Check out the video update from Jacoby at Beulah Beach -- https://vimeo.com/351154390
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Beulah Beach Video -- Jacoby's Story
Friday, July 26, 2019
Back Brace is Off!
June 27th loomed like a black cloud or hope of a future. This was the four week mark from Jacoby’s accident on the Dakar beach in Senegal and his first return appointment with the orthopedic doctor since his arrival back to the USA. He was excited for this appointment. I had a dreading sense of “I just know it, now we will need that surgery”. Jacoby had been wearing the brace constantly except when he was sleeping. It is cumbersome and not at all comfortable but he never complained. The doctor saw him and said he could move to just wearing it when he was out of the house in an ‘uncontrolled’ environment but at home he could take it off. Praise God! Still not sleeping well, Jacoby moved from the bed to the lazyboy recliner and this seemed to help ease the pain. He was ecstatic over this new found break and the best news, he could drive again!!
July 18 was another day trip into Cleveland to see the doctor. Our joy found in some mother/son time and coffee-to-go was only heightened when the doctor asked if Jacoby wanted to be free of that thing (the back brace)!!! He was all smiles. The doctor said it will be slow going still. One can get into a pool two ways; doing a cannon ball off the deep end, or toe by toe getting wet wading into the shallow end. Both get you in the pool. He wants Jacoby to take the slower approach. So for now he has one day of gentle physical activity and one day of break. He said his back will tell him when to take it easy. Kicking the soccer ball in the yard with his 7 year old cousin had him resting the next day. Crush injuries to the bone like this one will heal in 4-5 months, with complete healing in 6 months. It is still a long road, but we are so thankful!!
From Jacoby:
God’s healing me! Please keep praying. I was supposed to wear the brace for three months. I got it off a few days ago. I only had to wear it for seven weeks. I am easing back into activities with a day on and a day off of physical activity while my muscles strengthen. I am hoping to have full bone recovery by mid October and complete recovery by six months from the accident, May 30th. I am blessed to be walking, a miracle! Huge amounts of love and thankful for your messages, encouragement, prayers and support during this time.
Monday, June 10, 2019
Thank You for Your Prayers
Thank you for your sincere prayers, friends. Incredible. Two canceled surgeries. Obviously, your prayers were heard.
The empathy for Jacoby, however, is unbearable on my own at times. I (JD) even have had three backache moments in the same part of the back since his flight back to the states...I stop and pray. My mother said today that perhaps it is an angel touching my back and reminding me when to intercede.
Desperation moments after the Thursday accident and Friday when I wanted to trade places with my child. The LORD gently reminded me that with that same sort of empathetic love, he traded places with me on the cross, a heavenly father’s love for me, his child, for us, his children...which is even greater than an earthly father’s love for a suffering child. He bore the curse for us, upon that cross for me…and for you...and through his love soaked sacrifice, we have eternal victory AND an eternal home with all our friends and family who follow the Way. Isn’t this wonderful news?
Three Fula friends came by to pray and are certain this accident was a demonic attack on Jacoby...especially since it was near the Night of Power for Ramadan and the accident happened to the missionary's son. They are more right than we know. What Satan has sought for evil and destruction, God will redeem evil to good and will restore any destruction here on earth (Rom 8:28) and in heaven when our sore bodies all get replaced with heavenly ones. My hope for heaven has never been higher...it is just the best news flash ever. We win with Christ, no matter what happens here on earth, if we follow Him, we have the victory! Amen? Keep praying for Jacoby as they try and wean him off the heavy pain meds that can be addictive. He needs to be on ibuprofen as soon as we can get him there.
The empathy for Jacoby, however, is unbearable on my own at times. I (JD) even have had three backache moments in the same part of the back since his flight back to the states...I stop and pray. My mother said today that perhaps it is an angel touching my back and reminding me when to intercede.
Desperation moments after the Thursday accident and Friday when I wanted to trade places with my child. The LORD gently reminded me that with that same sort of empathetic love, he traded places with me on the cross, a heavenly father’s love for me, his child, for us, his children...which is even greater than an earthly father’s love for a suffering child. He bore the curse for us, upon that cross for me…and for you...and through his love soaked sacrifice, we have eternal victory AND an eternal home with all our friends and family who follow the Way. Isn’t this wonderful news?
Three Fula friends came by to pray and are certain this accident was a demonic attack on Jacoby...especially since it was near the Night of Power for Ramadan and the accident happened to the missionary's son. They are more right than we know. What Satan has sought for evil and destruction, God will redeem evil to good and will restore any destruction here on earth (Rom 8:28) and in heaven when our sore bodies all get replaced with heavenly ones. My hope for heaven has never been higher...it is just the best news flash ever. We win with Christ, no matter what happens here on earth, if we follow Him, we have the victory! Amen? Keep praying for Jacoby as they try and wean him off the heavy pain meds that can be addictive. He needs to be on ibuprofen as soon as we can get him there.
Thursday, June 6, 2019
New Back Brace
This is Jacoby with his new custom back brace. His cousin David is wearing the African back brace.
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Home at Grandparents.
Jacoby got to his grandparents at Beulah Beach Camp at 11PM with his new custom brace and a bag of pills. Pray he can switch soon to ibuprofen/Tylenol. He slept soundly from midnight to 3AM and then got a pain med that allows him to sleep till 8AM Praise the LORD. Keep praying he has a long road of recovery and PT. Thanks for all your encouragement, emails, and prayers.
Life of Adventure
Emily and JD realized that we have had 8 bone fractures on our three oldest and two surgeries in the last two years. Emily and I talked and We will promise to be a little less savage and encourage our kids to be careful if you would
Pray for our family, generally, for a covering of protection, angels, and that a guardian type one could be assigned to each one of us! Thanks guys!😃
Example, Saturday, twelve year old Ellison was jumping on the trampoline with a friend and asked for mom. She was occupied with Jacoby (who had just been released from the hospital) and said film it for me. He came back with a video of he and his friend bellyflopping onto the trampoline from the second story! Ugghhh.
Example, Saturday, twelve year old Ellison was jumping on the trampoline with a friend and asked for mom. She was occupied with Jacoby (who had just been released from the hospital) and said film it for me. He came back with a video of he and his friend bellyflopping onto the trampoline from the second story! Ugghhh.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Jacoby's American ER Experience
So, this is an account from Jacoby.
My mom left me last night at the ER and went to my grandparents to sleep after 22 hours of plane and airport travel. I was put in an ER room because there was no room for me in the ward. They put my on an IV drip and shut the door and turned out the light at 8:10PM. For two hours in the middle of the night I was ringing the buzzer and no one came. I had no food (hadn’t eaten anything in 14 hours), no water, the IV drip had run out and my back was killing me. It was an 11 out of 10 in pain. I was moaning in pain, but nobody heard me. Twice I forced myself out of bed to pee in a cup, left it in the sink and three hours later got up to pee again in a cup, I left the two cups in the sink. By 4AM I was yelling and ringing the buzzer…and after two hours of this a lady came and gave me two small pills. I saw no one again until 9:10AM, the pain was back again, when a janitor looking lady brought in a wheelchair and moved me up to the orthopedic recovery ward. By 9:30 I had breakfast delivered when my aunt and mom arrived to visit. It was a night from hell. I had a better experience in the Senegalese hospital even with mosquitoes biting my feet. This is was my American ER experience. Hopefully, by 6PM I can get my new custom back brace, have a CT scan, get PT orders, my discharge papers and go home…if not its another night in the this place. Please pray for me to have a good attitude and better care. The spine specialist saw me one time and I haven’t seen him since. I guess that is good news!
My mom left me last night at the ER and went to my grandparents to sleep after 22 hours of plane and airport travel. I was put in an ER room because there was no room for me in the ward. They put my on an IV drip and shut the door and turned out the light at 8:10PM. For two hours in the middle of the night I was ringing the buzzer and no one came. I had no food (hadn’t eaten anything in 14 hours), no water, the IV drip had run out and my back was killing me. It was an 11 out of 10 in pain. I was moaning in pain, but nobody heard me. Twice I forced myself out of bed to pee in a cup, left it in the sink and three hours later got up to pee again in a cup, I left the two cups in the sink. By 4AM I was yelling and ringing the buzzer…and after two hours of this a lady came and gave me two small pills. I saw no one again until 9:10AM, the pain was back again, when a janitor looking lady brought in a wheelchair and moved me up to the orthopedic recovery ward. By 9:30 I had breakfast delivered when my aunt and mom arrived to visit. It was a night from hell. I had a better experience in the Senegalese hospital even with mosquitoes biting my feet. This is was my American ER experience. Hopefully, by 6PM I can get my new custom back brace, have a CT scan, get PT orders, my discharge papers and go home…if not its another night in the this place. Please pray for me to have a good attitude and better care. The spine specialist saw me one time and I haven’t seen him since. I guess that is good news!
Difficult First Night 4 June
There was no room in the hospital last night so he was put
in one of the 50 ER beds on the end of the hallway. It was his worst night
ever. They gave him no food, no one attending him. He said his pain level was
11 out of 10 and he lay there for two hours pushing the call button before they
brought him two little pills which allowed him to sleep. Pray he gets a legit
bed today with a nurse. Poor legend of a guy.
Risk Takers are History Makers
Jacoby wanted to share this video with the tag, "risk takers are history makers"and that you take a greater risk by being timid in life. Problems and disasters will happen even if you "play it safe"
and JD says that life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% about how you respond the the tragedy.
and JD says that life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% about how you respond the the tragedy.
New GoFundMe Page
When Jacoby somersaulted through the air off his motorcycle and landed 21 feet in front of the launch point, he thought, “I think I am okay.” but then he said, “It felt like one second later a car fell on top of my back, I couldn’t move, I thought I was paralyzed.” (the flipping moto landed on his back). Jacoby’s vertebrae is compressed and crushed, affecting the T6 bone. Jacoby and Emily (his mom) will are traveling to the States to get the best care for his delicate situation. The costs of travel and medical expenses are high and of course unexpected in an emergency situation such as this. Please consider giving to help out the Dueck family with these expenses.
Go to their GoFundMe page below or the link in the sidebar.
Go to their GoFundMe page below or the link in the sidebar.
Great News!
The scans came back 10 minutes ago with this verdict...Jacoby doesn’t need surgery! The doctor said,”It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought. (After probing him and examining the scans from Senegal). The scans indicate a fracture but no surgery.
Jacoby will, however, overnight in the hospital on an iv morphine family based pain drip and tomorrow they will custom make a brace that conforms to the exact dimensions of his body. He will wear this for three months and take oral pain meds.
Jacoby’s reaction to the good news, “Dad, put on my blog that I won’t be sliced like scallop potatoes by the knife. Yeah put that on that blog.” I think the drugs are taking effect.
What a tremendous relief to know from the scans that his spinal column is free from potentially dangerous fragments.
The overwhelming support from you has shown us how much we are loved and caref for by family and friends. We will never forget.
Our hope in heaven has never been more...the day we are free from broken hearts and broken bones.
Jacoby will, however, overnight in the hospital on an iv morphine family based pain drip and tomorrow they will custom make a brace that conforms to the exact dimensions of his body. He will wear this for three months and take oral pain meds.
Jacoby’s reaction to the good news, “Dad, put on my blog that I won’t be sliced like scallop potatoes by the knife. Yeah put that on that blog.” I think the drugs are taking effect.
What a tremendous relief to know from the scans that his spinal column is free from potentially dangerous fragments.
The overwhelming support from you has shown us how much we are loved and caref for by family and friends. We will never forget.
Our hope in heaven has never been more...the day we are free from broken hearts and broken bones.
Monday, June 3, 2019
Landed in Cleveland
Landed! Succesfully in Cleveland airport with smiles.
Next stop: Metro Health Trauma Emergency.
Pray for clear scans, clear evidence, and clear
diagnosis. We are praying for a miracle here.
Jacoby Travel Update
The delayed response of 20 hours by the travel insurance company for first class lie flat one way seats for Jacoby amd mom was agonizingly difficult, especially for JD (one of the worst days of his life, according to him.)
Then, suddenly, a generous family member offered to buy the first class seats for us and within 24 hours they were on a direct flight to JFK. Thank the LORD for family! They land at JFK at 6:40AM and land in Cleveland at 11:40 AM EST.
Emily reported a VIP lounge free airport meal, a 1:50AM GMT smooth takeoff, massage chairs (although Jacoby can’t use them, Emily can!), and unlimited all you can eat free drinks and food. They were giddy as we always have traveled economy class. They have special wheelchair assistance and customs expedition with porter services...and again free access to a VIP lounge at JFK, then again wheelchair assistance plus a Lincoln Town Car and chauffer waiting in Cleveland to take them straight to the Metro Health Trauma Unit in Cleveland where a spine specialist surgeon is expecting them and has a left a slot open in case Jacoby needs surgery. Whew! We are so grateful for family and friends who have displayed their love through acts of service that have touched Jacoby’s and our hearts forever.
From a stranger who lifted the motorcycle off Jacoby within seconds of the accident, an unknown man who sat with Jacoby for an hour massaging his back then sitting behind Evan only to disappear...we never got his name, but we got his picture. To a friend who sent his 4x4 on a successful emergency rescue in the dunes, to miss. doctors far away giving their expert free advice from initial scans, to the qualified African doctors doing their best with aging scan equipment, to African hospital nurses, to Shady Shak hospital and home meal deliveries (garlic is oozing out our pores!), to friends sitting at the hospital with us and making pharmacy runs, to more professional advice, to visitors after discharge coming to encourage and say goodbye to Jacoby, to Arickson preparing and cooking his stinky octopus but delicious lunch, the Alliance family praying at Council, to volunteer packers to help Emily, to the 25 who showed up to pray and sendoff the two to the airport, to three loving siblings crying, comforting, and praying for their older brother, to a generous family member, and more free dinners delivered, we have a lot to be thankful for....more than money can buy...that is loving friends and family who walk the walk of compassion, care, and loyalty. No words can adequately express our thanks except one. Speechless.
Then, suddenly, a generous family member offered to buy the first class seats for us and within 24 hours they were on a direct flight to JFK. Thank the LORD for family! They land at JFK at 6:40AM and land in Cleveland at 11:40 AM EST.
Emily reported a VIP lounge free airport meal, a 1:50AM GMT smooth takeoff, massage chairs (although Jacoby can’t use them, Emily can!), and unlimited all you can eat free drinks and food. They were giddy as we always have traveled economy class. They have special wheelchair assistance and customs expedition with porter services...and again free access to a VIP lounge at JFK, then again wheelchair assistance plus a Lincoln Town Car and chauffer waiting in Cleveland to take them straight to the Metro Health Trauma Unit in Cleveland where a spine specialist surgeon is expecting them and has a left a slot open in case Jacoby needs surgery. Whew! We are so grateful for family and friends who have displayed their love through acts of service that have touched Jacoby’s and our hearts forever.From a stranger who lifted the motorcycle off Jacoby within seconds of the accident, an unknown man who sat with Jacoby for an hour massaging his back then sitting behind Evan only to disappear...we never got his name, but we got his picture. To a friend who sent his 4x4 on a successful emergency rescue in the dunes, to miss. doctors far away giving their expert free advice from initial scans, to the qualified African doctors doing their best with aging scan equipment, to African hospital nurses, to Shady Shak hospital and home meal deliveries (garlic is oozing out our pores!), to friends sitting at the hospital with us and making pharmacy runs, to more professional advice, to visitors after discharge coming to encourage and say goodbye to Jacoby, to Arickson preparing and cooking his stinky octopus but delicious lunch, the Alliance family praying at Council, to volunteer packers to help Emily, to the 25 who showed up to pray and sendoff the two to the airport, to three loving siblings crying, comforting, and praying for their older brother, to a generous family member, and more free dinners delivered, we have a lot to be thankful for....more than money can buy...that is loving friends and family who walk the walk of compassion, care, and loyalty. No words can adequately express our thanks except one. Speechless.
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