Meet Lucas, the Inspiration for the House
Lucas was born on October 2007. For the first two months of life, he progressed like any other child. A few months after he was born, he started exhibiting peculiar behaviors. He would cry constantly and arch his back and neck in unusual ways for a baby. At first we chalked it up to colic, but we suspected something else. He had a series of tests and finally we decided to do a MRI to rule out anything neurological. The test results revealed that Lucas has a rare genetic neurological condition called Lissencephaly. During development, many of his brain cells didn't migrate to the correct place and much of his brain is significantly affected. He has severely impaired motor skills (can't sit, stand, walk or roll-over), he is non-verbal, and is fed by a g-tube. He is at a high risk of having seizures and pneumonia in the future. There is no cure for Lucas's condition and he is expected to have a significantly shortened lifespan.
Lucas currently attends public school where he enjoys riding the bus to school and playing with his friends. He also goes to outpatient physical, occupational, and speech therapy each week. We are so excited to see Lucas gaining strides in all areas of his development no matter how small they might appear to the outside world. Little by little he is gaining strength and is learning alternate ways to communicate his wants, needs, likes and dislikes to us.
In his short life, he's been on an airplane, boat, snowmobile, 4-wheeler, snow skis and he was given the trip of a lifetime to Disney World in Florida courtesy of Make-A-Wish. Most recently, Lucas has started competing in triathlons with his older brother Noah. We involve Lucas in every part of our life and make adaptations so that he can join us in all we do. He thoroughly enjoys going out in the community and being with people. His smile is infectious and leaves a permanent impression with everyone he meets.
In spite of all his challenges, Lucas is such a wonderful and happy boy. He teaches us new things every day. Lucas has taught us to cherish each day and make the most of life.
In his short life, he's been on an airplane, boat, snowmobile, 4-wheeler, snow skis and he was given the trip of a lifetime to Disney World in Florida courtesy of Make-A-Wish. Most recently, Lucas has started competing in triathlons with his older brother Noah. We involve Lucas in every part of our life and make adaptations so that he can join us in all we do. He thoroughly enjoys going out in the community and being with people. His smile is infectious and leaves a permanent impression with everyone he meets.
In spite of all his challenges, Lucas is such a wonderful and happy boy. He teaches us new things every day. Lucas has taught us to cherish each day and make the most of life.
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