Following closely on from the Bike 4 Burns Ride recently, sad news received is that Morgan, Spruce Goose's son, has been taken to RBH ICU with severe burns, tragically sustained when his clothing caught fire. Morgan, who is in an induced coma, has already undergone extensive surgery and will so for many months. Cam & family are holding vigil at the hospital with Morgan and we offer our prayers & sincerest best wishes to them at this most difficult time.

Background At birth, Morgan was diagnosed with Landau Kleffner Syndrome; though similar to severe autism, this condition includes a number of other complications including the inability to understand and use spoken language and daily epileptic seizures that usually occur at night. Morgan also suffers from severe gastric problems which required him to have a Fundo Placation aged 6 (which ties your oesophagus to your stomach to make it impossible for any type of regurgitation to affect the airway). Over the years Morgan has had 48 endoscopies to attempt to deal with gastric problems. Morgan also required braces for his legs for two 18 month periods at the ages of 10 and 13 years.

Updates

Update 6 Sept: From Cam - Hi all,been a couple of weeks since my last email about Morgan, but the delay has only been caused by his improvement. Since he hasn't had any surgery for a couple of weeks now he seems to have settled a bit and is starting to look and sound like his old self again. As far as surgery goes he probably only needs one or two more operations before we see an end to them, amen. The little guy is facing some intensive physiotherapy now in an effort to get him back on his feet. As you can imagine his leg muscles have wasted away while he has been in bed all this time. Look after yourselves and your families. Cam, Di, Lara and Morgan

Update 8 Aug: From Cam - Hi everyone, since I last wrote to you Morgan has had to have three more operations on his left leg to fix a problem with one of his grafts contracting, it caused his leg to bend at the knee and it could'nt be straightened out. Morgan has been in hospital for 10 weeks now and had 18 operations so far, his surgeon say he will need a few more and will need ongoing surgery for at least a year or so. Having said that the little guy is coping very well at the moment although he is still in a lot of pain because of the latest round of surgery to straighten his legs out, (the've had to put them in splints so he can't move them at all). Thanks everyone for the phone calls and cards, your support is very much appreiciated. Cam, Di, Lara, Morgan & Princess(the dog)

Update 20 July From Cam - Hi everyone, it's been a while since my last email regarding Morgans progress but I'm now happy to say that things are really looking good. Morgan's surgeon say's he is really happy with the way things are going and is holding off doing further operations for about 5 or 6 weeks to give Morgans body a chance to heal more before he dose what he hopes will be the final skin grafts. Morgan is needing less pain killers now and is getting very active, so much so that we are starting to see glimses of his old self. Thanks everyone for the phone calls, cards and email, some of them have come at just the right time and have given us much encouragement. Take care, Cam Di Lara and Morgan

Update 26 June: From Cam - Hi again, Morgan is slowly improving according to his doctors and is looking a lot more comfortable. He hasn't had a seizure in over 9 days since they started a review of his epilepsy which is helping him to stay calm. The little guy smiled very briefly for the first time since the accident the other day and a small grin yesterday, it was such a thrill to see it. Morgy goes back to surgery again today for more skin grafts and to have some special bandages changed. Diane is in with him today and I am home for a couple of days to catch up with things at home. Thanks for all the phone calls and email. Cam, Di, Lara and Morgan and Princess (K9).'

The Wild Geese will be participating with others in raising funds for Morgan & his family during the coming months, so keep an eye on the News and your E-mail for updates. Please contact Rob on email should you feel that you have something to offer or to pass on to Cam.