A Change In Our Journey

A month or so ago Luke got really sick. He had an attack of symptoms that he actually has experienced off and on for about five years. However, this attack was by far the longest and the worst! We went to the emergency room thinking it was his gallbladder based on his symptoms. The first nurse said his symptoms "were screaming gallbladder." However, that was not the case. We were in the ER for 14 hours. They did xrays, blood work, and a CAT scan and gave him fluids and medication. The only answer we were given was that there was inflammation in the colon. We were in the ER over the weekend so first thing Monday morning we scheduled an appointment with our family doctor. Since all the symptoms pointed us to the gallbladder he got us an appointment with a surgeon to discuss removing the gallbladder. Things took a different turn however at the appointment with the surgeon. Since there was so much inflammation in the colon he wanted to look at that first and felt that's where we would find an answer. Luke had a colonoscopy which revealed he either had Chron's disease or ulcerative colitis. This was definitely not the answer we wanted. We were however thankful for some kind of answer to these random attacks for the last five years. When all of this started he was tested for everything but it all came back negative either because it was too early or he was tested when an attack was not present. To make a long story short, he definitley has ulcerative colitis and Chron's has not been ruled out.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an autoimmune disease specifically a type of inflammatory bowel disease that causes painful inflammation and ulcers in the lining of the colon. This is all new to us so we have a lot to learn. Thankfully it is manageable with diet and treatment. Luke is scheduled to begin his first treatment of Remicade next Wednesday, July 15th. The purpose of Remicade is to prevent signs and symptoms, induce and maintain remission, and promote intestinal healing. After the initial treatment he will have his second treatment four weeks later and then every eight weeks until it is no longer needed. The treatment is an IV infusion for two hours. Needless to say this will change life a bit but another big change is figuring out what he can and can't eat. Certain foods set off an attack and the foods are different for each person.

As you can imagine life has been crazy with all the doctor's appointments and Luke being sick. Speaking of, he actually has felt his best this past week out of the last month or more. He is taking medicine to help control the symptoms until he begins treatments. That is helping but it is a very mild medicine that will not help completely. For the most part he feels fine between attacks. It's when he has a flare up that things become unbearable.

We are sharing this for two reasons. Most importantly we covet your prayers. We know that God is in control! Although this has been very hard we are trying our best to trust His plan through all of this. So, will you please pray for: Luke's body to accept and handle the treatment well, for wisdom in dealing with the many decisions involved and the strength to deal with this? The other reason in sharing this is to keep all of our family and friends updated. I plan on posting any other prayer request and updates on the progress. We really appreciate all of the support and prayers already given! It means so much to have so many people care about you!