January 9th marked the third year that our Gracie went to be with Jesus, we spent the day doing the things she loved most. We started our day off with church, took a drive along the coast, (she loved the beach so much) then headed to one of Gracie’s favorite local hang out spots, Fashion Island. We visited her favorite places; fountains, coy pond and last but not least the pet store. We ended the evening watching all our videos that we have of her. Luke was so excited and had the biggest smile on his face the whole hour we watched them.

During the day Luke and Abbey both seemed to be under the weather however, things did not start getting bad until later that evening. At this time Luke had been vomiting for about 5 days, once a day. He was in his cycle (cyclic vomiting) which comes every few weeks and lasts normally for about 5-10 days. So unfortunately, his body did not have much reserve for what it was about to endure.

January 9th-13th it was very difficult for him to keep anything down and he seemed to be fighting a very nasty virus. With all the vomiting, there was concern with his heart function, so we headed down to UCLA and spent the day running tests and giving him fluids. After 8 hours we were released and prayed that God would heal his little body as the virus was taking quite a toll on him. As we approached the 15th he seemed to be getting a little better, then sure enough the next evening he took a turn for the worse. Started with a fever and then we found a trace of blood in his vomit. For the last four days Luke has been spiking a 102-104+ fever along with not being able to keep anything down. Which normally would not be of concern however, there is a heightened risk with his heart condition.

On Wednesday morning we decided to take him to the ER as we knew he was dehydrated and with his fevers spiking at 104 it was not making it any better. He was very lethargic, very pale, vomiting traces of dry blood and extremely week. As Adam and I were getting ready you could sense the all too familiar feeling. Sadly, the day before Gracie’s passing she was having the same exact symptoms. Which opened up many scars. As I got dressed I could not help to have a heavy heart as I remembered getting dressed the day I last saw Gracie, we had no idea that we were going to say goodbye to her that day. Once Adam placed Luke in the car we could all feel the tension as we made the drive to the hospital. As we sat in the Urgent care room and watched the doctors come in to put the line in Luke’s arm for IV fluids I looked up and saw the sadness on Adam’s face. Our hearts were so sad that Luke had to be there and we were so worried for his health and little heart.

The fear of the unknown set in. Gracie had the exact same thing, she was given IV fluids then coded within hours and that was the last time she was ever awake. The enemy loves to strike during this time. He loves to feel the fear in our hearts. As usual, he did not win, God intervened as He always does and gave Adam and I strength to be in the moment instead of reliving the past. It’s difficult to not be in control and to be concerned with the fact the we are not, but at the same time it is so comforting to know that God IS in control and nothing was going to happen that day with Luke that God did not want to happen.

SO, Adam saved the day by dancing and making Luke and I laugh (yes, Adam can be quite funny!) After 10 hours, IV fluids, and many tests we were finally released with the understanding that if Luke’s fever continues past Friday and or if he cannot keep fluids down, we will need to head on back and have him admitted. We took Luke in to the Doctors Thursday morning and she stressed to Luke that he looked to still be dehydrated and that he needed to keep his fluids down. We were so please he kept 8 oz down throughout the day, praise God! He continued to have very high fevers (104) throughout the day. However, we are feeling so blessed to report as of this morning (Friday) His fever finally broke and we hope this is a start to him turning the corner.

After loosing 5lbs (which he did not have to loose) and vomiting for more than 14 days it will take some time for him to regain his strength, so please help us in continuing to pray for his health.

As Luke and I prayed the other night, he opened his eyes and said, “mom, you said that I should pray and ask God to make me strong and to heal me of this and he still has not done it, why?” It was a great opportunity to share with him, that although we ask God for things it has to be His will and His timing, not ours. Also, even though it hurts us sometimes we still see good out of it. (we have received so much love and support) It’s so hard to explain that to a little one and some may think I am crazy to do so, but it is so true. We ourselves have asked God for many things and it feels like He disappears sometimes, but the truth is, it is all in His timing not ours! Trust me I have to remind myself daily on this one.

I have spent this whole time talking about Luke because he has been the one whom we have been very concerned with however, poor miss Abbey has been quite sick this week as well. She has been fighting tonsillitis, double ear infection and onset pneumonia. However, she still continues to eat, drink water and for the most part have high spirits. We believe she is definitely on the road to recovery. It’s amazing how food and water can save your body!

We know this is no where near as serious as when our kids are in the hospital after surgery or for procedures however, we are aware of how quickly our children’s health can turn.

Thank you for your continued love and support and most of all for checking in...We will post again on Sunday.

All our love