What a difference a year makes!

WOW!!! Amazing what a difference a year (and a TON of prayers) makes! The one picture was taken on March 10th of last year, when Luke was at the Copa fighting hard. We were past the point where the odds seemed to be a little more in Luke's favor. I wanted to take a picture of Luke so one day he could see just how far he has come. The other picture I took today, and comparing the two I thank God so much for how far Luke has come!!

He is doing so good since being home. It took him about 2 weeks to become himself after the tonsils came out. He had the brain surgery on Thursday, and by Saturday was back to himself. Go figure! He is just so responsive lately...smiling, giggling, just being happy!

Please continue the prayers for continued healing and restoration! Thanks so much for continuing to check the updates.

Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will thank you forever and ever, praising your greatness from generation to generation. Psalm 79:13 NLT

Surgery Update

Just wanted to let everyone know, the surgery went fine today. They did end up putting in a stent, which should hold the coils in place this time. I did just talk to Mike, and he said Luke was getting sick from the anesthesia. Please pray for the anti-nausea medicine to kick in! Thanks so much for your prayers today!

A Time to Rejoice!

One year ago today our lives changed in an instant. Today I am not going to be sad for what we lost that day, but I am going to rejoice in the fact that Luke is still with us. I am going to celebrate the survivor and fighter that he is! The kid amazes me more and more every day as I watch him fight his way back. I am going to celebrate and thank God for all of the miracles and milestones we have seen this last year! There are so many things I have learned along this journey, and I must say I think this year has gone by the fastest of any year prior! Amazing, you would think it would be opposite. I really can't believe a year ago we were in a hospital watching our son fight for his life, a year later, we find ourselves once again watching him fight another battle. He is a fighter...and in the end this Gladiator is going to WIN!!! I want to thank all of you once again for all of your love, support, and most importantly prayers, and for walking this journey with us...we would not want to do it alone. I know some of those amazing men and women that responded to the 911 call a year ago from Rural Metro, MCSO, and AirEvac read this, so thanks to you for doing what you do! Thanks to my dad who breathed life into Luke until the emergency workers arrived. Thanks to the wonderful doctors, nurses, respitory therapists, social worker, everyone at Maricopa Medical Center who fought with everything they had to save Luke on the night he arrived and many nights after, I know some of you read here also. I mean, how do you ever thank someone for saving your child's life, just know not a day goes by that I do not thank God for sending the right people to Luke when he needed them.

So many of you always ask me what you can do...please never stop praying for Luke! Pray for restoration and continued healing, and also for guidance to Mike and I as to the paths we should persue for Luke. Also, for Lynsey who wants Luke better so badly. Some other things you can do...take a CPR class, Luke would not have survived if he had not been given CPR until the EMT's arrived, donate blood, Luke needed seven units and many more in the days thereafter. I am so thankful to the people who donated to save his life! Don't sweat the small stuff, be thankful for the sound of your kids fighting, I would give anything for my kids to be able to fight now, I would gladly clean up the mud Luke used to track in. Lastly, live and celebrate being alive and healthy today, because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

This is from my devotional the other night: When the fire in your life is the hottest, stand still for "later on....it produces a harvest." (Heb. 12:11) of blessings. Then we will be able to say with Job, "When he has tested me, I will come forth as gold" (Job 23:10) Thanks so much once again for everything you do...keep those prayers coming! Always BELIEVE because our hope is not in vain, and in His timing our Gladiator will be going strong once again!!!
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 106:1

Surgery this Thursday...

Looks like March 6th is a day for us to be in the hospital. I called to schedule the aneurysm surgery for Luke. They said it wasn't urgent, but I told her we wanted it done in the next few weeks. Well...just so happened they had a cancellation for this Thursday at 7:30 am, so Luke will have more coils put in then. At first, I told her no, we would wait for the appt in 3 weeks, but the more I thought about it, I figured there was a reason there was an opening so soon, plus I had already asked everyone to pray for Luke that day, so for sure he would be covered in prayer for his surgery.

We met with the eye dr yesterday. He wants to hold off on the eye surgery for now, but did give us the okay to tape his eye open. My aunt was here working with him today, and he seems to like his eye taped open. Other than, trying to rip the tape off every now and then. The picture shows him with his eye taped open sitting at his "desk."

Remember...lots of prayers for Luke on Thursday, for a successful surgery, continued healing and restoration! Believe!