LA or Bust!

This week we took Luke to see a new doctor. Ironically, when Luke first got hurt my aunt had found this doctor on the internet, he was at the University of Pittsburgh at the time. He has a grant to induce brain injured kids into a state of hypothermia when they are first hurt to minimize damage. I had sent him Luke's scans, but never heard back from him. My guess is Luke was too severe and unstable at the time. Anyway, so a few months ago I am reading the newspaper and there is an article on the new head of Neuro Sciences at PCH, Dr. Adelson. So, I figure well we have nothing to lose so I call and get Luke an appointment with him. The night before our appt, there was a story on the news about him, so I definitely felt we were being led to see this guy. He is a GREAT doctor...FINALLY a positive doctor that we can deal with! He has done a lot of research in plasticity of the brain, and says the brain is "most plastic" between the ages of 5-10 and then the plasticity, or the brain's ability to make new connections and new pathways, goes down gradually throughout life. So he basically said, we are at the perfect time in Luke's life for him to continue to recover and make progress. Praise God for that! He said just intensity, intensity, and repetition repetition. He said the intense therapy in California will be a great thing, and even wanted me to email him the link of the place. I did ask him about stem cell therapy. He said it is something he is very interested in, along with hyperbaric oxygen therapy for pediatric brain injury. So, it sounds like we are for sure on the right track in the things we are doing for Luke. He was a very personable doctor who told me to call or email with any questions, and definitely wants us to follow up with him so he can follow Luke's progress. He is going to schedule Luke for a neuro-psych exam. This is an all day battery of tests that will tell us where he is with his attention span, cognitive level, behavior, etc. So we will be doing that, along with Luke's yearly MRI when we return from the therapy. I have to say, after talking to this doctor, I am excited about what the future holds for Luke. I am grateful for a doctor that is not a Dr. Doom!

We leave tomorrow for California. Please pray for safe travels and for Luke...for stamina, motivation to do what they will be pushing him to do, and for success with the therapy. He has already shown us the Gladiator he is, so I am expecting great things. I found this quote on another site, and thought it says it perfectly, "Impossible happens everyday; when you choose to hope, anything is possible" by Christopher Reeve. Thanks so much for your prayers and for following Luke's journey!