Dan Lutter

Our dear brother, son, husband and father, Dan Lutter suffered a debilitating hemorrhagic stroke in the early morning of July 6th, landing him in the ICU at Condell Hospital in Libertyville in a relatively comatose state. For the first few days, given the seriousness of the injury and the grim prognoses of the various neurologists, neurosurgeons and pulmonologists working on his case, we really thought we had lost Dan. Our hearts were so heavy for several days, with all of us wondering how our world would be without this wonderful, generous, brilliant human being. 


On the morning of July 11th he began to show significant improvement, opening his eyes, moving his left hand and arm and both of his feet. On July 12th he managed to breathe entirely on his own, without the aide of the ventilator. These improvements shocked the doctors and gave us renewed hope for Dan's eventual recovery. Despite these improvements, we understand that the damage to his pons (the "little brain" between his main brain and his spinal column) is very serious indeed and that his road to recovery will be a long and unpredictable one, with many potential hazards along the way. Yet we hold out hope that he will continue to show improvement in the coming weeks and months. 

After undergoing successful tracheostomy, gastrostomy and shunt procedures, Dan has moved-on to Presence Holy Family Medical Center in Des Plaines, Illinois, for the next stage of rehabilitation. Freed from the breathing and feeding tubes in his throat, Dan is now able to move his mouth a bit, though not yet able to speak. We know the road ahead is going to be arduous for Dan, with some unforeseens along the way, but we are hopeful that he will continue to improve through the coming weeks. Some positive trends from this past week is that he is able to move his right arm and is continuing to open his eyes and take-in his family and friends at his side. Please keep Dan in your thoughts and prayers and come and visit him to encourage him in his recovery. 
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