Return to the Mayo Clinic

Luke and his girlfriend Missy made the trek to Rochester, MN on Sunday, September 19, 2010, for appointments at the Mayo Clinic. The bad news he received is that the nerve transplant to restore motion to the bicep muscles has not taken. However, the good news is that the transplant of the intercostal nerves that they moved from between his ribs and attached to the nerves to his tricep muscles was successful. In a visit to the physical therapy department he found that he was able to move his arm outward from his body. They gave him exercises to do to develop that movement. He basically has to work with his rib cage to generate muscle action in his arm. The problem is that with no functional bicep muscle the motion is one way. Down the road there is the possibility of surgery to bring part of the triceps around to the front for motion both ways. He will be returning to the Mayo Clinic in about six months for followup.

After several visits to doctors and talking to them he came to a decision on an issue he had been pondering for quite a while. He is heading into surgery early tomorrow morning, Friday the 24th, for an amputation on his left arm. The amputation will be 3 to 4 inches below the elbow. Join us in prayer for a successful surgery and speedy recovery.

Bill

Moving back East!!

Luke has received a transfer to the Buffalo, NY Border Patrol station. He will be starting work there in early May. He will be leaving San Diego on April 17 to make the long trek east and then spend a couple of weeks with Mom & Dad while he finds a place to live in Buffalo.

People are making comments like, "He's living in San Diego and he wants to move to Buffalo?!?! What's wrong with that boy?!?!" I guess he just misses thunderstorms and snow too much! I'm sure the fact that all his family is here weighed little in his decision ;-), but we are all elated that he will be within a couple of hours driving distance.

Paula and I along with his friend Josh will be flying out to help him pack up and Josh will drive back with Luke. We are looking forward to seeing our San Diego friends again.

Bill

Luke Returns to Work!

Today was Luke's first day back on the job with the Border Patrol. He is in plain clothes working with the TEU (Target Enforcement Unit) which does intel work on smuggling organizations. He will be working days for a few weeks learning the ropes before going to his favorite shift - mids (the night shift). He is enthusiastic about the new assignment and says he will really enjoy it, even though his first day back ended up being an 11 hour day!

He quipped that he is happy to get back to work after his year long weekend.

Praise God for this huge step on his journey!

--- Bill

One Year!!

One year ago last night Luke was hit and one year ago today we flew out to San Diego to be with him. In some respects it has been the longest of years for us, and yet in others it doesn't seem that long ago that we were out there. It truly is a miracle that in this year he was able to go from the battered and broken body that we encountered when we arrived at his bed side, with all the tubes supplying air and nutrients to him and draining fluids from his wounds, as seen here, to seeing him walking, driving, fishing, tubing and hopefully soon returning to work.

Miracles happen through prayer and once again we express our deepest gratitude for all the support, through prayer, finances and friendships, that has been afforded to Luke.

So we note the passage of time, seeing remarkable progress and look to the future with anticipation for what God has in store!

---Bill

Back in San Diego

After spending a busy two months with us in Meadville, Luke is back home in San Diego. During his time here we had an open house celebration with many friends stopping in, we spent a week fishing in Canada, a day in Pittsburgh at the Dithrich family reunion, and a weekend in Pine Grove visiting Paula's family. Of course there were several visits to Applebee's to visit all his friends there.

For the trip to Canada, we rigged up a rod so he could cast and retrieve with one hand.















He accomplished the unbelievable of landing two bass on one cast!















He quipped "Some can't catch one fish with two hands, but I caught two fish with one hand!"

Of course, he had to do some tubing as well.















Luke went back to Scope Orthotics for remeasurement and they found that his leg has shrunk about an inch. They are starting the procedure of making another socket for his prosthetic and will apply again for a more sophisticated leg. He has regained a little bit of in and out motion with his left upper arm. Previously, the most he could do was shrug his shoulder. We praise God for the improvement and pray for continued healing.

He is meeting with the Border Patrol to see about going back to work. More updates will follow as things develop.

---Bill

Let's Celebrate!!!

Luke is due to return to Meadville later this week. To celebrate his return "home" we have planned an open house at our home, 10561 Pettis Road, Meadville, on Sunday, August 9th, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Everyone is invited to come and welcome him back ... family, friends, acquaintances, well wishers and prayer warriors ... stop by and visit with Luke!

---Bill

Luke's New Wheels

Luke has finally been able to become mobile! Since he's getting around good on his new leg, he was anxious to be able to get to places on his own. He turned in his Jeep with a standard transmission and purchased another Jeep with an automatic tranny. Unfortunately, all our pleas fell on deaf ears with Chrysler Financial and he had to pay about $4,000 to get out of the lease on his old Jeep and turn it in. Here is his new wheels with his dog, Boston, who is equally happy to escape the confines of immobility.

---Bill