Family of boy critically injured by line-drive foul lauds response

By William K. Alcorn

‘One second we didn’t look ... one pitch we didn’t look,’ the boy’s mother said.

AKRON — Little Luke Holko, who dearly loves baseball, was in critical condition Friday night after being hit in the back of the head by a line-drive foul ball at a Scrappers game Wednesday.

His mother, speaking publicly for the first time since 4-year-old Luke’s injury, talked Friday about that night and how his life was saved by the quick action of paramedics at the game at Eastwood Field in Niles.

It was Luke’s third Scrappers game of the year. The Holkos — Luke and his parents, Nicole and Chad — and other family members were sitting in the first row, just behind first base. The sun was in their faces, and they had been shading their eyes to see where the balls were hit.

“Everything had been fine. We were actually getting ready to leave. It was just one of those things,” Nicole said.

“We knew the danger. One second we didn’t look ... one pitch we didn’t look,” she said at Akron Children’s Hospital, where Luke is being treated.

Luke is being kept sedated to avoid further damage to his brain. It will likely be several days before the swelling goes down enough to further determine the extent of damage, said Dr. James Besunder, hospital director of pediatric critical care.

The baseball hit the back of Luke’s head, fracturing his skull. The broken bone depressed into his brain stem, causing it to swell. Surgery was done at St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown to remove the bone and relieve the pressure, and a device was implanted into Luke’s brain to monitor the pressure. He was then taken to Akron Children’s main campus, Dr. Besunder said.

Since then, Luke has had increased pressure on the brain that is responding to treatment, the doctor said.

The brain stem is critical to involuntary actions such as breathing and heartbeat. The stem is also a “way station” for signals from the body, such as pain, which then signals the body what to do, Dr. Besunder said.

“The most important part of his treatment now is to keep the pressure to a minimum and worry about the neurological examination once we get over that hump,” he said.

Luke’s age works in his favor.With almost any type of brain injury, younger children tend to do better. If an injured area of the brain doesn’t totally recover, the younger you are the more likely another part of the brain can take over that function, Dr. Besunder said.

“Life-saving” is how Dr. Besunder described the quick action of paramedics at the ball park.

“The ambulance being there was just vital. Every second, every minute counts,” he said.

There is not much that can be done with the initial injury, but it was vital to preventing secondary injuries to get Luke to the hospital so he could continue to breathe and keep normal blood pressure to get oxygen and blood to the brain, the doctor said.

Nicole said Luke was sitting on his father’s lap when she heard the ball being hit in the second inning of the second game of a doubleheader.

“I wasn’t watching the game. I was looking at Luke and saw the ball hit him, and he kind of went limp,” she recalled. “We stood up and I screamed for help. My husband cradled Luke in his arms, and we ran to the concourse as fast as we could.”

Nicole, a medical assistant, said she knew she could not give Luke what he needed to save him.

The ambulance at the game responded right away.

“As we were jumping up, they saw him get hit and they were jumping up from the other side of the field. We actually ran into each other in the concourse,” she said.

Luke’s mother thanked family and friends and the community for their support and prayers and concern, and Lane Ambulance, St. Elizabeth and Akron Children’s personnel for their quick work.

“He’s getting better every minute,” she said.

Nicole also reached out to the Scrappers team and thanked them for support and continuing concern about Luke. “They stayed up until all hours praying for Luke and keep calling to check on him,” she said.

“We just want to let them know it was a complete accident. We are not upset with the team by any means,” she said. “Luke loves baseball ... our whole family does. We’ll be back there before you know it.”

The Holkos live in Greene Township in Trumbull County just a few miles from where they grew up in Mecca Township. Chad is an electronic engineer and a Greene Township volunteer firefighter.

Nicole described Luke as an “energetic, go-go-all-the-time boy who is always happy and very affectionate. He loves to give hugs and kisses, and I’ll bet 50 times a day, out of nowhere, he said, ‘I love you.’ ”

“This is my Luke. This is how everybody knows him. He’s our life,” she said, weeping for the first time during the press conference.

Joining Nicole was the Rev. Lee Lenhart, Luke’s uncle, who also expressed his appreciation for the community’s outreach — noting that they’ve received a couple hundred e-mails at the hospital.

He said the medical bills are a concern, particularly as the parents can’t work right now.

“If you want to help and don’t know what to do, the Luke Holko Fund has been set up at Cortland Banks for donations. We don’t know yet what medical expenses will be paid,” the Rev. Mr. Lenhart said.

alcorn@vindy.com