Luke's Next Appointment

Many of you readers like to follow Luke's progress & hear the latest news on his condition, so we wanted to let you know when his next appointment at Johns Hopkins is scheduled for.

Luke will have another echocardiogram on June 23, 2009, to monitor the aneurysm. Immediately following that appointment, he will have a routine exam at the genetics clinic as well.

Please pray for the doctors' wisdom as well as for Luke's condition.

We also wanted to mention that we have our 3rd annual softball tournament coming up on May 2, 2009! We are really excited about this event and will post more information very soon!

What Is An Aortic Aneurysm Anyway?

So, you have read and heard about Luke & how he was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm. And you may have even been to one or more of our fundraisers. You may still be wondering, though, "What is an aortic aneurysm anyway?" Well, we're here to help!

As you can imagine, we have done lots of research since Luke's diagnosis, & we have found a great resource that explains what an aortic aneurysm is. As we have stated before, Luke is being treated by Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, MD. Their website has so many learning tools to help us understand more about Luke's condition as well as connective tissue disorders, in general.

Here is the definition of an aortic aneurysm, as told by Johns Hopkins*:

"An aortic aneurysm is a weak spot in the wall of the aorta, the primary artery that carries blood from the heart to the head and extremities. There are three common types of aortic aneurysm. Saccular and fusiform aneurysms are balloonlike swellings of the arterial wall that can occur in the portion of the aorta within the chest or just below the kidney in the abdomen. A dissecting aneurysm is a longitudinal, blood-filled split in the lining of the artery, usually occurring in the aortic arch near the heart. As blood is pumped through the aorta, the weak spot in the elastic arterial wall bulges outward.

The risk is that an aneurysm will eventually rupture, with great bleeding internally and complete collapse of circulation. Sudden severe pain, shock, and loss of consciousness usually occur within seconds, and death is imminent in more than 50 percent of cases, even with emergency surgery. Thus, the goal is to detect and treat an aortic aneurysm before it ruptures. Aortic aneurysms generally affect people over 60 and are more common among men."

As evident by the description above, Luke's condition is very rare because he is not over 60 (he was 13 when he was diagnosed!) - yet another reason to donate to The Luke Pier Foundation because so much still needs to be learned about pediatric cases like Luke's!

*Retrieved from http://www.hopkinshospital.org

A Big Thank You!

We had a great time at Holiday From the Heart at Mercedes-Benz of South Charlotte! Approximately 50 people attended, & we were able to get our name out to that many more people in the Charlotte area!

The silent auction table was amazing - so many great businesses & individuals donated to the auction this year, & we are so thankful to them for their participation! Check out our website for more information about the sponsors of this year's event!

We thought you would enjoy seeing a few pictures from the event. If you were not able to attend, you really missed out on a wonderful night of food, fun & spreading the word about The Luke Pier Foundation, aortic aneurysms & connective tissue disorders. Click here to view the full album.

Live cooking demonstration by Blue Restaurant.
The Kimberly Carper Band donated their time to the event & did a wonderful job singing some amazing blues & jazz!
A large view of the dealership, including the great silent auction table right in the center.

Thank you again to all who came & donated their time & money to our great cause. In all we raised approximately $1900 from the silent auction, & Mercedes-Benz of South Charlotte gave us a generous (& unexpected!) donation of $2500. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!

Holiday From the Heart

*Click on the image to view the high-resolution invitation.

We are still in need of silent auction items for this fundraiser!

Please consider donating* a gift basket from your favorite store or gift card from your favorite restaurant to The Luke Pier Foundation to help make our silent auction a success. We are also accepting cash donations that we will use to purchase items for the silent auction! Please contact us today if you are able to donate* something to this exciting event! *Donations are tax deductible as permitted by law.

Save the Date

To contact us about this event, please send us an email!
*Click on the image to view it in a larger format.

Our Next Event!

Well, fall is officially here, & we here at The Luke Pier Foundation are busy planning our next event. It's hard to believe that this will be our 4th event already!

We have a meeting with the event hosts on Friday, & we hope to be able to give you more details after that planning session. In the meantime, please pray that the event is a success & that we can all pull together to finalize the details!

We have a lot of work ahead of us, & if you are able to volunteer your time & energy to helping us make this event successful, please let us know!

Stay tuned for more details about this exciting event!!!

How Prepared Are You?

We here at The Luke Pier Foundation subscribe to the updates sent by The National Marfan Foundation. Often, the updates are regarding specific drug therapies or research pertaining to the Marfan Syndrome which Luke has not been diagnosed with. This update in particular is important for any of our readers, though.

Connective tissue disorders and the potential aortic aneurysms present themselves in ways other than just the Marfan Syndrome. The following information is very important for those who specifically want to learn more about aortic dissections or have family members who have this condition. The information is important for health care providers, patients and family members alike.

Click on the following links to learn more (information provided by NMF):

1. Emergency Situations Main Page - this page contains a wonderful amount of information, summarized in an easily understandable format
2. Emergency Information Packet - this packet will help guide you through all the steps of emergency preparedness in the event of an aortic dissection. It even includes a printable aortic aneurysm medical alert card that you can give to the emergency room attendant or EMS!
3. Hospital Interview Information - this contains questions to ask your local hospital to ensure that they are equipped to help in the event of an aortic emergency
4. Emergency Diagnosis & Treatment of Aortic Dissection - this is an online booklet that has very helpful Q&A's about how aortic aneurysms and dissections are diagnosed

Considering a donation to The Luke Pier Foundation? Click here to learn more.