Off to Sunshine! (I hope...)

We are packing up to head to Florida this afternoon. I am VERY excited! It hasn't felt very real until today, but I got out some summer clothes yesterday and picked out which flip-flops to take with me, so I guess I'm feeling ready. This dark rainy weather we've been having is really making me hope for some warm sunny days at the beach.
We had a pretty quiet weekend here. Friday night was a "hair removal party" that I know a lot of people were curious about :). A few girls from church came over (the guys took Ryan off the premises) and we played Guitar Hero, got in the hot tub, ate lots of food, and removed some unwanted hair to get ready for summer. It was a blast! We'll definitely be doing it again, although hair removal is optional because we just had fun.
Ryan and Gabe didn't feel up to church Sunday, although we really wanted to go see everyone from Sunday School and let them know we're doing well. Ryan woke up with a headache and Gabe has had a cold for a few days, so we just laid low and enjoyed being lazy. (Actually, I wasn't lazy--I just started a crazy new workout program and did the first part of it yesterday. A little late for Florida, but Ryan and are going to SO buff this summer :)
Well, I guess I'd better get back to getting ready. If we have internet access anytime on our trip, I'll try to post some pictures!

Happy 50th to Grandma Tori!!!

So today was Tori's birthday, and what a beautiful day it was! I think it got up to the low 70's and everything is getting really green and fresh-looking.
With Noah up north and Jon stuck working at school, and George out of town for work, it feels like an anticlimactic (sp?) birthday, especially for a big one like FIFTY YEARS OLD, but we've got some big plans coming up. Since George was gone, Gabe and Ryan and I took Tori out to lunch, then she and I went shopping at Wally World. Then we came home to make my brother-in-law Marks famous buffalo wings. We had a few friends over to our house to eat them (and help grill them) and I hope a fun time was had by all. Tori and Noah are currently playing Guitar Hero on XBOX Live (Noah is in Northern VA and we are at my house, but we can play online together). She's not bad for an old lady!! (just had to throw in at least one comment on her age...)
Anyway, next week should be great--we've got a trip to Florida planned, as long as Ryan still feels up to it. We had planned on it before the surgery came up, then just put it on hold until we knew what was going on with Ryan. We'll be staying at Tori's brother's condo in West Palm Beach and I just can't wait to go on a real vacation. It will be fun to get Gabe in the ocean and hopefully we'll have lots of time to just lay around on the beach.

We got some really great news last night, too! My brother Mike is in Pensacola, FL right now for his job training with the Marines. We've been waiting to see where he would be stationed and just found out that he will be in North Carolina for the next couple of years! He'll be at Cherry Point for a couple of months to complete his Aviation Ordinance training, then he'll be at New River after that unless he gets deployed. He'll only be 5 or so hours away from us which is really exciting! I hope we get to see him a lot. I'll post a picture of him, Gabe and I from when he went to boot camp last September.
More later...

We are HOME!

Yes, we did make it home yesterday afternoon. We are happy to be in our own space and Ryan is sure feeling good! He's had lots of energy and not as many headaches. Gabe sure missed his toys and his crib. He almost jumped out my arms last night to get into his own bed.
Two fun things since we've been home...Ryan got a package in the mail from his cousin with a t-shirt that says: "I had brain surgery, what's your excuse?" He thought it was pretty funny and can't wait to wear it! Also, our friends Donovan and Michele came over for lunch today with their two kids and Donovan's dad (Pappy). They had made a video for us before Ryan's surgery and Donovan had actually brought it up to Maryland to show us, but we couldn't find any video hookups to play it. We were very blessed to see most of our Sunday school class wishing Ryan a good surgery and sending lots of smiles and prayers our way. Our pastor and lots of people we didn't even know sent their regards and love. It was a wonderful gift and a testimony of the great community we are a part of here in Rocky Mount. Donovan included some humor in the video (his 4 pigs wish Ryan a happy recovery and beg us not to let anyone eat them:) Alas, it was a good thing that Ryan didn't watch it until now, because he would have gotten a headache from laughing.
Well, I guess that's all for today. Now that we are home and getting back to normal here, I'll keep posting, but hopefully it will be more of the fun, day-to-day stuff. (or week-to-week, depending on how much time I have!) We do appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers. Ryan loves phone calls, too! Until next time...God bless!

Wow, Time Flies!

I didn't even realize until just now that I didn't post anything yesterday or today! I guess that means things are going well...We have had a nice couple of days at Noah's. Yesterday, Gabe and I got in some shopping at Target to give Ryan some peace and quiet in the condo. Ryan's grandparents were there by the time we got back (I could easily spend a couple of hours in Target, and a whole bag of their popcorn keeps Gabe busy for about that long!). It was so nice to have lunch with them and Gabe sure loves his "Tractor Grandpa."
While Gabe slept, Ryan needed to get out, so back to Target we went! I pushed Ryan around in a wheelchair until he couldn't stand it anymore :) (Target, not the wheelchair).
After Gabe's nap, he and I went to my friend Ashleigh's house. She has three little girls and I could tell Gabe was in need of some time with kids his own age (in Target he pretty much drooled over every kid he saw and the babies on the diaper boxes ever caught his eye!). We got to play outside and take a nice long walk--Gabe found a ton of sticks, a few motorcycles, a couple of slugs, and there are sure a lot more airplanes to spot here! Rocky Mount must not be a big flying route...Gabe loved holding hands with the Phoebe and Juliet on the walk, I'll post a picture when I get them on the computer. He had a blast!
We got back in time to 'help' cook dinner. Noah's friends made dinner and my friend Rachel (from Rocky Mount but just moved to Alexandria) came down to give Ryan some cheer. It was great to see her! Ryan got enough rest during the day that he could kick some butt on Guitar Hero before the night ended. He even played Halo, so he must be on the mend!

On to today:
Tori and I got to pamper ourselves a bit this morning--we each got a manicure and pedicure to go with the flip-flop weather we are finally having. We got to see Ryan's cousin Ashley and her baby before they flew off to Florida, and we even got some chicken nuggets at "Donalds". Wow, life really is good! Our friend Michael Hillman came over to see Ryan tonight--I know he enjoyed playing some more Halo with him.
Tonight Tori and I took Gabe to see our friend MaryAnn, then we went to the Romano's house, where Gabe had a great time petting some bunny rabbits and swinging on a tire swing. He's not going to want to go home!
We're possibly going to make the trek home tomorrow, but Noah is trying to convince us to stay until Saturday. He is using Wegman's as bait. Hmmm, he knows my weak spots! (There aren't too many of them, but gourmet grocery stores are high up there...)
Weelll, this has been a long one, and it has taken forever because Noah and Tori have been talking this whole time and it has been very been distracting. Now Ryan is in on it, so I'd better be done until later! Hope no one has fallen asleep reading this, but there are so many people we have seen and things that we have done and I don't want to leave anything out. Let me know if I did leave you out, and I'll post another crazy long blog for you next time!

We're Here!

So we're at Noah's house and enjoying the change of scenery. Ryan has been laying low all afternoon and is in bed now. He is feeling well and rejuvenated by being out of the hospital. He thinks he'll be ready to head home in the next couple of days, as long as Noah doesn't get tired of us before that. I think I might be in for some 'retail therapy', with the excuse of Gabe needing to get out of Noah's small condo! There is an IKEA close by and Potamac Mills has all the outlets I could ask for. Noah's friends Rachel and Ashley are cooking dinner for us tomorrow night, so I guess we're set for awhile!
Ryan is ready for an extra blanket in his room, so I'm going to try to post another picture of Gabe and then head to bed...

Busting out of NIH!

So we got the all clear to leave today. We're packing up now and Ryan is resting up for the ride to his brother's condo. Hopefully it is not too bumpy!
His kidney scans looked good. They don't need to see us for a year because things are growing very slowly. I'm going to finish packing his stuff up, but we'll write more later!

A Quick One

As you pray for Ryan, please be praying for a woman who also has VHL and just had surgery today (I'll pass on her name when I remember it). She is from CA and her mom and aunt are here with her. I haven't heard how the surgery went, but I know it took about 12 hours, which is why the doctor never came by today to tell us when Ryan would be going home. He feels like he is ready to leave tomorrow and that would be just fine by me!
The rest of our day was pretty uneventful. My mom left for the airport this afternoon and we will miss her lots. She just called to say she got home safely. Gabe is going to be asking for Grandma Jane in the morning, but he'll be really excited that Grandpa George is sleeping in his room tonight!
Ryan had lots of visitors today--his Aunt Theresa and cousin Adam stopped by and brought ice cream, then a few more friends came by tonight. George's cousin brought us some great chocolate chip cookies, too, so I don't think I've stopped eating since I woke up this morning!
Steve and Leila--Amanda is Ryan's nurse for tonight, so "aloha" from her!
He's got a CT scan in the morning for his kidneys--just his routine check-up so that we don't have to come back for awhile. We'd appreciate prayers that everything is fine there!
Have a good night...

Sorry I Missed a Day!

So yesterday was a long one! Looking back, there were multiple times I could have written, but pretty much the whole day I spent laying next toRyan while he slept. It was very depressing for me! I don't know how much anyone wants to hear in this blog, but it's probably good that I didn't write anything yesterday. Today he is actually laughing at my lame jokes and nagging me for a sponge bath, so things are looking up. He really needed that rest yesterday, but it is hard to go all day with him hardly opening his eyes. Now enough of that!
Ryan is enjoying me reading everyone's comments and knowing you are all out there praying for us. The doctor came by this morning and said by this afternoon we should know if he'll get to check out tomorrow or Wednesday. Everything is looking good with his incision and his reflexes, but they might kick him out because he smells :) He's hollering for his bath so I'll try to post some more later on.

Day of Rest

Hello to all and thanks for all of your encouraging comments. Ryan was moved out of ICU this morning, and has been enjoying the much quieter 7th floor. Gabe was really excited to see him this morning and even got to blow bubbles in the room! He didn't seem to care about the wires on Ryan and wanted to sit on his bed with with him. He actually wanted to push the bed, because he got to ride on the bed with Ryan when they wheeled him down to the OR. He is loving all of the nurses and especially loving all of the attention from his grandmas! They take him to the playground and on walks outside and they feed him lots of great snacks :) Grandma Jane gave him some Coke yesterday and I think he would have followed her anywhere she wanted to go! He really is handling all of this better than I could have imagined and I know your prayers are for him as well as Ryan.
Ryan has gotten some great sleep this afternoon. He keeps waking up with headaches, though. What is up with that?? He looks good, though, and I know this sleep is what he needs more than anything. I'm reading him his comments as they come in, and he appreciates hearing from everyone!

All is Well

We got word from the doctor about half an hour ago that Ryan was out of surgery and about to wake up. Praise God! Everything went according to plan, but we'll hear more about that later. The tumor was about the size of a gummy bear, but the cyst around it was as big as a golf ball.
Because of how many surgeries Ryan has had, there is a higher risk for him to have Cerebral Spinal Fluid leakage from his wound, so the prayers right now are for a quick recovery and absolutely none of that leakage! His scar could heal slower as well. We'll be in the ICU with him until tomorrow, when he'll move to his room. I'm going to go see if we can see him yet, so take care until I write again. Love you all...

Great Night of Sleep at the Hospital!

Just kidding about that...But they did let me sleep in the room with Ryan last night. I had strange dreams about people feeding him after midnight and a nurse coming in to try to force me out of his room. Then we were woken up at 6:10 just for the nurse to tell us that she would come in to wake him up at 6:30. Nice! He has on his nice white hose to keep the blood in his legs circulating, and now we're just waiting for them to come and take him down. When we talked to the doctor last night, he said that they get started a little later on Fridays, so the surgery would probably start closer to 9:30a. They should finish by 2pm.
We had a great dinner last night and prayed in the kitchen of the lodge before bed, then our friend Donovan showed up this morning to be with us. Gabe and my mom just got here so I'll go give him some snuggles with Daddy. Until later!

Checking IN!

Leigh had me write this second blog entry. Hope I don't mess it up too much. As of this moment (2:45 on Thurs) I'm through with all of the preliminary testing and I'm waiting for my pass to leave the hospital. We are going to make our "Last good meal for a while" trip to P.F. Changs. Unfortunately, this is starting to become a tradition. That being said, I really am looking forward to it. Hopefully my family and a few friends will be able to meet us there. After dinner I head back for a wonderful nights sleep at hotel NIH.
The tests they completed today are just routine things (EKG, Blood Test, Chest X-ray). I'm just glad they don't make me take a spelling test:) The operation is scheduled for around 8:30a Friday. I only have a few prayer requests - 1. Pray they only use small needles. 2. That the food has improved 3. and last but not least that the doctors flash lights run out of batteries at around 3 in the morning when they decide to test my functions and I'm dead tired and really really don't feel like waking up for them to check pupil dilation.
In all seriousness, thank you all for your prayers. My one prayer request (OK, my real one) is that the Lord continues to use me and my testimony for his glory. I would hate to think my whole adventure with VHL was for nothing. When I reach heaven, I would love to think that someone would come up to me and say "the Lord used your testimony to change my life - thanks." I love you all - Ryan

First Post Doesn't Equal Fun Post

So in the future, this blog will be a great way to show off new pictures of Gabe and let everyone know what cool things he can do now that he is almost two. I promise to include some of that, but most of the next couple of weeks will be updates on Ryan. This brain surgery has come up kind of quickly, so I'm sure not everyone has the details I'll pass on to you now:

His surgery is scheduled for 8:00 Friday morning. The tumor is on the left side of his cerebellum and the doctor will go through the same scar he already has. It should last 4-6 hours, then he'll spend the night in the ICU. Then we get to hang out with some of our favorite nurses for a few days as Ryan gets back some strength. Depending on how he feels, he'll check out of the hospital about a week later, then we'll make the drive back home when he's ready.
Recovery time for Ryan should be about 4 weeks, which Gabe and I will really enjoy. It is always hard to have him go back to work after having him around every day!
My mom is flying in Wednesday to be with us for the week and Ryan's mom is driving up there with us in the morning. Gabe will have a couple of doting Grandma's to keep him busy--a blessing for all of us!
We are covered in prayer and are so thankful for all of the people supporting us and loving us. We appreciate your phone calls and cards and offers to help out. We are so blessed to have the friends and family that we have. We will keep you updated!