Luke is having Brain Surgery
Well, that is a title I for sure never thought I would write!
But it’s the truth.
On February 9 and 10th, Luke will be undergoing two surgeries on his brain at Vanderbilt hospital.
If you follow me on Instagram, you probably already know this. If not, I will explain the crazy events over the past few weeks.
When Luke was home for Christmas break, he experienced what we thought was a massive migraine on December 29th. None of my children or I have ever experienced migraines, but I have friends who have, and they have shared how debilitating they can be.
Luke’s headache came on suddenly, it made him nauseous causing him to vomit, and he was unable to function normally.
We took him to the doctor the next day, and as you could see, he was in too much pain to even sit up.
They did blood work and assessed his vitals, and agreed that it may be a terrible migraine.
They gave him a migraine shot and some pain relievers. It helped to take the edge off, but his migraine still persisted.
For the next few days, I continued to take care of Luke throughout the day and night, giving him pain meds and keeping cold packs on his head. He slowly started getting a little better but on a scale of 1-10, (10 being worst) he was still a 4/5.
On January 6, he was scheduled to fly back to LA, were he is currently living, and by that time, he said his head pain was a 2-3 or 3-4. Since we were seeing improvements, we thought he would continue to get better.
However, his headaches never fully went away, so we ordered an MRI for him in LA. He had it done on the morning on the 19th. That evening, we were just hanging out watching tv and actually making s’mores in our fireplace when we got the call that wrecked us.
The radiologist in LA sounded very concerned and told us that Luke had a lesion on his brain. He said he didn’t know what it was, but it may be a tumor or blood, but Luke needed to be seem immediately. (The radiologist was actually very rude and insensitive about the whole thing, which didn’t help.)
He sent us pictures of Luke’s scan, and we were shocked. We truly couldn’t believe what we were seeing and hearing.
We called Luke and calmly told him the situation, and told him we were flying him home immediately. We knew that whatever was on his brain had been there for several weeks, and that he had slowly been getting better. The morning of the MRI, he said he had zero pain in his head and zero headaches. We actually almost cancelled the MRI, but decided to keep the appointment.
So we felt confident that Luke would be fine to fly home that night. He got a flight at midnight in LA and was back home in Nashville by 6:00 that morning.
We then took him to our doctor that advised us to go to the Vanderbilt hospital emergency room.
They admitted him that morning, and began doing testing on him immediately.
This was my post on instagram that day…
Although my nerves were a wreck about what we might find out was on Luke’s brain, Luke felt perfectly fine, which made it easier for me. I was able to sit with him, (in the hallway because no rooms were available,) and he would spend time texting friends and reading his bible.
This boy, y’all. He has my whole heart! He’s one of the funniest, most loving, most thoughtful, most Christ-seeking boys you will ever meet!
They did a CT scan on his head, one on his body, and another MRI of his brain. And then we waited.
Luke said that he heard some of the doctor’s discussing whether it was a brain bleed or a small mass. One said they definitely saw a mass, which was terrifying to hear.
But late that evening, Dr. Reed Thompson (PHENOMAL Neurologist at Vandy!) came to us and went over the results of what they found.
We got the best news ever….the did NOT find a tumor!!
What first looked like a tumor, they were able to closely identify it in the CT scan as an AVM. The picture below is the information the doctor drew for us to explain everything.
An AVM stands for ArterioVenous Malformation.
A quick search about the seriousness of an AVM makes me realize how fortunate we are that Luke survived the initial hemorrhage and is doing well.
We stayed the night in the hospital, and unfortunately, were still unable to get our own room, so I had to sleep in the chair below.
But of course, I would have slept on the floor or stood up all night long to be with him! I wasn’t leaving his side.
The next day, they did an angiogram on him to get a closer look at the AVM and make plans for next steps.
That evening we were able to go back home and felt very thankful for the wonderful doctors at Vandy.
So now what?
Well, Luke has to have the AVM removed so it doesn’t hemorrhage again in the future. He goes back in the hospital on February 9th for an Embolization (basically glues the AVM together to prep it to be removed.)
On February 10th, they will make an incision in his skull and remove the AVM. They said we will be in the hospital 2-5 days, and then he will have a 4-6 week recovery.
Although I wish it was under better circumstances, I am truly enjoying this extra time with Luke right now. He is so precious and has stayed so positive through this whole thing.
I will keep you posted about the surgery next week, and I would be so honored if you would pray for Luke, the doctors, and our family. There are all types of emotions with surgeries like these, so I am praying for God’s peace to comfort and guide us.
I will definitely be praying for Luke and your whole family. Much love.
Prayers for Luke, your family, the whole medical team that Luke will be completely restored to good health. May almighty God bless your family.
We will keep Luke and his surgical/care team in our earnest prayers! I will also pray that your anxious, Momma, heart will be calmed by the Prince of Peace. May you all be blessed by His comfort,
Kristie Henry in Weatherford, TX
Jesus be near is my prayer for you and your family.
Prayers for Luke’s healing, the doctors’ steady hands and your family as you get through this scary time
Traci I am holding you, Luke and your entire family close in my thoughts and prayers.
Wishing Luke all the best with his surgery. Please keep us posted. Take good care of yourself.
Nancy
Sending prayers from St. Louis. (This is the goodness of social media, the prayer chain expands:)
Lifting you all up in prayer.
Oh Traci, so sorry you are going through this. There’s nothing worse than when our kids are sick or in pain. But we know our God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we can ask or think. Standing in prayer with you for miraculous healing.
Prayers for your wonderful boy and all of you!
Praying for healing for Luke and God’s comfort and peace foe all of you.
God Bless!!! I’m praying for Luke and your family.
Praying for him and your family!
God’s the ultimate physician!
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 Praying in Cleveland, Georgia
Oh my! This IS shocking news! I am writing this is my prayer journal with the dates and will keep praying! My favorite life verse is, Isaiah 26:3-4. He will keep you in perfect peace as your mind is stayed on Jesus! Sending hugs from one Mama’s heart to another.
I will be praying for Luke and all of you!! God is in control!!!
Oh sweet mama, I just walked the road of spinal surgery with my daughter so I have all the compassion and prayers as you now walk this journey with Luke. The promises in God’s Word are mighty and strong yet calming and reassuring. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to write as many scripture verses as you can in a special book and prepare a playlist of Christian’s songs and hymns. And, ask the Lord to use you to minister to others in the hospital who may not share our same hope in Christ. You are an amazing mom and God has great plans for your sweet boy! Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. 💕🙏💕🙏
Praying for Lukes surgery and recovery to be successful in the Holy NAME OF JESUS! So thankful that the doctors were able to determine the cause and are given the knowledge and skill to fix it. Also, prayers for the surgeon, and everyone that will be attending with him during the surgery. Praying for you and Cy too! It is so scary when there is something wrong with one of our children. May Hod hold you each and everyone very close especially in the days ahead and during Lukes procedure. Please keep us posted. 🙏🏻
My thoughts and prayers are with Luke and the whole family. Sending well wishes for a successful surgery and speedy recovery. God bless.🙏
Praying for you all, for peace, no other problems before surgery, and an excellent outcome!
What a shock! You all will be in my prayers going forward and I look forward to hearing the good reports. God bless you and keep you. <3
Will DEFINITELY be praying for Luke, his medical team and your whole family…
My heart goes out to all of you and my prayers to God, the Great Physician. It is in times like this that we are blessed to be able to strengthen our faith. I pray for the surgeon and his team and for all those involved in Luke’s care. May all be well with your souls now and in the days ahead.
I will definitely be praying for Luke and your family!!!❤️❤️❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Praying for your dear son.
Praying for Luke’s endurance and healing as well as for your family’s patience. Since Jesus is the perfect healer, keep focusing on His power
and promises..
.
Keeping all of you in my prayers. Stay strong. :-)
God’s healing touch for Luke and comfort to you. Prayers.
Prayers for Luke. I’m sure that the docs at Vandy are some of the best in the country. Have confidence in their skills and his body’s ability to heal, as he’s shown thus far. Every day is precious!
Praying God’s strength and healing for Luke , wisdom and skill for his doctors and peace and guidance for you and his dad! In Jesus name!
Praying for Luke, you and your entire family! God Bless to All!
Tracy, just wanted to let you know I will continue praying for Luke and your whole family 🙏🏻
My Love & Prayers are with you all..Our Awesome & Mighty God Hears & Answers the Prayers of His Own…
Sending prayers for comfort and healing for Luke and your whole family, that surgery goes well and he recovers completely.
I will be praying for yall. God answers prayers 🙏 🙌 ✨
I heard this new from your sister. I have been praying for Luke, you, Cy, your sons and daughter since I have known!
I am glad Luke has a very positive attitude!
As you know with God all is possible!!
I will continue to pray for Luke and all of you!!
🙏💖🙏❤️🙏💝😊💜😊
He sounds like an extraordinary young man! We will keep him and you in our prayers. God’s already doing a work in him and he’s going to have a great testimony from all of this!
Prayers for Luke and the family.
Oh Tracy, my heart goes out to you! I had to fly on the first flight out to get to CO when they found a cancerous tumor on my son’s spine. I am so sorry you had to go through so much uncertainty and sleepless nights. Very thankful they were able to find out what’s wrong with Luke and know how to resolve the problem. Also thankful for this extra time you get to spend with him. Always does a Mama’s heart good to have her kids home ❤️ Will keep Luke, the surgeon and medical team, you and your family in my prayers. God is faithful! God heard and answers our prayers. I’m raising a hallelujah 🎵 🙌
Prayers for your precious boy and all of you.
Traci, I know this is so scary for your family. We will be praying for Luke and your family and know that God will be with you every step of the way.
The doctors at Vandy are great. They have been taking care of my niece for all her 30 years. When she was born they had to put a shunt in her brain to drain fluid in her brain. She has had many surgeries. This spring, she is getting married. We praise the Lord for this because we were not sure she would grow to adulthood.
I will be praying for Luke, you and your family.
Praying for Luke’s complete healing and peace through our Lord for him, you and Cy and family. Prayers for God’s sovereign guidance over the medical staff. Holding you up in prayer through all of this and will be waiting for your updates. Blessings!
Prayers for you all! Praying for successful surgeries and a speedy recovery for Luke. Hope all goes well.
Certainly praying for Luke and your family and of course the doctors.
Tracy,
I do not know you or Luke but have followed your blog and have grown to love you because of your kindness. Your love for God is evident in all you do. You’re truly an inspiration to many.
Blessing,
Jan
I will be praying! May God bless you and your family.
Hugs and prayers for your son and your family🙏❤️
Oh my heart goes out to you all. You’ve all gone through so much. I’m so glad to have this update from you as I’ve only heard from Cyndi when you first found out he had something on his brain. I’ve been praying ever since. So thankful you have a good medical team who knows what to do. God is the great physician and I know He will be guiding the surgeons hands. You are blessed to have such a sweet man for a son who loves the Lord. He will be a witness to others in the hospital as well as you and your family. I’ll continue to pray for you all. Please keep us updated. I don’t have Instagram so only read this blog. Blessings. Phil. 4:6-7.
Praying for your precious son and his doctors…🙏🏻 I’m so sorry you are going through this. My daughter was in a serious accident a couple years ago with head injuries. I know the awesome power of prayer. My daughter is happy and healthy now, thanks to God’s healing Hand❤️
Oh my word, Traci!!!!! Our family will be praying for Luke and your family to feel His peace and comfort in this scary time. Praise God for sparing Luke’s life until y’all could figure out what was going on. Also praying for your anxious momma heart during all of this and after.
Sending prayers to the most High and putting a reminder in my phone the day of surgery. God Bless!
My prayers for Luke and for all of you!!!
❤🙏❤
Oh my! I know you were scared to death! My prayers to Luke and you and your whole family for a successful surgical removal of that mass and a quick recovery!
For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand and say to you: Do not fear, I will help you. ISAIAH 41:13 HCSB
Prayers for you all during this time.
I will be covering him and your family in prayer during this very difficult time. Praying for complete healing and a swift recovery. And praying you and your husband feel God’s peace. My 24 hr old nephew just had two surgeries for brain bleeds after an awful head injury in September. He is doing great now ! And prayers for his surgical team.
hey girl- I am praying for Luke and your family. God is in control. Be still and know he is God.
Many many prayers for Luke and each of you, the drs, nurses, and everyone who you all encounter! Lifting you all up!!
I saw all of this on IG and my heart almost broke. I’m praying of all of you, for the doctors skill and for absolute healing of Luke.
Hugs to you my friend!
The Lord has Luke in the palm of his hand. I pray you feel his comforting presence. Praying for you all. ♥️
Please be assured of my prayers for Luke. I’m so happy it was NOT a tumor but I can only imagine your anxiousness over the surgery. May the Lord wrap all of you in His loving arms and give you peace and comfort.
Sending our best wishes and prayers from Australia.
Prayers for his healing!
Hello! I’m adding my faith to yours and declaring that JESUS is our Healer and that your precious boy is in HIS loving care during all this. I pray for the doctors, nurses and all those involved in his care to have Divine wisdom. May you all be saturated with the grace and love of our Heavenly FATHER and I look forward to hearing the good report. GOD is soooooooooo good!
Blessings,
Tracy
Traci, I will be praying for Luke’s Surgical Team for a successful surgery and for Luke’s complete healing with no complications and a full recovery! And for strength, comfort and God’s Perfect Peace for you, Cy, Luke and All your Family… There is nothing more powerful than Prayer!!!
God Bless You All
Orlando, Florida
Praying for complete, divine healing, recovery and restoration for Luke. Also praying for guidance, strength and peace for him, for your family, and for all the medical carers. Joshua 1:9
Definitely praying for that sweet boy of yours, the doctors, nurses..everyone who takes care of him. Of course I will be praying for you and the rest of the family as well. God is the great Physician, Praise His Holy name!!!!
God’s healing grace be with your family🙏
Praying for Luke and the wonderful Vandy medical team that will be taking care of him. This comes as no surprise to our Heavenly Father and He has a plan for Luke (a plan to give him hope and a future!). I am claiming that promise for your sweet son. Even understanding that, I know this is a scary time for Luke and your family.
Praying for all of you and the doctors and nurses. So glad that Luke got through the bleed without damage, as well as the travel to and from. A local girl went through the same thing and, with prayers, made a full recovery.
Praying for Luke and for mom & dad. The very hardest is watching our kids walk thru fire. May God’s peace surround you all.
Praying for your son and your family Our son had a very serious surgery 5 years ago that Dr. Reid Thompson performed there at Vanderbilt. He just went in December for his yearly follow-up. He is doing excellent! Dr. Thompson is an amazing surgeon. I can’t say enough good things about his skills/talent as a surgeon. He is also just an awesome person! We will be praying for all of you.
How frightening, Traci. Way to get your Momma bear kicked in high gear. Prayers for Luke, you and the family. Great hospital, have faith, the Lord is listening. 🙏
Prayers for Luke’s health to be completely restored and peace for all the family, Traci!
So much love and prayers going out to all of you! I can’t even imagine how it must felt, but glad you have a plan and a very healthy son.
Take care
Prayers going up at this moment for Luke and your family. God is able!! My sister’s son went through a brain surgery from trigeminal neuralgia. He suffered extreme pain before the surgery, but is now healed, and is a school coach in Springfield, MO. Believing for healing for you and yours.
Continued prayers for peace, comfort, and healing!
Praying for all of you… for a successful surgery, complete healing, peace in the waiting, strength for the duration. Lord Jesus, bless and keep them… xo H
Prayers. The Lord be by your side.
The Lord is the ultimate healer and He has got this! Prayers for Luke, his doctors, and you, Cy and the family as well. Thanking the Lord already for His work in all of your lives.
May god wrap his arms around Luke and your family. Praying for you all.
Traci, I will continue praying for Luke, your whole family, and his medical team. As I’ve previously mentioned, back in 2007 I had brain surgery to remove three tumors from my pituitary gland for Cushing’s Disease. While, my situation was very different from Luke’s, there was still a lot of very serious risks and the possibility of death. I was at total peace when I went into the five hour surgery. I pray that all of you will have that same peace that only He can give! Cushing’s Disease is very difficult to diagnose and much of the time people are misdiagnosed for years, which can lead to some losing their life. I was blessed to have one of the best endocrinologist and neurologist in the Atlanta area for my treatment.
Luke is indeed blessed! Dr. Thompson IS the very BEST!!! Prayers for Luke, your family and his medical team. I’m sorry your family has to go through this, but be assured God is working by bringing Luke to Dr. Thompson.
Praying for Luke, you, and the whole family with much love. The Good Shepherd is walking with you through this dark valley.
Soooo many prayers here for Luke, your family and the medical team and I’m adding more! May God’s loving arms surround you with strength, peace and love. He is the Great Physician and is already working behind the scenes for Luke’s highest and best good!
Prayers sent up for that sweet son…Prayers for you all.
Will be keeping Luke and your family in my prayers!!
Praying for healing for Luke and for peace for your entire family. A friend of mine had the same procedure when she was in college and has been wonderful ever since.
Sending prayers for Luke and you!
Traci I am so sorry to hear this! God bless you all! Sending both love and prayer to you and Luke for and easy time and speedy recovery! (((Hugs))) , Deb
Sending love, light, and prayers for everyone.
Lifting up Luke and your family in prayer. We serve a risen Savior, a merciful and healing God. We have been in a similar situation with our son Joshua. He had a brain tumor removed at 20 months and another surgery a few months ago at 36 years old.
God gave us the best surgeons…in fact the surgeon for Joshua’s original surgery in Chicago as a baby, trained the surgeon who performed his brain surgery in CA a few months ago, all these years later! My mama heart beats with yours regarding all the thoughts and feelings that accompany this..
Expecting a great report-
Suzi
Most definitely praying for Luke and you and Cy and all family! Marking my calendar to be praying specifically on Wednesday/Thursday/Friday!
Praying believing God is already ahead of Lille with healing!
Praying dear, dear Traci. Very precious to read of Luke’s heart for our Jesus.
My thoughts and prayers are with you this week, wishing Luke a speedy recovery.
I will be holding Luke up in prayer. I know and understand the rollercoaster of emotions he must be having. As well as you. Six years ago I had brain surgery for seizures and today I can proudly say I haven’t had one since. My scar reminds me God is a healer. I went into surgery feeling Gods Faithfulness . I will say the surgery was just the beginning. Recovering was the biggest hill I had to climb. No one’s tells you what’s it’s like. All I can say is thAt is when I needed my family and friends the most. To love on me, but still give me space , to encourage me, and be there for me in those hard moments .
May the Lord guide you and keep you in his arms ❤️🤦♀️❤️
I follow Cyndi and learned about you from today’s post. I have walked this road of receiving devastating news, feeling thrown in the deep end, and then having to understand and absorb all the medical information. Two specific prayers for you today are, that God would give you the gift of Luke’s full recovery, and that you would know what follow-up questions need to be asked. Medical language flies at you, and if that’s not your field, it’s overwhelming. Waiting expectantly on a God who does not abandon us. Big hugs!
My husband had cerebral aneurysm rupture six years ago. Very scary stuff! I slept in a chair by his bed for two nights. While everyone around me was falling apart I felt I was expected to hold everything together. He is alive and well today. The doctors can’t believe he has done as well as he has. Try to take care of yourself too – journaling helped me. My heart is with all of you. Keeping you all in my prayers.
My prayers are with you and your son Luke. May God ease your fears and provide all that you need to face and overcome this challenge. My son Grant experienced a brain injury (football) at age 16 and required immediate surgery. I understand your emotions and just want you to know that I will be praying for you. May your faith continue to grow even stronger. Cherish this time caring for your son. May God bless your family.
I’m a follower of your sister’s blog and wanted to tell you I “m praying for your son.
Praying for your family. Praying Luke will feel better and God will give him strength and hold him in the palm of his hand. Praying for God’s healing, protection from sickness. We put all this in God’s hands. 🙏🏻
Lifting Luke you and your family up in prayers from Louisiana!
Geaux Luke