Luke Lange hasn’t even graduated from high school and he’s already gained a reputation for thinking out of the box. When he was nine years old undergoing his battle against Hodgkin’s lymphoma, he confessed to his folks that the usual hospital gowns made him “feel more sick.” To remedy the situation, Luke and his folks, Tracy and Ben Lange, became creative. They cut up the sides of his t-shirts and sewed in snaptape on each side. In wearing his new look around Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, he became a rock star with other patients asking where they could get the Luke look.
In addition to beating his battle with lymphoma, Luke created Luke’s FastBreaks to “donate colorful medical shirts in toddler, youth and adults sizes for patients.
The shirts have also been updated with snaps up and down each side and along the top of the shoulder to allow each access to a patient’s ICs, port and lines. They’re also three inches longer than a normal shirt thus meeting hospital requirements and are MRI and X-ray safe, so there is no need to change into a hospital gown.
To help support the free distribution of the shirts to patients, Mary Martha and Dr. John Pickens and Tia and Bedford Wynne Jr. are co-chairing the 2018 Blue Jean Ball at Eddie Deen’s on Saturday, September 29. Having co-chaired the 2015 Cattle Baron’s Ball, Mary Martha and Tia are old hands at raising funds with a country/western twang.
So, give those couture gowns and tuxedos the night off. Instead wear your favorite and/or flashiest blue jeans and settle down to a plate or two or three of barbecue, while Clay Walker is on stage playing.
*Graphic provided by Luke’s FastBreaks