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!