Services for Luke

There will be a prayer service for Luke on Sunday, April 29th at Zoeller Funeral Home in New Braunfels.

Map is at http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=zoeller+funeral+home&near=new+braunfels,+tx&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=14&ll=29.707363,-98.128681&spn=0.032802,0.05785&om=1&iwloc=A

Visitation starting at 4:00 p.m. and a prayer service beginning at 5:00 p.m.

Funeral Mass at 9:30 a.m. at Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in New Braunfels.

Map is at http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=catholic+church&near=new+braunfels,+tx&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=11&ll=29.776298,-98.120956&spn=0.262235,0.462799&om=1&iwloc=A

Friday

God's will was to have Luke in heaven with Him. Luke passed away at 12:04 am on Friday, April 27. Russell and I were with him and the very supportive dr/nurses for hours. I was able to hold him when the end was near and he passed away in my arms comfortably. Funeral arrangements are still pending- read the Herald-Zeitung paper or check this website tonight or tomorrow. We would like to thank everyone for all of the support we have received over the last months of a difficult pregnancy and especially the last week. We feel very blessed to have so many caring friends.

Thursday Evening Update

Luke's left lung collapsed again this afternoon. It seems as if every time we have good news, Luke faces another challenge so we are asking for your prayers again. The doctors have inserted chest tubes and are continuing to adjust Luke's medications and ventilator settings in an effort to stabilize him again.

I would ask all of you say the prayer to St. Gerard on behalf of Luke.

Prayer to Saint Gerard

St. Gerard, who, like the Savior, loved children so tenderly and by your prayers freed many from disease and even death, listen to us who are pleading for our sick child. We thank God for the great gift of baby Luke and ask him to restore Luke to health if such be his holy will. This favor, we beg of you through your love for all children and mothers. Amen.

Erika and Russell are hanging in there but they are in need of our prayers too. Please ask God to give them strength and comfort as they deal with emotional ups and downs caused by the signs of hope and the challenges that Luke faces on a daily and sometimes hourly basis.

I would also like to ask all of you to say the prayer to St. Luke tonight to ask God to guide the doctors and nurses who are caring for Luke.

Prayer to Saint Luke

Most charming and saintly Physician, you were animated by the heavenly Spirit of love. In faithfully detailing the humanity of Jesus, you also showed his divinity and his genuine compassion for all human beings. Inspire our physicians with your professionalism and with the divine compassion for their patients. Enable them to cure the ills of both body and spirit that afflict so many in our day. Amen.

Thursday Noon Update

God has answered our prayers again. Luke is doing better. The nurse says he is critically stable at this point. It is still a day to day ordeal but he has made progress today with his saturation of oxygen averaging at 80%!!!!!! So they were able to go down on the ventilator settings which in the long run will save his little lungs.

He is still having trouble with his blood pressure. The doctors say that his blood vessels are still so immature and medicine leaks out of them. He is responding to the medicine and blood products today though. Thank you all for your continued prayers.

Thursday Morning

Luke is still fighting. His oxygen saturation level is still in the 70% range and his tests to measure blood gases have been good for the last 24 hours. We are very thankful for this and for all the people who care enough to pray for our son. Russell and I could never find the words to thank you enough.

Yesterday, I got to change his diaper for the second time. I did better than the first. Even though I am not a new mom, it is quite different changing a diaper on a such a little baby with lines and tubes. Today his Nonnie Debbie is going to visit him.

Wednesday Evening Update

Luke has been stable all day. His oxygen levels have come up slightly and they are holding steady in the 70% range.

The doctors have told Russell and Erika that he is sicker than most preemies born at 24 weeks. Although he remains critical, he is strong and fighting

Erika and Russell ask that you to continue to pray.

Wednesday Morning Update

Luke is still hanging in there. His chest x-ray has showed this morning that his left lung is re-inflated but he still continues to have only mid-60% oxygen saturation (instead of the preferred 80-90%). The doctors are continuing to give him as much ventilator support as they can and blood products to help with the saturation of oxygen. They said the problem is that his blood vessels are immature so they leak out fluid into his abdomen. The fluid needs to stay in his vessels to carry oxygen. They have a limited amount of medicine/intervention they can do for Luke.

Please pray that the medicine does start to work and he can carry more oxygen. So far all of the prayers have been answered for us in some way. Russell and I really believe he can make it. Please help us all by saying some prayers on his behalf. Thanks.

Luke & Shelby Pictures

A couple of pictures of Luke with his sister Shelby

Tuesday Evening Update

Luke continues to struggle this evening. He has stabilized somewhat after the collapse of his lung at noon. His lung may still be partially collapsed and his oxygen level and blood pressure continue to be erratic. The doctors are going to run additional x-rays to determine if his lung is collapsed. They have also placed a new central line for his medication and they are continually monitoring him this evening.

When I spoke to Erika, she wanted to thank all of you for your prayers and asked that you continue to pray for Luke tonight.

Tuesday Noon Update

Luke is doing very bad as of right now. Russell and I will be leaving soon. His left lung has collapased and he is on a different ventilator. His blood pressure is very low also. His oxygen levels are very low despite the new ventilator. The doctors are saying it is tenous. Please pray.

Tuesday Morning Update

Luke still had a rocky day on Monday (4/23). Russell and I went to a support group meeting for families of NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) patients. We heard some success stories as well as some sad ones. But the other families gave us hope. I still have moments of weakness but feel that the prayers have helped a lot. God helped Russell and I to see that we could have some peace in knowing that to be good parents to Luke we need to be very hopeful and positive especially when we are visiting him. As a mom, all I can do is pray and believe.

As of today, he is doing better. His 0, 3, and 7 day brain scans were negative for a bleed on his brain. His lungs have opened up some and they were able to decrease the ventilator settings and to lift some of the heavy sedation. This is all good news. His blood pressure has needed more monitoring today. He also got the bubble hood taken off because his skin has matured. He looks so cute nestled in his bed. The nurses are good about positioning him with small bean bags covered in soft fleece. His nurse this morning made his bed with a blue blanket with yellow ducks on it. He has not been wearing his eye visor either, so we can see his whole face. His eyelids are still fused closed like a kittens and should open in about 2 weeks. You may not be able to tell from his pictures but he has blond hair - The nurses all are in love with his cute little head of hair.

New Pictures of Luke

I just got a new batch of pictures in from Luke's Nonnie Debbi (Erika's Mom). The pictures were taken on 4/19 and 4/20

Luke & Mommy

Luke & Daddy

Luke with Daddy, Jacob and Justin

Luke & Grandpa Leonard

Closeups of Luke

Leaving Comments for Russell and Erika

If you want to leave a comment about the blog or message for Russell and Erika or the kids, please click the word comment below this post or or any other post. They may not get them very quickly but when they are home from the hospital and have access to their computer, they would appreciate hearing from you.

Blood Donations

Many of you have asked what you can do to help. One way to help would be to donate blood in Luke's name. Erika is working on the details of this and as soon as they are available, I will post them here.

Please wait until we have the details so we ensure Luke gets credit for the blood you donate.

Sunday Night Update

Luke had a tough time over the weekend, particularly Sunday afternoon and evening. As of Sunday night around 8:00 pm, he had stabilized somewhat but remains in critical condition. I will try to keep the blog as updated as possible with any changes to Luke's condition.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers and offers of assistance. Please continue to pray for Luke's health and also for grace and peace for the Becka family.

Week 1 Update

I missed posting an update last week while trying to get the blog set up so some of you may already have seen/heard this but wanted to post it for those who may have missed it:

Earlier this week, Luke had a procedure done on his heart and all is looking good with that. They also ran some tests on his brain and the results looked good. They are trying to regulate his blood pressure so he is on medication for that. He is being treated with antibiotics for an infection, which the doctors say is common for these little guys. He made it through the first three days which is great, now the next goal is to keep him stable for the next seven days.