Applebee's Restaurant in Meadville, PA is hosting a benefit breakfast...all-you-can eat pancakes, sausage or bacon, and coffee, tea or soft drinks. The managers and staff have donated all the money to cover the event's costs, allowing for ALL proceeds to go toward the Luke Dithrich Benefit Account.
The event is set for Saturday, November 15 from 8 t 10 a.m. at Applebee’s Meadville at 11227 Shaw Ave. in Vernon Township. The donation is $6 per ticket and advance tickets are available. Call 814-333-2848 for information.
A big thank you to the Applebee's family for their thoughtfulness and work in organizing this event.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Day 7 - Back to the O.R.
LATE BREAK: The plastic surgeon called us tonight after he finally finished up in surgery (11:00 p.m. out here!). All they decided to do for Luke today was to clean up the ends of the three fingers. They will fix all the broken bones at a later date. Also, we did find out this evening that Luke will be having dialysis done tomorrow.
Luke returned to the operating room today to finish up his left leg. The surgeons flushed out the wounds for one last time and then closed the leg up. They took a skin graft from his right leg in order to complete the covering. The procedure went fine.
Since he was going to surgery, the plastic surgeons that are caring for his left hand took the opportunity to do some work as well. The plan was to clean up the end of his little finger which was taken off at the first knuckle from the base, clean up the end of his ring finger which was taken off at the second knuckle from the base and to put a wire in his middle finger to straighten it. If the bone damage was bad enough they felt it would be better for functionality to remove the tip to the knuckle as well. They did take an X-Ray prior to going to surgery so they could see exactly what they were working with and he does have several broken bones in his hand. In fact, only his index finger escaped unharmed. They didn't think they would be able to repair everything today because they didn't want to keep Luke on the operating table for that long. We didn't get to meet with the plastic surgeons after Luke came out of surgery so I don't know the details of exactly what all they accomplished. We will most likely find out tomorrow.
Luke remains unresponsive after being off sedation for over a day. The reason for this is that he was under sedation for an extended period in addition to the fact that it is cleared from the system by the kidneys. Although they are functioning, they still aren't up to the task. There is a good chance they will start him on dialysis tomorrow to give the kidneys some help.
His oxygen level for his respirator remains at 50%. They did lower it this morning to 40% for a while but bumped it back up to 50 following the surgery.
Please keep him lifted up in your prayers as we know you have been. Pray specifically for his kidneys and lungs, as well as general healing. Although we have been very anxious for him to wake, we feel it is best for him to rest and recover for a few days.
---Bill
Luke returned to the operating room today to finish up his left leg. The surgeons flushed out the wounds for one last time and then closed the leg up. They took a skin graft from his right leg in order to complete the covering. The procedure went fine.
Since he was going to surgery, the plastic surgeons that are caring for his left hand took the opportunity to do some work as well. The plan was to clean up the end of his little finger which was taken off at the first knuckle from the base, clean up the end of his ring finger which was taken off at the second knuckle from the base and to put a wire in his middle finger to straighten it. If the bone damage was bad enough they felt it would be better for functionality to remove the tip to the knuckle as well. They did take an X-Ray prior to going to surgery so they could see exactly what they were working with and he does have several broken bones in his hand. In fact, only his index finger escaped unharmed. They didn't think they would be able to repair everything today because they didn't want to keep Luke on the operating table for that long. We didn't get to meet with the plastic surgeons after Luke came out of surgery so I don't know the details of exactly what all they accomplished. We will most likely find out tomorrow.
Luke remains unresponsive after being off sedation for over a day. The reason for this is that he was under sedation for an extended period in addition to the fact that it is cleared from the system by the kidneys. Although they are functioning, they still aren't up to the task. There is a good chance they will start him on dialysis tomorrow to give the kidneys some help.
His oxygen level for his respirator remains at 50%. They did lower it this morning to 40% for a while but bumped it back up to 50 following the surgery.
Please keep him lifted up in your prayers as we know you have been. Pray specifically for his kidneys and lungs, as well as general healing. Although we have been very anxious for him to wake, we feel it is best for him to rest and recover for a few days.
---Bill
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Day 6 - Watching and Waiting
This morning they took Luke off his sedation medication. He still hasn't woken up or really moved. He did have a couple slight toe movements when the nurse was touching his toes, but nothing significant. Luke is still pretty swollen. Although he got rid of about 1 gallon of fluid yesterday, his kidneys are still not functioning fully. They will continue to run blood work to make sure his kidneys are continuing to function at a satisfactory rate. There is a possibility of kidney dialysis if they feel his kidneys need more help.
He has also been started on a nutrient enriched liquid (like Ensure) through a feeding tube.
His respirator is still at 50% oxygen and he's been maintaining a satisfactory blood oxygen level. It isn't quite enough to reduce the ventilator to 40% (their ideal level for now) but his lungs are working well despite the trauma they received. He still has fluid/blood being drained from his lungs.
Luke is scheduled for another surgery tomorrow to do a final flushing out of his left femur (thigh). They will then close up all the incisions. There is a possibility they will not have enough skin to close and may have to do a graft from the right leg. Surgery scheduled for 11:30 PST (2:30 for all you easterners).
We will soon be heading back in to see him for evening visiting hours and if there are any changes I will make a late update.
---Bill
He has also been started on a nutrient enriched liquid (like Ensure) through a feeding tube.
His respirator is still at 50% oxygen and he's been maintaining a satisfactory blood oxygen level. It isn't quite enough to reduce the ventilator to 40% (their ideal level for now) but his lungs are working well despite the trauma they received. He still has fluid/blood being drained from his lungs.
Luke is scheduled for another surgery tomorrow to do a final flushing out of his left femur (thigh). They will then close up all the incisions. There is a possibility they will not have enough skin to close and may have to do a graft from the right leg. Surgery scheduled for 11:30 PST (2:30 for all you easterners).
We will soon be heading back in to see him for evening visiting hours and if there are any changes I will make a late update.
---Bill
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Day 5 - Progress update
Late Edition: More positive news! The percentage of oxygen in Luke's ventilator has been able to be reduced. It had to be very high because of the problems in Luke's lungs which prevented oxygen absorption into the blood. Yesterday it was 80%.
It had to be that high to keep the oxygen count in his blood at 100. They have been dropping it throughout the day today and when we left Luke at 10:00 tonight it was down to 50% and he was maintaining the oxygen count in the blood. The air we breathe is 21% oxygen. They are hoping to get it to 40% and they can begin the process of Luke breathing totally on his own. They also gave him a couple of treatments to first draw fluid from the tissues into the blood and then help the kidneys flush it out. This too was successful.
Bulletin! Results of the X-Rays on spine taken yesterday ... no damage to the thoracic or lumbar vertebrae. Luke is now in a partially inclined position. This will help with the clearing of his lungs.
Luke remains sedated as he continues his long recovery. Last evening they took X-Rays of his spine to make sure there is no damage there. The final reading from the radiologist has not come back yet, but if it comes back OK they will be able to raise Luke up from his laying flat position.
Luke was showing some cloudiness in his lungs so this afternoon they did a procedure where they put a scope down and checked all the bronchial passages. There was some blood which was most likely from the impact. They also found a blood clot which they removed. This should greatly improve his oxygen intake. The ventilator is set at 12 breaths per minute and he is currently registering 16 which means he is taking 3 or 4 breaths a minute on his own!
We anxiously await the time when he recovers sufficiently to allow them to lower his sedation to the point where he will be awake and able to respond and communicate with us. Could be a day or two ... could be several days. In God's good timing.
As always, thanks so much to all for your prayers and support.
---Bill
It had to be that high to keep the oxygen count in his blood at 100. They have been dropping it throughout the day today and when we left Luke at 10:00 tonight it was down to 50% and he was maintaining the oxygen count in the blood. The air we breathe is 21% oxygen. They are hoping to get it to 40% and they can begin the process of Luke breathing totally on his own. They also gave him a couple of treatments to first draw fluid from the tissues into the blood and then help the kidneys flush it out. This too was successful.
Bulletin! Results of the X-Rays on spine taken yesterday ... no damage to the thoracic or lumbar vertebrae. Luke is now in a partially inclined position. This will help with the clearing of his lungs.
Luke remains sedated as he continues his long recovery. Last evening they took X-Rays of his spine to make sure there is no damage there. The final reading from the radiologist has not come back yet, but if it comes back OK they will be able to raise Luke up from his laying flat position.
Luke was showing some cloudiness in his lungs so this afternoon they did a procedure where they put a scope down and checked all the bronchial passages. There was some blood which was most likely from the impact. They also found a blood clot which they removed. This should greatly improve his oxygen intake. The ventilator is set at 12 breaths per minute and he is currently registering 16 which means he is taking 3 or 4 breaths a minute on his own!
We anxiously await the time when he recovers sufficiently to allow them to lower his sedation to the point where he will be awake and able to respond and communicate with us. Could be a day or two ... could be several days. In God's good timing.
As always, thanks so much to all for your prayers and support.
---Bill
Friday, October 31, 2008
Day 4 - More surgery
Luke went in for more surgery today with the orthopedic surgeons. They put a plate and screws in next to his left femur. They also removed more of the leg to just above the knee as they had told us would happen. He has strong muscles in his leg and the doctors say everything looks good. They have incisions on either side of the leg which they will leave open for now to be able to flush out the wounds.
They put a plate and screws in the forearm as well. The radial joint at the elbow will need replaced in a future surgery. The ends of the fingers that were damaged looked good and will just require plastic surgery down the road.
They are putting him on a different ventilator that won't be doing all the breathing for him. At this point there is nothing scheduled through the weekend. All the major surgeries are done with only minor and cosmetic to come.
His condition remains critical but stable and improving daily. I will add more updates when there are any changes.
Once again a very heartfelt thank you from Bill, Paula, Ben and Becki for all the prayers being sent heavenward. God is continuing to honor your petitions on Luke's behalf.
Ben flew back to Binghamton today. It looked pretty certain that delaying his departure would not give him the opportunity to see Luke out of the sedation.
--Bill
They put a plate and screws in the forearm as well. The radial joint at the elbow will need replaced in a future surgery. The ends of the fingers that were damaged looked good and will just require plastic surgery down the road.
They are putting him on a different ventilator that won't be doing all the breathing for him. At this point there is nothing scheduled through the weekend. All the major surgeries are done with only minor and cosmetic to come.
His condition remains critical but stable and improving daily. I will add more updates when there are any changes.
Once again a very heartfelt thank you from Bill, Paula, Ben and Becki for all the prayers being sent heavenward. God is continuing to honor your petitions on Luke's behalf.
Ben flew back to Binghamton today. It looked pretty certain that delaying his departure would not give him the opportunity to see Luke out of the sedation.
--Bill
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Surgery a success!
Luke came through the surgery to repair the tear on his aorta with flying colors! God has certainly honored the thousands of prayers being raised to Him on behalf of Luke. It was a very long afternoon. Luke actually didn't go into surgery until 12:35 Pacific time. And it took a couple more hours than originally thought with tests and so forth. But it certainly was worth the wait. A graft was placed inside the aorta and opened to cover the tear and was a complete success. We were told that possibly the orthopedic surgeons would also be working on Luke's arm and leg, but it was felt that it was best to concentrate specifically on the aorta. He is now off the medications regulating his blood pressure. His condition is still critical, but stable.
The plan now is for the orthopedic surgeons to operate tomorrow morning on his arm and left femur. They will be cleaning up the wounds. They probably won't be working on setting the broken bones yet.
We are anxiously waiting for Luke to be brought out of the heavy sedation he is under. They will see how tomorrow's surgery goes to make that determination, but it still probably won't be for a couple of days or maybe longer. Ben is having to make decision as to whether to fly home tomorrow morning as he orginally booked or postpone his return flight until Monday with the hopes of being able to see Luke out of the sedation. Please pray for guidance for the right decision. The best we can get from all the medical staff is a definite maybe!
I'm sorry for the delay in getting things posted on here but I don't have access in the ICU waiting room and have to leave the hospital and walk a short distance to the Medical Library to get on line. A very heart felt thank you to all for your constant prayers for Luke and support and once again to all the Border Patrol agents and staff for the overwhelming support we are receiving.
Bill
The plan now is for the orthopedic surgeons to operate tomorrow morning on his arm and left femur. They will be cleaning up the wounds. They probably won't be working on setting the broken bones yet.
We are anxiously waiting for Luke to be brought out of the heavy sedation he is under. They will see how tomorrow's surgery goes to make that determination, but it still probably won't be for a couple of days or maybe longer. Ben is having to make decision as to whether to fly home tomorrow morning as he orginally booked or postpone his return flight until Monday with the hopes of being able to see Luke out of the sedation. Please pray for guidance for the right decision. The best we can get from all the medical staff is a definite maybe!
I'm sorry for the delay in getting things posted on here but I don't have access in the ICU waiting room and have to leave the hospital and walk a short distance to the Medical Library to get on line. A very heart felt thank you to all for your constant prayers for Luke and support and once again to all the Border Patrol agents and staff for the overwhelming support we are receiving.
Bill
Brief Surgery Update
Luke is out of surgery for the aorta repair. All went well. Tomorrow, the orthopedic doctor will work on his arm, hand, and leg. Luke is now off the blood pressure medicine. He will remain sedated at least until after the surgery tomorrow. He is doing well.
Luke's dad will be updating more specific soon.
Luke's dad will be updating more specific soon.
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