Back to the Grindstone

Well, Ryan had a pretty full week back to work. He went in a few hours each day and had quite a few appointments. Besides being exhausted all the time, he's had a few headaches here and there. Hopefully he'll have lots of time to rest up this next week, because Gabe and I will be in Colorado! We got a last-minute flight out to visit my family while my brother Mike is out there. He'll be deployed to Afghanistan at the end of October, so I want to see him as much as possible before then. Anyway, I need to finish packing because we leave tomorrow, but I thought I would give a quick update first. More later!

There and Back Again

Yes. We are HOME. That makes me happy. That means that Ryan's MRI was fine and we don't have to go back until December! Good. I'm glad. And now I'm going to bed--it has been a long day. LOTS of traffic and driving. But praise God, NO MORE SURGERY! What an answer to lots of prayers!

Ryan will be starting back to work on Monday for just a couple of hours a day. What a blessing to have a job where he can set his own schedule and appointments to take it slow for awhile! Hopefully he will build up stamina quickly and really start to feel good soon. Until later...

Highs and Lows

I'm slowly but surely working this afternoon to get laundry done and get all three of us packed up yet again. We leave in the morning for what is hopefully Ryan's last MRI for a long time. His scan is scheduled for 7am Thursday, so if all goes well, we won't have to wait around for the results all day but can get a good report and get back on the road. Ryan still isn't feeling great, but really does not want another surgery, so is hoping that they will just send him on his way and let things get better with time. The MRI should tell us if there is a chance of things getting better without surgery. Anyway, it is good that we will know soon and we can figure out when he can get back to work and life can resume.

We've had a crazy week and a half since the last post! Here are some highs and lows and then I'll add some pictures to spice things up a bit.

Highs:
Ryan's relatives are at the lake and we love to visit them at the State Park.
Ryan had a couple of days in a row of feeling pretty good.
I got to run 9 miles with a bunch of women from church that run together.
We got an amazing care package from Chris and Tiff (my brother and sister-in-law in Colorado)
We went bike riding (running for me) along the Greenway in Roanoke with D, Chele and the kids)
We went down to Fairy Stone Park to swim for an afternoon.
My purse (with Ryan's wallet in it) was turned in to the park's gift shop with nothing stolen out of it (see Low's for explanation)
We had lots of visitors, food and fellowship last week, which really made time fly!
Gabe found a ginormous beetle and a dead cicada to begin our bug collection. And today we found a moth and a bee to add.


Lows:
After a couple days of feeling good, Ryan is back to feeling OK. and some headaches.
I left my purse (with Ryan's wallet in it) at Fairystone Park (not sure how...)
On our way down to get my purse, I rear-ended someone. (no one hurt, just annoying)
Mike hasn't been able to leave base to visit us the last few weekends. We miss him!
We have to go back to Maryland. :(

Well, I guess the highs easily outnumber the lows, which is a lot to be thankful for! We have been overwhelmingly blessed with love and support the last couple of weeks. Thanks for being there for us!

Spanish Night at the Lesters:)

Somedays just end better than others:) Tonight Leigh made one of the best meals EVER!!! She handed me a cook book with TAPAS recipes in it. (I got to pick two) For those who don't know, tapas are Spanish dishes similar to an horsdoeuvre. She made salmon in mojo sauce and manchego cheese with an amazing Spanish Salsa. I'm telling you, if she were to open a restaurant, I would put my money on her. Only problem is clean up:) I really do wish I could be more helpful. Oh, well! I'm getting better and when I am I'll do the dishes and take out the trash. AND if I haven't said so, she is the greatest wife ever. She really takes great care of me. Thank you for the prayers, they are still needed. Love,
Ryan

Limbo

This is a difficult post for me to write. Yes, we are home. We got home Thursday afternoon. But things haven't really gotten any easier. Ryan still feels pretty exhausted. No headaches or nausea, praise God, but he still just doesn't feel good. It's tough for both of us to remain upbeat and happy while we are in this valley that seems to stretch on and on. It doesn't help anything that we are still Gabe-less. He brings so much joy and energy to our lives and it's almost impossible to be down when he is around. He had a slight fever when he went to bed last night, so we'll get him tomorrow morning in time for church. I can't wait to hug him!

Well, if things keep up this way we'll be back up in Bethesda on the 20th for an MRI and another possible surgery. Pray for us. This is hard!

Just waiting to leave.

We're just waiting for the doctor to put in Ryan's discharge orders and then we'll get to start our trip home. Very exciting! Neither of us got much sleep last night, I think we were both anticipating our own bed. Ryan still has a little bit of pressure in his head, so we have to come back in two weeks for an MRI if that hasn't gotten any better. He's really not supposed to lift a finger for the next couple of weeks, so pray for patience for me...Haha!

Gabe is doing a little better this morning. His fever has gone down, but Ryan isn't supposed to be around him until he's feverless for 24 hours. Please be praying for a fast recovery for both of them and a fast and easy drive home for us. We'll update you from Rocky Mount!

So Close We Can Almost Taste Home

I'm not sure where the time goes in here! This morning was pretty busy--I got Tori's car all packed up and a load of laundry done while she cuddled and snuggled with Gabe and gave him his Motrin and checked his temperature and tried to get him to drink something. I would have traded places with her in a second. I had just been thinking last night that Gabe really never gets sick, so to have him feeling so icky today and I can't take care of him is torture.
Oh well, I'll have to keep using my mothering skills on Ryan ;) Anyway, Gabe and Tori are at Noah's, Ryan and I have just been hanging out here. His nausea has stayed away, he still has a little pressure in his head, but no headache (which befuddles his doctor) and he is working on continuing to feel better so we can go home tomorrow.

Lucky for Ryan, there is a P.F. Changs down the street, so I'll be running out to get him some Mongolian Beef for his last dinner in Maryland. And I might get in a little side trip to Anthropologie...Just for kicks!

GOOD Morning!

Wow! Ryan is not nauseous this morning. Praise God! That is very exciting. He woke up ready to walk around, make sure he wasn't dreaming, and wanting to order some breakfast. The doctor came by and was very pleased with how Ryan is feeling. We'll get through today, he'll be having a CT scan tomorrow morning and if everything still looks good, we'll get checked out after that.

Now another big prayer request: Tori called me from the lodge this morning to say that Gabe was up for a couple of hours in the night with a fever. They are back asleep now and it seems to have gone down, but it twists my heart not to be over there with him. The doctor wants him to stay away from Ryan, which means Tori stays over there too, and I really shouldn't see him at all if I'm going to be around Ryan. I don't know how I will handle that! Please pray that he feels completely better very quickly and that Tori, Ryan and I are all protected from whatever it is. According to the doctor, if Ryan gets a fever, we start the clock back to the beginning. Not gonna happen.

Ok, time for breakfast. Until later!

Late One

OK. Here's the deal: If Ryan doesn't have a good morning tomorrow, they want to replace his shunt with a new one. Arg. They really think the nausea has to do with the pressure in his head, and things just aren't right there. Sooo, please pray tonight and in the morning that his brain adjusts itself miraculously to whatever pressure this current shunt is at. We want to go home, not get more surgery! We're hanging in there, but just the thought of Ryan having to be put under again and have to go through even more recovery time is pretty depressing. It is not always easy to find joy in every situation, and this is a particularly tough one. We appreciate your thoughts and especially your prayers as we face this trial.
Look for good news in the morning...

Hmm

Not much new today...nauseous on and off, the morning is always the worst time for Ryan. I'm glad they gave him the IV because I'm pretty sure his body really needed that extra fluid. He is feeling a little better right now, just tired and ready to feel normal. Nothing is confirmed on when we'll be heading home. I'll let you know if anything changes--until then, keep praying!

Heading the right direction...

Well, another long day, but I think we might be on the homestretch. The nausea subsided a bit throughout the day, although Ryan wasn't able to keep his breakfast (3 bites of a bagel) down for long. They did another CT scan, just to make sure there was nothing going on in his head, but everything looked clear. He ate a good dinner and they put him on an IV, just to make sure he is getting enough fluids. The nausea comes and goes, so hopefully it will 'go' for good very soon. He's been up walking around a few times today, so that is another good sign!

Things Gabe and I discovered today:
*a handful of 'puffball' mushrooms (we went to dot com and mushrooms to look them up ;)
*a rolled-up piece of tree bark
*two very dead and crispy leaves that somehow made an impression on him
*a June bug that couldn't fly (and was pretty quickly not able to walk either...crunch)
*purple daisies with a moth on them
*he also asked Dominga, a housekeeper here at the lodge, if she was 'tiny' (which she is...)

--If we had to choose a place to spend days at a time, why not here?? A 3-year old can't enough of pushing elevator buttons, filling cups up at the water cooler, getting hand sanitizer automatically dispensed into his hand, calling the front desk for a shuttle (which he does all by himself!), getting candy and pen lights from nurses, having thousands of rubber-glove-balloons at your fingertips..I could go on and on. Oh, to live with no cares...

Answered Prayer #1

Praise the Lord! Ryan woke up without any headaches this morning! That is a big relief. He didn't get much sleep last night though, because he is still pretty nauseous, so that is the next big prayer request. It is most likely his body getting used to the cerebral spinal fluid being drained into his gut. The medication they give him for nausea doesn't seem to work most of the time, which is frustrating. He is supposed to be up and walking around a lot today, but that is difficult when he feels like he could throw up at any moment. The doctor did say that hopefully Wednesday he would up to going home. I sure hope so!

Ready for a new week!

Well, I guess things are starting to look up, but I don't want to be premature on that one. Ryan is slowly feeling better, but then as soon as he has a couple of visitors or sits up for a bit he gets a headache and more nausea. Not fun! He ate some dinner and has been up walking a couple of times today, but he still doesn't really feel like doing much. Thanks, thanks and more thanks for all of the prayers that this is over with quickly! We can't wait to have him feeling better and get out of here.

Side note for me--Tori and I are getting out of here for a couple of hours tonight! We're going to go see a movie while George is still here to stay with Gabe. It will be so nice to sit and stare at a large screen for a couple of hours and not think about anything.

Well, I hope to have great news for you in the morning that Ryan is feeling much better! With God, ALL things are possible.

See Yesterday's Post

Yup. More of the same, although he hasn't even felt like eating today. The doctors are just saying to give it a couple of days. He had another CT scan this morning. Everything looks fine, so they think that maybe his brain just needs to get used to the different amount of pressure after the surgery. He's been up walking twice today, but not by choice...Just keep praying that things normalize soon!

The Never-Ending Day

Sigh. It has been a long one! From the time I finished the last post and headed to the ICU to see Ryan, I have just been sitting in his room while he slept. And slept. And then moved to his room on the 7th floor. And then slept. And slept. Woke up for half an hour to eat some dinner. Then back to sleep. Still sleeping. Sooo, I read the first few chapters of 1 Kings. Then I finally finished reading The Shack. Then I finished reading Outdoor magazine, which I actually really enjoyed. Then I fed Ryan his dinner. Then I found a Vogue magazine in the waiting room that I think I read last month when we were here. I have digressed from this morning, haha! To go from reading about Solomon to Sienna Miller...Hmmm. I would love to get outside and excercise some of my other senses!
George and Tori took Gabe out to Ryan's aunt's house, so he at least got to run around, swim awhile, and be out of the hospital. He's really doing great, though. He doesn't mind being here at all.
All in all, it is good for Ryan to be sleeping. Usually he has a hard time sleeping here and I know last night was really rough, so this rest has got to be good for him! He's not in as much pain and his nausea is on and off, so things are looking up. Now let's just pray he can sleep tonight and wake up feeling a lot more normal in the morning. I'll say good night for now...

No Pain, No Gain?

Good morning...sorry I didn't post anything else last night! The day was long but busy in ways. Ryan started feeling better yesterday as soon as they changed his pain medication. He was actually pretty chatty when he wasn't trying not to think about the pain. Unfortunately, it was kind of short lived! The stuff they switched him to made him very itchy, so they ended up having to go back to the morphine, which isn't doing much at all. Anyway, all that to say he is in lots of pain again this morning and could use your prayers!
I did finally get to speak with the surgeon last night, and he said that everything went as they had planned. Ryan's pain is mostly incisional and should be a lot better in the next couple of days. Hopefully we can get cleared to go home on Monday. We're heading over to see him right now, so I'll try to add more later on. Maybe we'll have some good news on his pain, but I don't know if there are any other options for him. Boo.