Feeling Very Blessed

Well we received the DVD of Luke's new program yesterday and watched it last night. I must say it is going to be very intense. Most of the things are done 4 times a day, some 8 times a day, and some 20 times a day. The program includes deep pressure, moving Luke in various positions, eye opening and closing, spinning, and chewing. Luke is not going to get very much down time now during the day. He is going to be a pretty busy little guy. I am very excited and know this is just what Luke needs to get back going. I will report more next week on how it all is going.

I would be remiss not to comment on the horrible tragedy that happened in Phoenix yesterday when two news helicopters crashed, it really makes me realize how very blessed I am. I have watched channel 3 for as long as I can remember. When I was in elementary school I wanted to be a news reporter just like them. Yesterday 4 men lost their lives in a horrific accident. It is just another reminder to me of how precious life truly is...lives can be forever changed in a matter of seconds. One second your loved one is here and the very next second they are gone. If you have never experienced a tragedy like this first hand, thank God right now. We experienced this over four years ago when my brother in law, Jake, passed away unexpectedly. Some days I wonder how much one family has to go thru. There is a saying that says something like that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I feel truly blessed today to have Luke here with us making progress. I pray for these families as they have to deal with the loss of their loved ones.

Quick Update

Just a short update since it has been a week since I last updated. We are still waiting for the program from the NACD to arrive. I am hoping it will be here either today or tomorrow. Mike and I are both very anxious to get started on this. We could not have asked for better timing, as Luke has his last oxygen treatment tomorrow, then he will get a three week break. So during this three week time we can really hit him hard with the new program.

We continue to see little changes in Luke. He is starting to lift his left leg more. He is also making different sounds. Sometimes he just has the cutest whining sound...he sounds so pathetic. He is also eating great; I can tell he has missed having real food all this time. I am now giving him a jar of baby food or applesauce in the morning and at night. He can eat it with no problems at all now. He is also swallowing liquid consistency very good now. He especially loves the Hawaiian Shaved Ices that Lynsey and his cousin Kaylee save for him:) I am starting to give him stuff he has to chew, but will also dissolve, so hopefully we can get him eating thicker and chunkier things. I think once we do this, hopefully we will be able to start cutting back on his tube feedings with the hope of getting rid of that all together.

That's about it for now...hopefully in a few days I can give you an update on his new program. Thanks for checking...keep the prayers coming...Believe!

Very Excited!

Today we had our telephone interview with the President of the NACD (National Academy of Child Development,) and I am very excited after speaking with Mr. Doman! We sent him a video we had recorded earlier this week of the things Luke is doing: his sounds, his range of motion, him eating, etc. Then today on the phone interview he asked more questions about Luke. From what he saw on the video and what we told him, he feels a whole lot of what was in Luke's brain before the accident is still there. That just means there is a lot of function to recover. He said it is basically like if your foot is asleep it will not work; Luke's whole body is asleep so we need to retrain the brain where the body is, so it can function. What he is going to do is design a program for us to do with Luke at home. He will send us a DVD of the program, then we do it. His exact words were we are going to sock it to him almost to the point of exhaustion, so the program will be very intense. There will be a lot of stimulation to every body part. He said the more often you input to the brain what it needs to do, the more likely you are going to get the brain to do it. When I told him about Luke's eyes not opening and not responding to light, he said that is even part of the program to retrain the brain how the eyes work. After talking to him, I am very excited about the program and the thinking behind their program. He also said communication with them is very important so they can tweak the program if he is responding too much or not enough with what we are doing.

If you want to read more about the NACD, you can go to http://www.nacd.org/, at the very bottom in the fine print if you click on testimonials, there is one that says Coma/Head Injury. This kid started the program 2 years after his injury and had results. Most doctors tell you with brain injuries any recovery you are going to get is going to be in the first 2 years post-accident, but this kid blew that theory away!

Thank you so much for continued prayer....THEY ARE WORKING!!....BELIEVE....the best is yet to come:)

19 Weeks...

Nineteen weeks ago today, Luke had his accident, and for the most part I have good days, but today is a bad day. Some days I just wish I could wake up and have this all be a bad dream. It has been 133 days since I heard Luke say Momma in his sweet voice, 133 days since undie boy has been running the halls of our house, 133 days of not seeing Luke's skateboard, trucks, and shoes laying around, 133 days of Lynsey not getting to hear Luke say, "Sis, Sis," 133 days of not seeing Luke's supercute smile that can light up any room (and will again someday soon.) It is so very hard, yet I know God has a plan in all of it. I just wonder how long do we have to go thru this valley before we get to stand on the Mountain of God? We should be going on a summer vacation, I should be taking Luke shopping for school stuff, he should be starting second grade in less than two weeks, he should be able to do something about these rabbits eating our new landscaping! When is this going to happen? Yet, in all of this, I know I am so blessed that he is here and responding a little more each day. I know there is a light at the end of this tunnel...I just want it NOW! Yet, I know when He is ready it will come. Please continue prayers for continued healing and waking up. Please pray for positive results from the NACD program and for a positive eye visit this Friday. Thanks so much for checking the updates, it helps me get thru the bad days, knowing somewhere, somehow, someone is being touched by our Gladiator...Believe! I tell Luke everyday so many people are praying for him, and I also tell him he also needs to pray to Jesus and remind him that Jesus is always in his heart making him better.

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1

Update July 13th

Praise God because I KNOW he is working in Luke!! This week we continue to notice little improvements once again, here is what we have noticed:
*He is "alert" more and making more sounds every day. Keep in mind though we still need prayers that his eyes will open. There are times now where he will go for an hour or two just responding and making sounds to what we are saying to him. He sounds so cute!! Mike and I swear yesterday we even heard him say, "Yeah," but have not gotten to that again. We just keep on talking to him, hoping to get a word again. I think he is probably sick of our voices.
*His left arm had been really tight, but is loosening up a lot. The therapist today was amazed at the improvement over last week.
*He had two more crying spells this week.
*He is holding up his head and legs a lot better (his left leg is also getting a lot better.)

The most exciting thing for me is it really seems like the left side of his body is starting to come along! Next week we will take Luke to an eye doctor to get his opinion on Luke's eyes...please pray for positive news! We also will be making a video this weekend of what he is doing to send to the NACD, and have our phone interview with them this week.

Thanks so much for the continued prayers!

Update July 8th

God continues to be so good to us! Luke continues to do tiny things different every day. He is still making crying sounds, but now is also trying so hard to talk. He will especially get going when we talk to him about hunting, fishing, or camping or about going to Disneyland and also when I read him letters from kids in his first grade class. I think so far everyone that has been over to see him lately has been able to hear him, so that is very exciting. He is showing increased movement and is getting to where he can hold his head up longer and longer. I have also noticed when I am doing his speech therapy with him his swallowing sounds are not near as loud as they used to be.We have 15 more sessions left on the oxygen therapy, then he will get a 2-3 week break. They tell us if you continue without the break your body can start becoming immune to the effects of it. We will take the break then continue to do as many sessions of 40 "dives" as we need to, as long as we are seeing improvement. We also will be starting the program from the NACD in Utah in a few weeks. We have also started a new thing with Luke called Neuro-Link. The doctor is in the same building as the oxygen therapy and Luke goes to him once a week. Basically what the premise is behind this is to relink the brain with every body part. Now, prior to this accident, I wasn't really too keen on the "alternative medicines," but that has totally changed. All of the improvement we have seen has been since we started the oxygen, and now this increased movement came after his first neuro-link session. The doctor there said it is great that Luke is now reaching his hand across his body. Thank you Dawni for referring us to him...we know we will continue to see more great things from this!Thanks so much for continuing to check the updates...praise God for all of the AWESOME things he is doing both in and thru Luke. Believe...Prayer works!"I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God." Psalm 38:15