Sunday, June 26, 2011

The Weekend Update

There's not too much new to report this week. Ryan did have an appointment with the ortho surgeon in Flint this week. According to the Xray, the bone growth in the hip(where he should have scar tissue) has grown since last time, but not a lot. He was not willing to give us a time frame for surgery. He only said November would be the earliest they would do it. They will not do it until the bone has had time to grow and mature. He said if they remove it too soon, it is pretty much a 100% chance of it growing back, and growing even more than before. So, we'll wait till the time is right! He has been hurting this week. He described it as more of a sensitive pain rather than the dull, aching pain he has had.

As for my shoulder issue, we still do not know exactly what is going on there. They have scheduled another MRI to see if they can find something. The last MRI ruled out a tear in the rotator cuff, this time they'll be looking for an injury somewhere else. I still have pain from the back of my head, down through the shoulder and down to between the shoulder blades. I also have difficulty extending my right arm away from my body, or trying to lift while it's extended. So, lifting Aiden into a car seat, isn't as easy as it used to be!


Oh, Emily, How We Love Thee!

What a treat this week to have Liz and Emily come for a visit! We had a blast getting to know our little niece/cousin!! She is such a doll!! We love her so much and it's easy to see why!

We love her in the stroller heading out for a walk,


and rub a dub, we  love her in the tub!!

We love her smiling in the highchair, playing with a toy,


we love her listening to the owies of a little boy,

We love to give her a kiss good night.

Emily, dear, having you here, was this week's highlight!

What a great week we had with Liz and Emily! Our fun included:

a trip to the Amish store,
lunch at Pizza Sam's and a walk over the Tridge,
Liz watching all the kids while Ryan and I went to Flint,
a couple stops at Coffee Chaos,
bloodwork and grocery shopping,
a 14 mile bike ride for Moriah and Liz...way to go girls!
a few evening strolls together,
making a strawberry pie,
bedtime snuggles with Emily,
pizza with the Roman's,
girls only lunch,
Ghiradelli turtle brownies,
20 qts of berries, 3 batches of jam, and 4 kids!

One of my favorite things was making jam with Liz. We have so many memories picking berries and making jam with our mom, aunt, and cousins. Although  I usually make jam, it was extra special having her here to be a part of jam making memories for my kids. And besides, she cleaned all the berries!! We'll definitely need her back next year!







Sunday, June 12, 2011

I Told My Wife No

Since the accident there have been many people that we have never met, yet they have prayed for our family. Last Friday we had the chance to meet some of them!
We enjoyed meeting these dear brothers and sisters in Christ and their precious families!
We are so thankful for them and so many others who approached the throne of God on our behalf.

While visiting with them, Ryan shared what he considers the greatest miracle of the accident.
He told me, "No."
This is the story in his words.

The trip to Michelle's mom's in Illinois is about 10 hours and we usually share the driving. I usually do the most driving, but sometimes Michelle gives me a break and drives a short leg of the trip. This trip I drove the whole time. Our last stop was in Marshall, MI where we filled the van up with gas and bought some snacks for the last leg of the trip. The next stop was home. As we loaded the kids in and buckled up, Michelle offered to drive. I told her, "No, I'm okay. I'll just finish it up."

As you already know it was during this stretch that the accident happened. The van was hit on the driver's side. Some of you know what the van looked like after the accident. I suffered multiple injuries, breaking 13 or 14 % of the bones in my body. The constant aches and pains that I have are nothing compared to what I would be feeling if I had to watch my wife through this.

I consider it a miracle that I was driving.  Seeing my wife go through something like this would make me feel lifeless. Just watching her with the aches, stiffness, and other issues she has still hurts me.
I just know I am thankful that I was in the driver's seat that night. 

Since the accident, I (Michelle) have heard my husband tell numerous people that he was thankful that it was him and not me or one of our children. Each time I was reminded how much he loves me and our children. I know he loves us so dearly he would give his own life for us. It is such a beautiful reflection of another man, Jesus Christ, who loved us so much He gave his life so that we can all be free from sin and live forever with Him.





Sunday, June 5, 2011

The Weekend Update

I am long overdue for an update, and we've been busy so there's lots to fill you in on! Where to begin......

  • Ryan's Jaw--He still cannot open his mouth very wide. He can barely fit his tongue between his teeth. Last night he was watching Man Vs. Food and he was wishing he could eat the philly cheese steak sandwhich that Adam was chowing down on in Philly. We have consulted with an oral surgeon in Brighton, which is a 2hr drive for us. He thinks scar tissue is causing the problem. He has ordered another CT scan to be sure, and we have not heard the results of that yet. He also said that if scar tissue is the problem, there is a surgeon in Midland that should be able to do the surgery; however it just may not be in his comfort zone. We have contacted the Midland surgeon and once he looks over his file he will let us know if he is willing to work on his jaw. The dr. in Brighton said that he would do it if the Midland doctor will not. If the surgery is done in Brighton, we will have to travel down there once a week for several weeks following the surgery. To have this done in Midland would save us A LOT of travel time. However, we do want the job done correctly! Please be praying for direction and guidance concerning this issue, for us and the doctors!
  • Ryan's vision--continues to improve on its own, which is good. I can't imagine what it must be like to not see clearly out of one eye all the time. It bothers me to have only one contact in for a few minutes! The sun bothers his eyes, so he wears his sunglasses whenever he's outside.
  • Ryan's hearing--again still improving, but is still showing hearing loss in the right ear.
  • Ryan's hip--Still has bone growth where he needs scar tissue! This bone growth causes him to walk with a limp, he can't straighten out his leg. He tried to mow the lawn, but couldn't bend his leg enough to get on the lawnmower. I watched him from the kitchen window as he gave it a try. He looked absloutely uncomfortable the entire time! Emma has had a chance to mow a bit and she is super excited about that! Ryan is able to use the weed-eater though. He's been out there several times, even when the lawn hasn't been mowed!!
  • Ryan's attitude--he's still positive for the most part. He aches quite a bit and he tires out easily. He has been more frustrated as he tries more things and finds he can't do some of them (like mowing the lawn!) For now, he is looking forward to having a garden and using his weed eater this summer!
  • Michelle's shoulder--the MRI they did awhile back came back clear so the Dr. gave me a lidocaine injection and I continued PT. For awhile I felt better, but then I started to feel like I never had the injection. So the dr. decided to give me a 2nd one and told me to continue PT. However, the next time I saw the therapist she said she was going to give my Dr. a call b/c she really thinks something is not right with the shoulder. We are still waiting to hear back from their office. I would appreciate prayer for this issue.  It has been a long time now, and they can't seem to find the cause of the problem.
  • The kids are doing great. They are such sweethearts!! They get frustrated too, at times, and they have said things recently like:
                          "Are we ever going to be a normal family again?"

                          "I hope that if we're ever in another accident, it's not a bad one."

                          And this one came just after watching the movie Tangled, "I wish there
                          really was hair like Rapunzel's that heals. Then we could heal daddy and your shoulder."

           Although I can understand their frustrations and fears, I try to remind them that no matter what happens God is in control, and He is with us. I try to encourage them to be thankful that we get to find a new normal with daddy, and not without him. And I remind them of the hope we have that one day daddy will have a new body, without any metal rods or plates. What a wonderful day that will be!!