The Weekend Update

This weekend has been exciting! We have a new niece!

She arrived yesterday morning and she and her mama are doing great.

They should be going home tomorrow.

We have been able to skype with them, and she is BEAUTIFUL!!

We can't wait to meet her!

As for Ryan, he wants to be done with the pain meds, so he didn't take any before bed on Thursday.

He didn't sleep well at all that night!

Friday he was looking rough and moving kind of slow. His physical therapist lightened things up for him that day. He learned his lesson and took 1/2 dose of his pain meds before bed Friday night and he had a great night's sleep!

This week he has been using just one crutch and hopefully soon he'll be using the cane.

The Weekend Update

Spring activities are keeping us busy these days!
The girls are playing softball and just yesterday they finished up another year of Upward basketball.

We are still keeping up with school and Ryan's physical therapy appointments.

Ryan is doing really well! Last week as I watched him walk out from physical therapy I thought he looked taller than when he went in! From a distance, he looked like the before accident Ryan! He's still using his crutches and hopefully soon he'll transiton to the cane.

His measurements at physical therapy are improving. His therapist asked him to bend down on his right knee and as he was going the therapist commented, "Well, you're doing that quicker! The first time I had you do that it took you like 3 minutes to get down there!"  

That's when I smiled and asked, "So what was your time today? 2 minutes 55 seconds?"

He laughed and said, "Oh, something like that!"

Physical therapy makes him very sore, which is to be expected! He also gets tired and sore when we have long days, like yesterday, when we had 2 basketball games and an award ceremony!

The Weekend Update

It's been awhile since I've posted an update. I'll try to catch ya'll up quick!

• Ryan was able to start weight bearing and physical therapy last week. He also put away the walker and he is just using crutches now.
• We found out what kind of tool the doctor used to remove the bone growth. He described it as a chisel, but beveled on two sides instead of just one. That, and a hammer!
• We like the ortho surgeon. He has quite a sense of humor. As he entered the room he said, "So, do you remember which leg it is we worked on?"
• He also told us they added the extra plate because while they were working they heard a crack. They did x-rays, but could not tell if it was the bone they were removing that cracked or if it was bone that was supposed to stay. Just in case it was bone that was supposed to stay, they added the extra plate.

In other news, both girls had a basketball game this weekend and they both won! Each of their teams played well together and they did a great job of passing the ball. Moriah made 2 baskets in her game and Emma did a great job guarding some aggressive girls that were a bit bigger than her! They were glad Dad could be there to see them play too! Thankfully, at the games, there are chairs on the gym floor which is much easier for Ryan right now than bleachers!

I'll end with one of our favorite quotes from the week:

Aiden, as we're dropping off Ryan for PT: "Bye, Daddy! Don't forget to give them one money!"

Ryan: "I think they're getting plenty of 'moneys', Aiden"

Aiden: "Give them one money! Not two! Oh! And see if they have hot cocoa! That will make you all better!"

The Weekend Update

The girls did a great job of taking care of Daddy his first night home!
They were quite excited to be taking care of him, and they assured me repeatedly that they could handle the task! Ryan can't bear full weight on his left leg yet, but he is able to walk using his walker by just bearing weight on his right leg and left toes. So the girls just had to help him with his meals and cleaning up.

 While Daddy was in the hospital the girls missed him and cried for him. They cried as he left for the hospital, when they talked to him on the phone before bed, and when we left after visiting him in the hospital. However, I noticed that when they left me and went home with him there were no tears. None. No crying when I called home to check on them. Nope. No asking to call me at 7am the next morning.

Hmm, I guess I've learned where I rate with them! :)

Ryan has been eating more in the last 24 hours. He's been getting around with his walker. On Thursday he took a shower and we changed the dressing on his incision. The Dr. said he would use the same incision from before but this one is a good 3-4inches longer than the last one! I'm not sure if that's because of the extra plate they added.

Ryan may be down for awhile, but he's still "coaching" the girls in basketball from his wheelchair. Thursday night as I cleaned up dinner he was working with Emma on her boxing out. He was moving her arms and legs to the the correct places and showing her what to do in different situations. I couldn't help but smile as I watched him "coach" from his wheelchair!

And to correct some information from a previous post, at first I thought the Dr. said he took out 90% of the bone growth, but that is not necessarily true. He did not give a percentage. He only said he took out a LOT of bone, and that is one of the worst bone growths he has seen. He did say he got his leg to bend at 90 degrees, but he did not get it to go 100% flat....close, but not quite.

He has been straightening his leg while standing with his walker. He says it feels weird to straighten it, and that it feels as if something should be blocking it. He can tell that it doesn't straighten out fully and it makes that leg seem shorter than the other. I heard him say to himself the other day, " Gosh darn it, I'm going to have to wear a lift."

Some things to pray for:

Ryan said his vision in his left eye has not been as clear as it was before surgery. This is the eye he had trouble with but it has been improving.

He also has noticed the same thing with his jaw. It seems tighter and harder to open since the surgery.

We'll ask about these things when we see the Dr.

 

The Weekend Update

• Ryan had 2 appts in Flint this last week.
• One was with the ENT surgeon. He had a hearing test done which still shows hearing loss. The dr. said there isn't anything more they can do for him at this point. He also said there is nothing more they can do for the "popping" that he feels in the same ear. They gave us a few things to watch for and released him. So, on the plus side, no more visits to that Dr. On the down side, it looks like permanent hearing loss. I felt bad for him and didn't know what to say as we left.
• Then we saw the ortho surgeon and we talked about the surgery on the hip. Remember, he's producing bone where he should be producing scar tissue. That bone growth makes it like his hip his fused. It doesn't rotate, and he can't bend it very far at all. So, we saw the CT pics of the bone growth, and it's pretty big! It looks like it's not attached to the bone at all, that it is all in the muscle. Isn't that weird?? Because it's all in the muscle, it is very likely the sciatic nerve is in the bone growth. So they won't remove all of the bone, since the nerve needs to stay there! However, there is a risk of them cutting the nerve while they are removing the bone. There is also risk of swelling after the surgery causing damage to the nerve. The dr said he would do it if he were in Ryan's place, mostly because of his age. The dr is older and he has done around 6-12 of these surgeries, so he is experienced. Do we want to schedule the surgery?
• Ryan thought it over for about 2 seconds and said, "Yep! We've gotta try!"
• I think his secret goal is to be able to get into a catcher's squat again so he can catch for his girls...and maybe Aiden someday!
• The dr said the surgery would take 2-4hrs and they will do it at Hurley. They will look at his schedule and get back with us on a date, but we're probably looking at the middle of Feb.
• As for me, I have seen some improvement this week....yay! I'm glad it has continued so far, because it seems that a few times before I would take 2 steps forward, and then 1 back. My shoulder has felt like an attachment or something. This week it started to feel not so much like an attachment!

The Weekend Update

What a week we have had! Here's why I missed last weekend's update!

• Puke! Yep, we had a stomach bug stop by the house! Aiden started around 10pm Saturday night. Is it just our house, or do these things ALWAYS start at night? When they're in bed. So the bedding needs to be changed. And pillows must be washed (or tossed out in this case!) Ugh!!
• He was up about every 20-40 minutes until 5am! I was exhausted!
• Sunday morning we stayed home from church, slept in, and started catching up on the 25 loads of laundry from the night before!
• Pump goes out! The pump for the well. Which gives us water! Which I need to do my 25 loads of laundry, wash puke pans (which were still being used!) and to wash hands! So I armed myself with hand sanitizer and 2 cans of Lysol while we waited for the pump to be fixed! Ugh!!!
• Sunday evening, pump is working and puke seems to be gone! Hallelujah!!
• Monday morning, heading out for a 7am appt--van wouldn't start! Really??
• Cancel 7am appt.
• Tuesday--van is fixed! Yay!
• Tuesday night--pump goes out again! We were told on Sunday that more work needed to be done and they would do that on Friday.
• We called to see if they could move that up!
• Wed evening--we have water again!!

By this point in the week, I was ready for the weekend!

And what a great weekend we had!

We started our Christmas week by seeing our children in various Christmas programs.

Emma had her Christmas Choir Concert (they call it a Holiday Concert, but I just can't!)

Here's her group. She is in the 2nd row, 2 in from the right.

Here's after the performance!

And this morning was our first time having all 3 of our children in the children's Christmas program at church! We won't have many of those!

The cute little boy in the red sweater, yeah, he's ours! He's singing "Away in a Manger."

He waved to me, he waved to his daddy. The little girl next to him was sitting between Aiden and another boy. Apparently Aiden wanted to breathe like a dragon on the other boy, and of course the other boy returned the dragon breathing! The little girl put her hands up in an attempt to keep the boys away from her!

Moriah's class played the Christmas story and she had the part of the angel.  She did so good, even though she was a bit nervous! 

Emma's class played and sang "We Three Kings," and "Go Tell it on the Mountain."

It was a great way to start the Christmas week!

The Weekend Update--1 Year Later

Well, here we are....the one year mark! Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday, and sometimes it feels like an entire lifetime has gone by, but it was a year ago this Monday. However, we'll probably remember it more as the Sunday after Thanksgiving rather than November 28th. It has been a long difficult road, one we would never choose to take, but we have learned so much about our faithful and loving God that we would not otherwise have learned.

Many people have said we have been an inspiration because we faced this situation with grace, strength, and a good attitude. If there is anything inspiring in our actions, it is only because God has walked with us and carried us through this last year. We could not have gotten through this on our own! God was not taken by surprise last November 28th. He is not surprised at what may be going on in your life right now. Whatever your difficult situation may be, He knows all about it. Whether it's an illness, a miscarriage, infertility, financial struggles, the loss of a loved one, a troubled marriage, or a car accident.  God is God, He is sovereign, and He is good. He is willing to carry you through your trials, if you only ask Him. He will work ALL things for the good of those who love Him.

Today we were able to spend the day together, going  to church and hanging out at home. Usually we spend the weekend in IL and we are driving home on Sunday. This year my family came up here for the week, and they left on Friday. As we were on our way home last year, our accident just after 6pm. Tonight at 6pm we were reading through our Thankful Box. Of course, top on our list is just being home together! But here are a few more things that were listed in our box:

food

my mom and dad

our cozy home

emma's smile

food

moriah's laugh

everything God made

food (yep, we like to eat around here!)

my dad

my Ryan

my bed

our cousins

my microphone

my sister and brother

 "Squeaky" (Aiden's toy hamster)

Aiden's mischievous eyes

We are also thankful for all of you that have been a blessing to our family! Thank you for your support, prayers and encouragement over the past year. 



The Weekend Update/Jaw Manipulation

Well, this was the week we met with the oral surgeon in Brighton for a "jaw manipulation."

Ryan was sedated in the office and the doctor manipulated his jaw so he could try to find the cause of his limited mouth opening ( 15mm.) Previous CT scans do not show a bony issue, so it was assumed that there is scar tissue. Scar tissue will not show up in CT scans or xrays, but they did rule out a bony cause from the pictures. The doctor's goal was to find a more exact location of  the blockage during this manipulation. Also,  the scar tissue could possibly be loosened by the Dr. while Ryan was sedated. Worst case scenario, the scar tissue would need to be removed surgically by opening the TMJ joint. Working on the joint is rather risky. A local surgeon told us he was not comfortable performing surgery on the joint, which is why we were back in Brigton this week.

So, the good news is that it looks as if the TMJ joint will not have to be opened. Yay! But, the bad news is that his jaw needs to be re-broken. Yep, you read correctly. Re-broken! Yeah, I had to tell Ryan about 4 times before he realized I wasn't kidding. His bite is off and when he opens his mouth (or tries to :) everything shifts to the left, which may be the source of our problem. This may not completely fix the problem, but according to the Dr., it is the first step. Regardless of the limited opening, he said if we don't fix the bite it could lead to problems with the TMJ joint in the future.

We don't have a date set for this yet. The Dr. in Brighton is going to talk with the local surgeon to see if he is willing to do this part (the same local surgeon that did not want to open the joint.) If the local surgeon is willing to do this much then we can have the surgery done close to home. Otherwise, we'll have it done in Brighton. Having it done in Midland would be more convenient for an overnight hospital stay and weekly follow-up visits.

To those of you who know my husband, you probably know he can be a bit umm....lippy at times. You can imagine the wisecracks we've heard about the line-up of people wanting to help with the breaking of his jaw! Ryan said he'll be selling the honors to the highest bidder on e-bay!!

Please pray for guidance for us and for the doctors!

Thank you!

The Weekend Update--From the Kids' Perspective

• We recently were talking about the accident, and how far we have come. I asked the girls, "Don't you think we have come a long way?" Moriah responded, "No! Daddy still can't run! I want Daddy to be able to run!" She asked if we remembered the night last fall before the accident that we stayed outside and played hide and seek-tag. I had forgotten all about that night! We laughed as we remembered chasing each other in the dark on a warm fall night. I think one of the girls said, "Remember Dad hid up in the tree? And no one could catch him, but he caught all of us?"
• Aiden plays "crash" quite often. He will be driving his Jeep or tricycle in the backyard and have a crash. He lays on the ground and waits for the ambulance (his sisters) to come. Sometimes I laugh watching him play, I don't know if I want to laugh because it's so funny, or cry that this is part of what he plays. He still talks about his real ambulance ride. He remembers that he was in the ambulance with mommy (which is correct) and that mommy was all snuggled up (which to him means having a blanket up to your neck.)
• One evening a few weeks ago we were all in the living room and Emma was sharing a story. Suddenly, we heard the sirens of an ambulance. Emma stopped talking and her face grew dark. She looked at Moriah and said, "It's coming this way."  Within seconds the ambulance passed by the house and Emma said, "I don't like sirens. They make me feel sad and scared." Ryan and I were both surprised by her reaction. As we talked later we thought about what it must have been like for them that night--waiting in the van, in the dark, listening to sirens coming in the distance, hearing them get closer, knowing they're coming for you--it was something I had never thought of and it made my heart ache for my little ones! Thankfully, someone shared the idea of encouraging the kids to pray for the people in the ambulance. What a great idea to help them take the focus off their fears by saying a prayer for the other person!
• Although much has changed for our kids, there are somethings that never change--they still are growing like weeds!! We measured the kids this week and they have each grown an inch since July!
• And they still have fun together! They have been enjoying this gorgeous fall weather, making leaf piles, and leaf houses, and dens--because they are always pretending to be some sort of animal!

The Weekend Update

• Apples have been the theme this week! We took our apples to the cider mill with Ryan's parents, so we have been enjoying fresh cider along with other apple treats! We've had cider donuts, caramel apples, hot cider, cold cider and one of our favorites....apple cider oatmeal! When making oatmeal replace the water with cider and YUM-O!   A fall Michigan tradition that I look forward to is cider and donuts. Where I come from we have donuts with milk or coffee, but not cider. My first fall here I kept hearing the phrase "cider and donuts" and I didn't get it. Until one night at a bonfire we had hot apple cider and fresh cinnamon donuts. And that's when I realized that I had been missing out on one of the yummiest fall traditions ever!! It's now something I look forward to every year!!
• Thinking of things that I learned after moving to Michigan.... just after we moved here we met with our customer service rep to set up our auto/home insurance. The woman was explaining our auto policy to us and as she pointed out one deductible she said,  "Let's say you hit a deer, then your deductible would be___." I thought that was such a random thing to say, hit a deer! Really? She might as well have said a cow or horse! I asked if that really happens that often, and she gave me a look that said, "Oh my, you have a lot to learn!"
•  Ryan did see his family dr and he was able to come off the blood thinner that he was on. Not only is it great that he doesn't have to take it anymore, but it also means 1 less appt. each month! He was going to the lab for monthly level checks, but not anymore! Other than that, there's not too much new to report. He's still going to rehab therapy twice a week, and I'm going to physical therapy twice a week. This week my therapist asked me to lay on the table face down and raise my arms above my head. Then she asked me to raise my arms up. I couldn't do it with the right arm! It just didn't budge! So she had me stand against the wall, arms above my head and lift my arms away from the wall. With some help from her, I was able to do that, but straining and grunting like I was bench pressing 100lbs!! It's crazy that something I used to never think twice about doing is so much work!

A few of our favorite recent quotes:

"Oh Mommy, I love you so, so much!"--Aiden in the kitchen with me. Yep, this one's my favorite this week!

"Well, you see, we've lost our GPS, so we need a map of the solar system so we can travel around in our spaceship."--Emma, while making a map for their spaceship game they have been playing with their friends.

"Uh, don't call me that."--Moriah, to her friend, after he called her by her nickname that she only allows her mom, dad, and sister to use!

The Weekend Update

• We have an appt with the oral surgeon in Brighton! He was willing to consult with us over the phone to save us a trip down there. We have met with him once in his office back in May so he has seen Ryan and his jaw in person. We'll go down in mid-October and he will sedate Ryan in the office and try to open the jaw while he's asleep. There is a possibility that the doctor will be able to resolve the problem just with sedation in the office, and NO surgery! If you think of us, pray that surgery would not be needed and his jaw can be fixed with a good yank from the doctor! If this doesn't work, then this will also allow the Dr. to know exactly where the restrictions are since they don't show up in an xray/CT scan. That would be helpful information if he must to go in surgically to remove the scar tissue.
• Today we spent a wonderful afternoon visiting with a family that we have never met before. Their precious family was in a serious auto accident about 10 months before ours. Although we had never met them we had heard of their accident. Since hearing about our accident they have prayed for us and encouraged us with their kind words and deeds. They have been able to relate to our situation in a way that not many others can. This family has been an encouragement to us and a beautiful example of praising our God while in the midst of a trial. It was wonderful to finally meet them face to face and spend time visiting with them. Our God is so good! Not only does He go with us through each trial this life may have, He has also given us our dear brothers and sisters in Christ to share in our joy and sorrow. I'm thankful we were able to get to know them and learn how we can better pray for them. What a blessing to be able to pray for this family as they have done for us.

The Weekend Update

• It has been a rough week for us here.  I think we were both feeling tired, frustrated, and we just want to be done with the whole accident thing, but of course we can't be.
• We met with the oral surgeon on Tuesday and he told us that after discussing it with the other surgeon in the office they have decided they aren't comfortable performing the surgery on his jaw. Ryan's TMJ joint needs to be opened up and have scar tissue removed so that he can open his mouth more than 15mm. I am very happy that they were honest with us instead of taking on something they were not sure of. It just would be nice to have heard a "Yes, we can do this and we'll get ya in next week!" There still is another surgeon that is willing to do it, but he is just a 2hr drive from home.
• On a positve note I have started back to physical therapy. My lower and middle back have really been bothering me as a result of not using my shoulder correctly. After just one PT appt Ryan said he thought I was standing straighter and walking taller. But that night he said  my back must have been hurting again. Apparently he can tell just by how I move around. Anyway, he was right! Hopefully, physical therapy will be helpful with the back pain while we wait for the nerves to heal.

Weekend Update

• This week we were busy freezing veggies! We froze corn, green peppers and onions. We are always thankful for our frozen veggies in the middle of winter! 
• We finished getting ready for school!! I'll post more on that later!
• This week is the Midland County fair! Our girls are not taking anything in this year because I missed the registration deadline. They were disappointed, but they have been very understanding! Hopefully we will be back on track next summer! I'm beginning to think even going to the fair may be more than we can handle this year, but I know they would never go for that!! So, I will put my big girl pants on, buy a frozen cheesecake on a stick, and walk through every animal barn there is. Twice. Or maybe even three times. They really love those animals!
• Yesterday we had a relaxing Saturday at home together. In the afternoon, Ryan went to take a nap and I went in to talk to him for a minute. He loves when I try to talk to him during his nap :) It wasn't long and Emma came in, jumped in bed and started telling us about a game she plays with Moriah and some friends. In the game Moriah is Aunt Bertha. Emma was laughing and doing an impression of Moriah as Aunt Bertha for us. All of the laughter brought Moriah into the room who then gave us the real Aunt Bertha. The laughing continued and in came Aiden, who was supposed to be taking a nap of his own. He came climbing into bed and said, "Can I bisit (visit) with you guys?" I laughed, looked at Ryan and said, "Sorry about the nap!" It's little moments like these that are a treasure! We just enjoy being a family, and being together. Ryan did eventually get his nap, and so did Aiden. Right next to his daddy.
• The kids were playing rock band yesterday. Not on the Wii, we don't have that game, yet. They were just singing along with the ipod. I walked in the room to find Aiden dancing and singing into a microphone made out of brightly colored pegs connected together. Moriah was singing into her railroad track microphone and Emma was air guitaring. And the song they were rocking out too?  My Life is in You Lord. Yep, that brought a smile to my face! And some laughter too!

Some of our favorite recent quotes:

At the gas station Ryan asked, "Do you want it on credit or debit?"  Before I could answer Aiden yells from the back, "I want Pepper Dr!"  (Dr. Pepper!)

The girls had a friend over recently and they were talking about music and singers. Moriah asked, "Who do you like to listen to?" And without giving her a chance to respond Moriah went on to say, "I like John Denver."

After hearing the above statement Ryan looked at me and said, "My heart is so happy right now!"