Walker McKnight

November 26- The short version of Walker's story

Walker McKnight, son of Dave and Candy (Barnes) McKnight, is an incredible athlete on a cheerleading scholarship at Florida Atlantic University.  In March of this year, he came down with what he thought was a common cold or maybe the flu.  He decided to make the 2.5 hour drive home to Orlando so he could be home with his parents.   Days after arriving home, his Mom rushed him to the emergency room as he was having difficulty breathing.    His Mom, Candy, is a nurse so understands the gravity of breathing difficulty.    

He was diagnosed with severe pneumonia Friday, March 8th and put in the ICU.  During his stay in the ICU,  he was also diagnosed with multiple viruses including an adenovirus.   He was extremely sick.  His condition steadily deteriorated with his left lung collapsing from infection.    

Doctors told the family on Friday,  March 15th that he would likely not survive.  His saving grace was his age and health.  After 10 hours of trembling from fever on Saturday he asked to be intubated - he wanted to live but could not fight to breathe any more.  On Sunday, the 17th, the infection spread to his right lung causing it to collapse as well.   He was airlifted from Orlando Regional Medical Center to FL Hospital - as the family said their goodbyes to Walker, the hospital called the chaplain because they did not expect him to survive the short trip.

By the grace of God he made the trip.  He was rushed into surgery and put on ECMO, a form of life support, which oxygenated his blood and gave his lungs a much needed rest.    He ultimately spent 63 days on ECMO where survival rates are incredibly low- the average course of ECMO treatment is 5 days.   In addition to the invasive ECMO treatment, he was on a feeding tube and lost use of his kidneys.   

During his stay in the ICU, his doctors discovered that Walker,  like many kids his age, had been "vaping" using Juul products.    These deliver astoundingly high doses of nicotine (one e-liquid pod is equal to a pack of cigarettes), plus an array of chemicals.     Doctor's believe this contributed to his body's inability to recover.    He was released from ICU in late August and has had to return on 3 separate occasions due to breathing trauma.   His left lung has never recovered and he is still on dialysis.   He will ultimately have to endure a kidney and lung transplant.

His mother has to care for him full time, and his father is trying to manage paying bills and creating normalcy in their life for their daughter.    We have asked the community to help support them financially both for their day to day needs and long-term, mounting medical bills.    Thank you in advance for your love, prayers, and financial help.


September 1, 2019
Walker had made it home as you all know. He sadly had to return to the ICU on Thursday 28th. It has been a very traumatic and exhausting week for the McKnights. Walker had an infection that had been building up in his right lung and one doctor said it may be that his lung is giving out but they are not sure. The current diagnosis is not certain but what is certain is that his breathing has not gotten better but worse it seems. Even if Walker recovers, again, he will be in rehab for at least 6 months, requiring 24 hour a day care by Dave and Candy. Dave is back to work as much as he can, but there is a delayed income factor in the annuity business. They are asking for your continued prayers and for financial donations. They have exhausted previous funds to get Walker home and we will now need further support to aid in his recovery until Dave's income is steady once again. We greatly appreciate your love and support.


5/6/19-   thanks again for all of you who have helped support this journey!   All future updates will go through https://posthope.org/walkers-journey-home/journal/248835/5-6


Day 59 in ICU and day 49 on ECMO

News Flash!!  Just got a call from Candy that Walker just walked about 44 ft for his 1st time out!!  Woop Woop Woop! Now we really have a reason to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!   Walker's fever is gone and he has stood several times already.  They had to do a couple of little procedures to include restitching his ECMO line and pulling his chest tube out 3 cm.    Most people are eating tacos and drinking margaritas and we are celebrating a few steps across a room- and so grateful to be able to do so.

The family is of course wanting his stats to return as quickly as possible to where they were Monday/Tuesday last week when the ECMO team was talking about the possibility of getting him off ECMO.  This fever set him back a few days but we are back on track gaining ground each day to get out of ICU period. 

Here is a prayer we have been using daily over Walker. “Christ has redeemed Walker from the curse of the law. Therefore, I forbid any any sickness or disease to come upon his body. Every disease, germ, and virus that touches his body dies instantly in the name of Jesus. Every organ and every tissue of his body functions in the perfection to which God created it to function, and I forbid any malfunction in his body, in the name of Jesus I pray, Amen!"

Together we lift up this prayer expectantly knowing God is at work healing Walker for his journey home!!  Thank you all for your continued love and support!!

May 4th Day 48 on ECMO

Walker is fighting an infection, has a fever, stats are dropping, ECMO is up, starting dialysis now instead of tonight.  Please pray for God to kill this infection now,  and for protection and healing of his lungs.   He did stand and shuffled a few steps which is good but we need this infection to go away now!

From Dave:
A snapshot of a day in our current life:  yesterday 

I awake at 6am dogs barking as back door opens, Candy coming home early from an unsuccessful attempt at staying the night with Walker.  Sleeping overnight in the hospital has been my job and I sleep there pretty well overall, considering. I’m up to walk the dogs while Candy gets a couple of hours sleep then I’m off to the hospital to meet Auntie Gail and a minister for prayer and counsel. 

While in the meeting, I text a quick note to Candy asking her to take some time to pray, to gather some strength, and refresh.  She immediately calls asking what is going on as she thought (lack of sleep) I meant pray now for Walker and she panicked. I had to talk her off the cliff but to no avail as she heard his updated stats and was very upset !!.  I decided  heading home now was best to be beside her as we have to stick together when one of us is krumping (as they say in our world). 

On my way out I spot Alex, an awesome chaplain at Florida Hospital, and ask him to pray with me as prayer seems to be the only thing that helps get through the day.  At home Candy is pissed and very mad at God which I can totally understand.  As she says, when will these days in the valley end!  How can he be doing this to Walker?  His care has gone beyond brutal into cruelty from what we see.   We hold each other trembling in angst.  What next?

Candy showers and gets dressed to head back to the hospital with me early afternoon.  I know her being with Walker is the only cure at this moment.  We did not speak a word on the way there.   Seeing Walker is good because his face is bright and his eyes so blue and he is talking, his voice has gotten much stronger in a few days talking with the trach device.   After a few minutes a nurse pops in to tell us we have a visitor,  Pastor Becky Davis from First Presbyterian Church. 

We sit with Becky, who of course is a God send at that moment for Candy, and they talk about the reality of being mad at God.  She commiserates in understanding saying it’s I-4 these days that tends to push her buttons.  She says “God appreciates our pain and can handle whatever we throw at him”, even literally.  We head into Walkers room and Becky prays with us over him. 

We spend a couple of hours with Walker as he has a fever so bundled up tight and resting.  Then we tell him we are going out for a bite and will be back after. He asks that we not be long and to hurry back. I decide a familiar place is best and we go to one of our favorites, Firebirds right around corner.  At 7pm on Friday night, as luck would have it, we walked right in and our favorite table was open.  Sweet!  Ahh, the little things.  We agree that food doesn’t really taste like much right now and that we really can’t focus on any other subject than Walker.

We decide at dinner that my suggestion to move my office into back of house where Walker's room is now and to move him up to front bedroom with larger windows and easier access for us is best. This lightens our mood a bit with the hope of him coming home. Our dinner is very good, cocktails even better, then we head back to hospital. Sticking together helps us both feel a little bit better.

We get to Walker's room and he is awake and we meet his night nurse.   At night they tend to rotate his nursing more than the days where he gets a fairly familiar rotation.  He asked us for first time “why me?”  Which is great because we see him improving his thought process beyond simple commands of pain, cold, nausea and the like.  No easy answer of course. He also starts talking about the food channel saying he likes the Greek grape leaf thing with hummus :-). Again, we love to hear him talk about this as it shows he is getting better, getting hungry for some real food!

We tell him it is time that we cannot stay at night anymore as the docs and family have recommended we give him space and get better rest for days ahead.  He asks me to stay, but I say no and he wants us to promise to come early.  This he repeats several times before we leave. We head out doing the blue mile shuffle back to our car in silence.  Our roller coaster day is coming to an end off to bed to do it again today.  And the beat goes on......

May 3rd Day 47 on ECMO
It's still a monumental battle to get Walker off of the ECMO machine under his own lung support.  The tricky thing is the oxygen and carbon dioxide balance.   Wednesday night while operating with minimal support his lungs under performed regarding the throw off of carbon dioxide out of the system.  So they had to up his support yesterday to compensate accordingly.  The staff had been pushing Walker hard as he was improving each day for 7 days in a row. 

Today his stats are improving again heading back to levels they were before Wednesday, with some minor complications.    Of course the complications don't feel minor to Dave & Candy when all they desperately want is to move their precious child out of ICU.   He has a low grade fever in response to the same bacteria that affected him a few weeks back, which was presumed to have been eliminated with standard antibiotics.    So not the worst of situations, but it slows down his progress in the meantime.

From Dave: 
Still in the forest not in the woods looking for a path out to greener fields. We will overcome through the grace of God alone.  We are all helpless in situations like this clinging to a single vine for hope. Christ is our vine and he is stronger than we can fathom. Our human frailty is so evident at times like this where our efforts are reduced to hope.  No matter how hard we try we cannot fix this.   And that is what we are left with at the end of our crying out in prayer.

Please pray that God continues to heal Walker and to strengthen his body and mind for the road ahead of him and us. His journey is turning out to be epic by normal standards.   And we will have an epic comeback by Walker in his time. Our hope lies with Christ alone.

Thanks to all who continue to support.   We are nearing our fundraising goal so please continue to share this site.   As you can see, this will be a very long road to recovery.



May 2nd Day 46 on ECMO

Walker took a step back today...he is now back on the vent with O2 increased from 28% to 60% and the ECMO sweep has gone from 1 up to 9. His lungs got tired and began to retain CO2 throughout the night.  As the refrain goes on the ECMO unit, “two steps forward one step back is still a step forward”.  It’s an easy cliche to say but much harder to actually live it especially at this level of intensity.

While the work that is done on this unit, ECMO CVICU at Advent Health, is cutting edge and one of best in the country and has saved Walker's life, it is still a very hard process to watch for the parents/family members and very hard on the patients as well.  We would say brutal in fact.  But worth every tough minute when you consider the alternatives. Five years ago this type of treatment did not exist and this ECMO unit is only 18 months old. 

What it is like to be Walker's parents (from Dave):
Being Walker's parents right now is a complicated balancing act between taking care of him and trying to take care of yourself, between staying positive and strong for Walker and managing a deeply painful aching heart,  between managing the sometimes overwhelming level of care he needs, and managing the business of your life.   One thing I do know is that this has changed all of us in ways we will only discover down the road.   Today we ask for prayer specifically that Walker's lungs will continue to improve and that his kidneys will restart when the timing is right. Protect him Lord from all bacteria, virus, and disease so that they will die upon touching his body. Thank you Father for today, tomorrow, and what you will do in the future for Walker.

Please continue to share this site as we are still a bit short of our goal.   A step backwards means more hospital time.  Thanks to all of you for loving this family!

May 1st Day 45 on ECMO

A day in the life of Walker:   he was only able to sleep 3-4 hrs at a time, as the medical team wakes him by checking his blood gas percentage as it effects the sweep of his ECMO machine (meaning they measure the percentage of oxygen and carbon dioxide) which oxygenates his blood while pulling off the carbon dioxide build up. Then it takes at least 3 nurses to prepare him to stand which he has been doing 3 sometimes 4 times a day in an effort to get him moving as moving is key to getting off this machine.

They are shifting him from side to side constantly throughout the day to lessen potential of beds sores, he has one tough one on his tailbone that they are working at getting better cause this hurts his sitting position.  His mom has been really helping to push ahead his rehab by continuing the moves throughout the day that his physical therapy team puts him through once a day.

His respiratory therapy has been pushing him hard to breathe through his trachea on his own (called spontaneous) as much as he can usually 5-6 hours at a time when they first started.  The purpose is to get his lungs working and breathing on his own.  This is essentially what a workout would be for you and me.  His constant refrain being “I can’t breathe” is normal because they say it feels to him like he is on the edge of drowning even though his oxygenation performance is good overall. 

The goal right now is to improve his lung performance so that he can be removed from the ECMO machine. It’s a complicated process that involves lots of science having to do with him sustaining himself without support and they won’t take him off it till they have observed him for days successfully breathing/oxygenating on his own.

Thank you for your support so that his family can stay by his side.

April 30th Day 44 on ECMO:  Here is situation:

The family has been told that patients who stay on ECMO more than 40 days have a greatly reduced survival rate. The doctors are going to begin a transplant evaluation next week in preparation for potential surgery as a safety net for his condition. Currently, he is not a candidate for transplant until they can get him walking and in better health. The video is from Saturday. You can see the pain and desperation in Walker’s face, knowing that living through extreme pain right now is his only way to heal.

Dave said he saw Walker for the first time uncovered from the waste up and it “took his breath away”. He knew there were all sorts of tubes and other life saving measures but found it both crushing and amazing all at once the extent of medical intervention to save a person’s life.

Candy lost her job at the end of Nov ‘18 due to reorganization and had not yet found another one when all of this began. Dave has an insurance business where he is compensated on commissions of sales only. Their only income is coming from the few sales that Dave’s been able to muster during this catastrophic time. Many of you have emailed and asked how you can continue to help. Walker needs his parents by his side, pushing him to walk, to talk, and to fight for his life. 

I cannot imagine trying to work when my son needed me more than he ever had or ever will.  They are looking at 3 or more months of hospital time and recovery time to come home (God willing). Then rehab from home for months following.

The Need: Their basic monthly needs are approximately $5,000 per month. I would love for this powerful community of supporters to raise an additional $15,000 to get them through the next 3 months so their sole focus can be on Walker’s healing and survival. If you are able to donate a second time that is wonderful, if not please share this story with as many people as possible. Thank you.

From Dave: We are very thankful for all of our friends, and people we have never met, who have generously given their love, time, prayers, and money. Walker’s aunts have graciously taken on the responsibility for Laura’s school cost. 

It does indeed take a village and we could not do this without all of you!

4/22- First Words!

“Hello” says Walker, his first word spoken yesterday since March 16th. Then he said, “I’m sorry” to nurse staff, I think for being difficult, so sweet. Today he said, “I love you all” to his mom, dad, grandma, and auntie all watching him in rapt attention during his 2nd day of speech therapy.

Physically, he is progressing daily by standing, movements, and breathing therapy. Getting a little better each day. One of the hardest things to get set right is his medication as there are many different goals to manage at once. We had some challenges with this over the weekend but have made changes since then that have improved his condition.

Dr. Swanson was kind to stop in today to pray over Walker and to hug his mom that needs lots of love ❤️ right now. His family got together last night to share in a meal, some laughs, and fellowship of prayer. To say this situation has effected his entire family greatly would be an understatement and unfairly exclude the effect this has had on his greater community of friends and family that are praying for him daily.

His mom and dad would like to personally thank the member of the Christian group “12 Ordinary Women” that stopped by today and blessed Candy generously. Thank you!

the journey home continues......

4/21 Easter Sunday

We are very blessed to be under the cover of his wings, majestic wings that rose to a glory beyond all others to rule over heaven and earth, our Jesus! Today is our Super Bowl Sunday to celebrate the spirit of Christ being alive and among us. His spirit hovers over Walker keeping him Walker Strong as he faces the challenges ahead, challenges that he can overcome as he is lifted in prayer by many, many believers. Stay Walker Strong!!

His team of nurses have him right where he wants them, taking care of every need beautifully. He is blessed to have a strong team that is passionate about getting him up and moving with a steady daily therapy of standing, movements, and breathing postures. He stood for 10 minutes today and stayed off the ventilator for close to 2 hours!! We have had 4 good days in a row. Thank you God. 

Happy Easter to you all and please continue praying specifically for 2 things - supernatural healing of his right lung and that the spirit of Christ’s peace of mind hover over his body. Together we are bringing Walker home. One day at a time through faith in our God that loves us as his own children. How sweet is that!!

4/19 Update by Auntie Gail

33 days on ECMO.....
Today marks the end of a very tough week for Walker. Critical changes requiring 6 procedures including surgery.
The days and weeks are flying by, as it has been six weeks since Walker began this journey in intensive care.
He is hanging tough and taking things well. His regimen is to get moving and stand several times a day, resting in between. One of Walkers doctors said he hit “cruise control” today! Let’s pray he cruises through the weekend with no extra difficulties. The medical staff in the ECMO unit, continues to exceed all expectations in delivering his complex care!
Have a blessed Easter weekend celebrating the Resurrection of our Savior and Lord!!

Our amazingly strong and beautiful daughter Laura dubbed Gail our MVP since these trials began.  Never has there been a better Sister, Auntie, Sister-in-law, and friend than our Gail!! Her knowledge and support have been so critical throughout this ordeal. She truly is our MVP ❤️

4/11 Update by Dave and Candy

We had a consult today with a transplant pulmonologist, Dr Kim, who informed us that it is a very real potential of a double lung transplant. It does not mean that it will happen but that it is a real possibility if his lungs do not improve. So please pray for a miracle that his lungs heal.

Our urgent goal right now is to get Walker moving within 10 days standing on his own and starting to walk. This is important for two reasons, one that he recover strength and possibly get his lungs to heal, and two that he gather the strength to be eligible if he needs to have a transplant.

So pray for his lungs to heal and that he gets moving within next 10 days. On a good note, he is virus free so we do not need masks and gowns to visit him.  He is more alert and aware. We are loving on him everyday, praying over him, asking for healing graces. We have no choice but to hang tough through this incredible challenge.  May God bless Walker with healed lungs and may God help him get up and get moving!!
Love you all and thank you for your prayers

4/10 Update  by Dave (Dad)

We are on day 34 of ICU and day 24 on ECMO with many more ahead.  But we are headed in the right direction- home :-).

In last few days, they have successfully reduced Walkers IV drips from 8 major meds at beginning of his stay on the ECMO unit down to 1 IV drip today. Yesterday he stood up under his own weight for 1st time! :-) Baby steps. As we have heard, if he only got 1% better everyday, he would be 100% better in a 100 days.

On the Florida Hospital ECMO unit, slow and steady wins the race as they say here. And as we have learned, the lungs are called “lazy lungs” as they are the slowest to heal. His lungs are much better but still have a long road ahead. We (his family) have all been pitching in to help in so many ways, much thankful for our family and friends that have been supportive through all of these extraordinarily tough circumstances. Ever onward, ever forward we march!

 4-5 Update by Dave (Dad)

Dr. Swanson’s (from First Presbyterian Church) anointing is working!! God’s is great!! Great seems so trivial when describing the God of the Universe that loves each of us like we love our own children, unconditionally.

Walker is on his way home. Day by day getting better and better. The ECMO team are true miracle workers in serving the very, very sick helping them to return to the living through expedient thoughtful care, using the best technology available. We are forever in their debt.

Just know today that Walker will be back with us in due time. He will once again be bringing his smile for life to many of you and more. Please pray for continued healing that no bacteria can enter his system. That he has a speedy recovery. Thank you!!

4-1-19 update by Candy (Mom)

Day 25 ICU and day 15 ECMO.  Everyday I sit and watch my son battle for his life. Today things have been very slow and that is OK. He is tired and needs extra help today. I am reminded how delicate his life is as I look at all the machines and watch as this awesome team works diligently all day and night together to make sure Walker has everything he needs to live and get better. I am so grateful for their endless drive to provide excellent safe care to Walker.

3-31 update by Dave (Dad)

The best news is that he is starting slowly to be more aware and responsive. We have made baby steps in the right direction, still very, very sick. His lung X-ray looked much better today than yesterday!! Please continue your prayers as they are keeping him afloat while his body heals. Our shared body of Christ is very strong and we are beyond thankful for all the support Walker and his family has received during this most difficult of days. The amazing thing is that this too shall pass and we will again be enjoying life together as family. Thanks be to God for what he is doing in our lives today, tomorrow, and always.

3/28  update by Auntie Gail

Well, the saying goes, one step forward and two steps back when dealing with ECMO. That should be translated to "days". We had a good day Monday, but today and yesterday have been difficult. As soon as we lower sedation to try to wake him, he gets anxious and fights his respirator and lines, raising his blood pressure and heart rate as he hyperventilates.
Doctors say it could be 3-5 days of this. We thought he was making a turn Monday, but not yet. This is a difficult process to watch! Please pray for protection for his liver and kidneys. Pray that they can find the right combination of sedation, pain meds and anti anxiety drugs to allow him to wake safely from his induced sleep. Pray for
the McKnights to keep faith and hope in the days to come.

Update 3/25-

This is Day 18 in the ICU and day 9 still on ECMO

Today is a good day. I think the team has found the perfect combination of medications that will best support Walker as he continues to improve. His chest X-ray is looking better. The team even moved him into a chair today! This is another milestone. Yes we are cautioned two steps forward and one step back but overall today is a win for us!   Future updates will be on the post hope site below.
Link to post hope site 

Update 3/24-

This is Day 17 ICU and day 8 on ECMO...
The doc said his lungs are looking much better!! Slow and steady wins the race. All his vitals are good. They are keeping him sedated with a little bit of consciousness. Changing his meds to slowly bring him up to consciousness. No fevers which is great. And today when they moved him, he tolerated it much better than yesterday when his heart raced and pulse quickened. Today he handled it like the Champion that he is.

And the Champion he will become again through God's favor on his life.
Thanks be to God and his church (our family, friends, and supporters in Christ) that are supporting him through this very difficult time.
This will be the last update on Go Fund Me site.   For future updates please go to the post hope site.    The link will be on Dave or Candy's facebook page.

Update 3/23- The team continues to lower the ventilator settings as well as sedation medication with the goal to try and slowly wake him up while finding balance between pain and anxiety. The chest X-ray is slightly better and he has not had a fever in three days. Today my heart is filled with hope. I sit by his bedside looking at his sweet face and I am filled with gratefulness to God and all his mercy and grace.

Wow bronch was great dr Heim said looks so much better in the lungs. He has no plans to bronch for the next two days.

Update 3/22- This morning they are performing a tracheostomy at his bedside that will allow them to remove the intubation tube and make him much more comfortable.
We are very happy! Happy to have had 2 positive days in a row and confidently expecting a 3rd day today. This will begin his march toward normalcy.
And march he will just as he used to do as a 3-4 yr old, wearing his tall yellow rain boots, he would order his meemaw, papa, and Nana to march! Making them follow him around the house in a line as he lead the way. :-) They just loved that.
Again thank you all for being a part of this journey.
-The McKnight Family

3/21- Walker is stable and remains intubated on ECMO in ICU.  His bone marrow was negative for cancer and his CT scan came back with no unexpected surprises.   He is moving to every other day on his bronc washes and getting a tracheotomy tomorrow.  He also  continues to fight the adenovirus virus.  Please keep praying,  specifically for this virus to die off.    Thanks to All.

3/20-  Nickie (Walker's Aunt) spoke with the infectious disease doctor this morning.   The doctor said that the adenovirus is the source of Walker's pneumonia.    Walker did have a good night, was able to rest, and his stats were stable.    He still has fever and is fighting the infection, also still on ECMO and still intubated.      Sherry (Walker's grandmother) has come down with this same virus and is in Orlando Regional Medical Center.   The family is going back and forth to visit them both.    Thanks to everyone for your support, love, and prayers.  Obviously they are much needed.

3/19-  Praise God Walker is doing better!  He is still intubated and on ECMO but they were able to start flushing his lungs.  His fever has come down from close to 105 to 101.  Please keep praying

History:
Walker McKnight, son of Dave and Candy (Barnes) McKnight, is an incredible athlete on a cheerleading scholarship at Florida Atlantic University.  He was diagnosed with severe pneumonia last Friday, March 8th and put in the ICU.  During his stay in the ICU,  he was also diagnosed with an adenovirus, bacterial virus, Epstein Barr,  and Strep A.   He is extremely sick.  His condition steadily deteriorated with his left lung collapsing from infection.   This  combination of infections is almost unheard of- less than 1% of the population may contract an infection of this magnitude. 

Doctors told the family on Friday,  March 15th that he would likely not survive.  His saving grace is his age and health.  After 10 hours of trembling from fever on Saturday he asked to be intubated - he wants to live but can't fight to breathe any more.  On Sunday, the infection spread to his right lung causing it to collapse as well.   He was airlifted from Orlando Regional Medical Center to FL Hospital - as the family said their goodbyes to Walker, the hospital called the chaplain because they did not expect him to survive the short trip.

By the grace of God he made the trip.  He was rushed into surgery and put on ECMO which will oxygenate his blood and give his lungs a rest.   We are so grateful he has come this far and we continue to pray for healing but have a long road ahead.  He is strong willed and very determined to live. Thank you for your love and prayers...please keep them coming!  We also ask that you make a small donation to help with mounting medical costs.   

#withyouWalker