problems.  Sometimes he says he is seeing double, and that is a factor of his eyes not working together and his pupils.  Now, the prayer request is obviously for improvement of his vision.  In 4 months, (April) we go back for the same round of testing.  If Luke’s results show no improvement then the doctor wants to do surgery to tighten or loosen some eye muscles, depending on what he finds once inside.  Doc does not feel optimistic that Luke’s eyes will get any better than they are now…however, we will continue to bring Luke before God and pray for restoration.  Thank you for continued prayers and support!

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”  Philippians 1:6

One night after they prayed Luke told Ben, “Dad, it’s okay if God doesn’t choose to heal my eyes anymore.  What’s important is that we continue to worship Him.”   He is so right! 

~Lindsey

YES!!!

The doctor’s nurse called today to let us know, and I quote,  “Luke is free to do WHATEVER he wants!!!”.  YES! Praise God!  Our feelings at her words are hard to describe-relief, thankfulness,excitement, joy!  I called the school and talked to Mrs. Barlow (Luke’s teacher), I asked if she would tell Luke the news.  He has been waiting and praying for the results and that he would be able to go to PE and recess soon. Today he did both!  He’s been telling me to make sure I listen for the phone because the doctor is going to call.  When Mrs. Barlow told him the news his whole class cheered.  This also comes just in time for basketball season at school, which is his favorite sport.  Luke told the doc on Tuesday that is something he really wants to be able to do again.  We will take him back in 6 months for x-rays to make sure nothing has changed.  

Luke and Ben are headed to Durham, NC for the Duke game and Luke is thrilled.  Pray for safe travels and good weather.  This is going to be a great day for both of them!   Andrew, Maleah, and I will be watching on ESPN, maybe we can spot them.  Check back for pics of the big day!!!

Thanksgiving

On Tuesday, Dec 1st we went to UVA for more X-rays of Luke’s neck.  The doctor thinks it looks good, but has not given Luke the OK to be “turned loose”. He is going to consult another doctor who specializes in spinal deformities to get his opinion.  He was very honest and humble with us and said that the reality is they don’t see this injury very much.  Meaning that most people who have this neck injury don’t make it to the hospital and it should have taken Luke’s life.  He kept telling Luke how good he looked and was impressed at how he moves his neck normally and has a normal range of motion with no pain.   He told us that they have never seen a recovery like Luke’s and when he stood to leave he looked at Luke and said, “You know, you are a miracle.  You know that?”  Luke looked at the doctor and simply said, “Yep” with a smile.  We should be hearing from them by the weekend or early next week, so I will post an entry when we know.  He did say that there is no middle ground with this injury.  Either Luke is fine and they leave it alone based on how well he is doing and periodically check it with x-rays or they go ahead and do the fusion surgery.  The surgery would take away most of Luke’s head rotation, he would be able to nod but no side to side.  We are obviously praying for no surgery, but want what will keep Luke safe and healthy.  Please pray for that and also next Wed (9th) he goes back to UVA for a big neuro-ophthalmic exam(eyes and brain).  We should get some answers then about the future of his vision. It’s a very long process about a 3-4 hour exam, pray for patience and peace  for Luke. 

Grandpa and Grandma from Florida

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  My parents made a quick decision to come up and the boys had a whole week off of school so one day mom and I took them to KCRC.  Luke has been asking to go back and visit.  We took them cookies and he made each therapist and the nurses thank you cards.  It was a really neat time, and they just loved seeing him again.  My heart ached for the families and kids I saw while we were there. I thought and prayed so much for them the rest of the week.  We spent  Thanksgiving day with our family, enjoying being together again and eating such great food!  It came and went so fast and now I can hardly believe that Christmas time is upon us already.  I love Christmas, especially as my kids get older they have so much fun and can better understand why and who we are celebrating.   Jesus!  Our house is decorated and tree is up-just this evening Ben brought it home and the kids and I decorated it, they had a blast…we are excited and are looking forward to our trip to sunny Florida!

With all the anticipation of the Christmas season everywhere we look, I got the feeling that Thanksgiving was being overlooked.  Without question, this year I am more thankful than I have EVER been before!  I could think of little else the week leading up to Thanksgiving and then all that day.  First of all, I am thankful for my Savior and my God who has shown His mercy and love so abundantly to us! I am thankful that ALL of my kids were at our gathering.  To watch them all laugh and play was awesome~I don’t think I will ever take that for granted again.  I am thankful for my husband who loves God above all else, and me and the kids a close second. We are coming up on our 10th anniversary next week, I’m thankful that God has given us those years together and has richly blessed our marriage.   One of the first things he said to me after Luke’s accident was, “I love you! I’m never going to leave you!  We have to stay one unit, this cannot tear us apart!”.  Ben repeated that to me again in the ER, after hearing that Luke had no brain function.  But he didn’t just say those words, he grabbed my shoulders, looked me right in the eyes and spoke with such a passion, it was one of the only things I could hold onto at that point.  This summer has only strengthened our marriage and family, it could have easily gone the other way in such a stressful situation.  He is also an awesome Dad to Luke, Andrew, and Maleah.  In too many ways to mention, he cares for them. 

So this year my thankful list is longer than other years, and the meaning of giving thanks to God has deepened for me.  As Andrew told me yesterday, “Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God”  Psalm 147:1

Update

This morning the doctor’s office called and said we could take Luke’s neck brace off, again.  They reviewed the films from his CT Scan and decided that he is okay without the brace.  They want to do x-rays on December 1st to make sure everything is good.  Luke was super happy when I told him to take it off, and had to call his grandma in Florida to share the good news.  Of course we want to do whatever it takes to make sure Luke’s neck heals properly, it’s just been a rollercoaster, so thank you all for your prayers and support. 

~Lindsey

Prayer Request

About an hour after I posted the last entry we got a phone call from Dr. Elias’ office.  (He is the doctor making the final call on Luke’s neck injury) He looked over the CT Scan and based on that he asked that we put Luke’s neck brace back on.  He is getting with another C-Spine specialist to get another opinion and figure out what the next step will be.   They don’t have answers for us right now but will hopefully this week yet or Monday. 

Please pray for his neck and for Luke, he was very upset when we told him.  He is actually home sick from school today.  If it’s not one thing, it’s another.  Ben and I are disappointed and it feels like a hard blow to us.  I told Ben it’s like things just keep getting thrown at Luke, how much more can he take?  He has handled everything with such a great peace and has adjusted better than I know I would; but the up’s and down’s are starting to wear on him.  He just wants it to all be over and really just wants to play at recess with his friends again.   Pray also that Luke (and the rest of us) would be encouraged and strengthened-as good as all of these blog entries sound to everyone else, we are still living with what happened every single day.  Ben and I still struggle and the kids definitely do.  God is near to us and we feel Him, and He will continue to be our comfort and peace.

On a much brighter note: Yesterday, a very special person sent Luke 2 tickets to a Duke basketball game at Cameron!  We were going to wait to tell him until it got closer, but after the phone call from the doctor we showed him the tickets.  He was pretty happy!  This is the gift of someone who is a Duke fan and got a link to our blog-so cool!  We are thankful for this blessing and how it was able to lift his spirits today.

Results

We spent another afternoon at UVA on Tuesday to get the results from Luke’s CT Scan.  Dr Jane was glad to see Luke and said again how proud he is of Luke.  He said the skull fractures are healed and it’s just what he wanted to see.  They showed us the images on the computer-Amazing!  We are now waiting for the final word from Dr Elias on his C-Spine injury, hopefully he will call us this week.  Dr. Jane said that as far as the head is concerned Luke can return to normal activity-sports included! In saying that, of course his neck needs to be completely healed as well.  Until we get those results we will continue to pray and be patient.  I will post when we find out more.  Thanks for checking in!

Pictures

Sorry I am late getting some pictures on here. The days are

going by quickly. So these are all pictures since Luke’s neck brace came off on Tuesday. Also, you may notice he is sporting a new hair style. We had to buzz his hair so that the wounds from his halo would heal. He had a lot of hair before and the pin sights were not healing like the doctor said they should. It has already helped to have the hair gone. I think he looks handsome regardless, and he has grown to like it. We shaved it on Tuesday night and on Wednesday morning Andrew said he woke up and wondered who was sleeping in Luke’s bed. “Oh, it’s my brother!” he said. Andrew decided that morning that he would shave his head to be like Luke and that afternoon Ben shaved his as well! We go in on Tuesday to meet with Dr. Jane (neurologist) to find out the results of the CAT scan Luke had on Friday. The skull fractures and neck ligaments need to be completely healed before Luke can return to normal activity. Keep the prayers coming! Thanks so much!!! (You can click on the “Pictures” link at the top of the Home page to see this enlarged. Or just click the pics)

~Lindsey

Well, after 9 weeks Luke’s neck brace has finally come off!  He still has to refrain from rowdy activities until the results from this Friday’s scan come back.  Please pray for the neck ligament to be completely healed and also for all of his skull fractures to be healed.  Luke was so happy to finally take that “hunk of junk” (as he calls it) off!!!

We took all of the kids to yesterday’s appointment at UVA~Andrew and Maleah wanted to be there to see if his brace could come off, Andrew was praying hard!  It was a gorgeous day, so after the appointment we walked to the Rotunda on the UVA campus.  This kids played tag and ran around in the courtyard, they thouroughly enjoyed the time.  It was perfect for me, just to watch them together…to see Luke once again, uninhibited and free!  I also think it was a full-circle moment for Ben, as he spent a good amount of time in that courtyard in the early days after the accident…seeking God on Luke’s behalf.  Not knowing what was going to happen to Luke, and yesterday God gave us the gift of some very special family time in that same place!  I took some pictures of the day, so check back soon~I will try to post them tomorrow!