Sorry I'm getting this posted so late, but we just got back to Ryan's hospital room and have had a busy night. Ryan's surgery is cancelled for now. Right after the last post, we headed out for dinner, and just as we were getting back, we got the results from his CT scan. There is something going on in his lungs...they are calling it pneumonia just so they can get treatment started for him, but we'll know more tomorrow what it really is. It could just be a common cold. Once they check it out, they will tell us what the course of treating it will be and then reschedule the surgery. It could be a week, maybe even a few weeks. Hard to say at this point, but I will let you know tomorrow.
Ryan is relieved, because he has been feeling kind of crummy the last couple of days. He automatically attributes everything to VHL because that is what he deals with all the time, but they just took his vitals and he has a little bit of a fever. Hopefully he can kick this quickly! God has a plan...Please pray for health for all of us and continued peace as we wait this out.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Quick Update
We talked to the doctor a little while ago, and there are a couple of possible scenarios at this point.
The first is that based on a little bit of haze on his chest x-ray, he might be fighting a cold or infection. They are calling some technicians in right now to do a CT scan of his chest, and if it looks like congestion, then they will cancel the surgery, put him on some antibiotics and get him totally healthy before doing the surgery next week sometime. If they were to do the surgery with this going on in his chest, then he would almost definitely end up with pneumonia and a lot of other possible problems coming up. We'll find out the results of that tonight sometime.
If all is well and they approve him for the surgery, then 8 am is when they will start. The MRI showed the cysts around both tumors growing, which means that they will attempt to remove both of them. The problem there is that they are both in very difficult places. The one on the cerebellum is very close to the brain stem and very deep in the brain. The one in his brain stem is--well--it's in his brain stem. Not a good place for a tumor. It is also deep in there and most likely very difficult to reach, with a lot of very vital nerves and arteries in the equation.
The plan for the morning is to remove the tumor on the cerebellum first. If that goes quickly and easily, then they will check out the other one and see about removing it. The odds are not very good for getting both of them out tomorrow, because they would not want him in surgery for too long, in which case they would drain the cyst from around the second tumor and close him up to try again in a few months.
Wow--I hope that makes sense to everyone...Feel free to ask questions and definitely feel free to call. We might not have a signal or be in a position to answer, but we do appreciate the phone calls, thoughts, and definitely all of the prayers being said. We serve a very big God and we are trusting Him completely in this situation. Ryan is doing well and besides being tired, is ready for whatever path God takes him on. To Him be the glory!
I'll let you know about the CT scan when we get the results...He just got back from it, so it might even be in the next few minutes.
The first is that based on a little bit of haze on his chest x-ray, he might be fighting a cold or infection. They are calling some technicians in right now to do a CT scan of his chest, and if it looks like congestion, then they will cancel the surgery, put him on some antibiotics and get him totally healthy before doing the surgery next week sometime. If they were to do the surgery with this going on in his chest, then he would almost definitely end up with pneumonia and a lot of other possible problems coming up. We'll find out the results of that tonight sometime.
If all is well and they approve him for the surgery, then 8 am is when they will start. The MRI showed the cysts around both tumors growing, which means that they will attempt to remove both of them. The problem there is that they are both in very difficult places. The one on the cerebellum is very close to the brain stem and very deep in the brain. The one in his brain stem is--well--it's in his brain stem. Not a good place for a tumor. It is also deep in there and most likely very difficult to reach, with a lot of very vital nerves and arteries in the equation.
The plan for the morning is to remove the tumor on the cerebellum first. If that goes quickly and easily, then they will check out the other one and see about removing it. The odds are not very good for getting both of them out tomorrow, because they would not want him in surgery for too long, in which case they would drain the cyst from around the second tumor and close him up to try again in a few months.
Wow--I hope that makes sense to everyone...Feel free to ask questions and definitely feel free to call. We might not have a signal or be in a position to answer, but we do appreciate the phone calls, thoughts, and definitely all of the prayers being said. We serve a very big God and we are trusting Him completely in this situation. Ryan is doing well and besides being tired, is ready for whatever path God takes him on. To Him be the glory!
I'll let you know about the CT scan when we get the results...He just got back from it, so it might even be in the next few minutes.
We are here...
Well, we are here in Maryland! The drive seemed to take forever yesterday, but we got to Bethesda last night around 8 and got all checked in and unpacked. It took Gabe awhile to settle down after being in the car so long, but he finally fell asleep and we got to bed early, too.
Ryan had all of his pre-op stuff this morning, which includes blood work, MRI, chest x-ray, EKG and a consultation with the wonderful lady down at the pre-anaesthesia clinic. (I avoid that appointment at all costs, because 'wonderful' really doesn't describe her...)
We should have the results of the MRI sometime this evening, hopefully sooner rather than later. After we talk to the doctor tonight, we'll get Ryan a pass and head out to dinner with the family at the Rock Bottom Brewery, where we'll let Ryan order the biggest steak on the menu and enjoy a chocolate shake or two...
I'll post more tonight, after we get the results of the MRI and know which surgery we are in for. Please continue praying and trusting God for us and with us!
Ryan had all of his pre-op stuff this morning, which includes blood work, MRI, chest x-ray, EKG and a consultation with the wonderful lady down at the pre-anaesthesia clinic. (I avoid that appointment at all costs, because 'wonderful' really doesn't describe her...)
We should have the results of the MRI sometime this evening, hopefully sooner rather than later. After we talk to the doctor tonight, we'll get Ryan a pass and head out to dinner with the family at the Rock Bottom Brewery, where we'll let Ryan order the biggest steak on the menu and enjoy a chocolate shake or two...
I'll post more tonight, after we get the results of the MRI and know which surgery we are in for. Please continue praying and trusting God for us and with us!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Catch Up Time...
These last few weeks have flown by! We've just been enjoying our summer. We've gotten to see lots of people and do some hanging out, as well. We made a trip down to SC, which was a lot of fun. Some friends from Northern VA came down last weekend, so that gave us lots of excuses to get out on the lake and even jump off the cliffs again. I'm going to try to upload a video of us jumping, but if that doesn't happen, just know that it was pretty cool!
I should have posted it last week, but there were a couple of big birthdays to celebrate--My sister, Erin, turned 30 on the 23rd and my friend, Lacey, turned 35 the same day! Lacey's daughter, London, also turned 5 on the 22nd. Happy birthday to you gals and also to Ryan's Grandpa Herman on the 29th. We have not been good at keeping up with everyone lately, but know that we are thinking of you!
I've kind of felt like we are in a little bubble lately. Life is coming at us quickly, and we are just enjoying feeling normal for a couple more weeks. We don't think about the surgery constantly, but it is looming and we are not looking forward to it. Well...I guess I'm not, but Ryan is looking forward to feeling better, which is the ultimate outcome of all of this.
Well, I'm going to go help out with Gabe's bath...He is doing very well, by the way. On his way to being potty trained and learning more and more all the time. His questions and new insights amaze me and it is fun to see what he is taking in around him. He sings his ABC's on demand and loves to dance with us in the kitchen. He's got some moves that he hasn't learned from me! Or maybe I'm a better dancer than I think...:)
Oh yeah...We got a few a couple of short days with my brother, Mike. He came up from NC Monday night and I took him back yesterday afternoon. I am so glad that we are close by. He sure misses family and I know he likes a good dose of Gabe. He's very excited to be going to Colorado over Labor Day, which will be the first time he's been back since December.
OK, I think that gets us up to speed for the most part. Again...I'll try to be better at this! And I'll post some more pictures, too.
Later!
I should have posted it last week, but there were a couple of big birthdays to celebrate--My sister, Erin, turned 30 on the 23rd and my friend, Lacey, turned 35 the same day! Lacey's daughter, London, also turned 5 on the 22nd. Happy birthday to you gals and also to Ryan's Grandpa Herman on the 29th. We have not been good at keeping up with everyone lately, but know that we are thinking of you!
I've kind of felt like we are in a little bubble lately. Life is coming at us quickly, and we are just enjoying feeling normal for a couple more weeks. We don't think about the surgery constantly, but it is looming and we are not looking forward to it. Well...I guess I'm not, but Ryan is looking forward to feeling better, which is the ultimate outcome of all of this.
Well, I'm going to go help out with Gabe's bath...He is doing very well, by the way. On his way to being potty trained and learning more and more all the time. His questions and new insights amaze me and it is fun to see what he is taking in around him. He sings his ABC's on demand and loves to dance with us in the kitchen. He's got some moves that he hasn't learned from me! Or maybe I'm a better dancer than I think...:)
Oh yeah...We got a few a couple of short days with my brother, Mike. He came up from NC Monday night and I took him back yesterday afternoon. I am so glad that we are close by. He sure misses family and I know he likes a good dose of Gabe. He's very excited to be going to Colorado over Labor Day, which will be the first time he's been back since December.
OK, I think that gets us up to speed for the most part. Again...I'll try to be better at this! And I'll post some more pictures, too.
Later!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Surgery is Scheduled...
I'm still in the middle of a nice long post, but until I have a few solid minutes to finish it, I'll just let everyone know that Ryan is scheduled for surgery on August 13th. They will do an MRI the day before to try one last time to pinpoint which tumor it is, so we will not know until then whether it is the brain stem or the cerebellum. Kind of difficult to be up in the air like this, but I guess it means there is still a chance that we can avoid the brain stem at this point. Ok...that is it for now, but hopefully there will be a more fun post very soon.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
I Promised...
Time is flying by and July 4th was already almost a week ago, but it was a great one, so I don't want to let it pass by without at least filling you in on it. As busy as life is, it is hard to keep up with little things that seem unimportant now, but will be cherished later. Who knows what the future holds technologically and if this blog will be around to check out 20 years from now so I can remember all of the fun things we have done (and the hard things we have gone through), but for now, it is a fun way to document our lives and share at least a small piece of them with our friends and family who care about us. With another surgery on the calendar (I filled you in in the last post...), I'm considering making a separate blog for random thoughts and daily life, and keeping one for surgery updates and prayer needs. Who knows if I could actually keep up two, though...I'm not very good at one! I'll let you know if it happens (and would anyone want to read it?).
Anyway, back to the 4th! We had a great week. It actually started last week with a phone call at 11:30 Friday night from my brother Tim, who was in Nebraska with my family. Turns out he had some friends who would be road-tripping out to VA the next morning and he could tag along with them and hang out with us. We had nothing better to do, so said come on out! He got in last Sunday, then it got even better when I drove down to the airport to pick up Mike's new girlfriend from Tennessee. None of our family had met her yet besides Tim, so it was good to finally put a face to the girl that has captivated my little brother.
Mike was driving from NC as fast as he could to get to her (and I'm sure he couldn't wait to see us, either...) He got in as we were finishing dinner Thursday evening, and then we all packed up to leave for our town's big fireworks show at the high school. A fun time was had by all...It wasn't too hot out, there were lots of friends to catch up with, and the Homestead Creamery ice cream truck was out. Gabe really didn't care for the fireworks, but he still enjoyed seeing his buds, especially London, Mosely and Bergen.
Friday morning was very special, too. The Keigley's, who moved to SC a few months ago, came over for breakfast. Gabe had a blast with his buddies and all the kids enjoyed our new toy room. After Gabe's nap Friday afternoon, we all trekked out to the lake to see everyone there. Noah and his girlfriend Rachel came down and some family friend's of the Lester's were also there. Tim and I had jumped off of the infamous cliffs on the lake earlier in the week, so everyone else wanted to head out there, too. The lake was packed and the cliffs were full of jumping kids, so we jumped right in for a nice adrenaline rush! Tim, Mike, Abby, Jon and I jumped a few times, and if it wasn't so crowded out there, we might have kept going.
Saturday was filled with some tubing down the Pigg River, lots of fireworks, lots of food, and lots of friends. A major event was Mike giving Abby a promise ring!
We had such a great time with everyone. Ryan wasn't feeling great all weekend, so that put a damper on things, but just to be with people we love is a great thing. We are sure blessed with some wonderful family and friends.
So...I finally finished this! And now it is so far in the past...no one probably cares to read it. Oh well. I can check it off of my own personal list and that makes me happy.
Gabe and I are heading out in the morning for SC to hang out with the Keigley's this week. Ryan will come and meet us later this week. I need to get packed up now...
Anyway, back to the 4th! We had a great week. It actually started last week with a phone call at 11:30 Friday night from my brother Tim, who was in Nebraska with my family. Turns out he had some friends who would be road-tripping out to VA the next morning and he could tag along with them and hang out with us. We had nothing better to do, so said come on out! He got in last Sunday, then it got even better when I drove down to the airport to pick up Mike's new girlfriend from Tennessee. None of our family had met her yet besides Tim, so it was good to finally put a face to the girl that has captivated my little brother.
Mike was driving from NC as fast as he could to get to her (and I'm sure he couldn't wait to see us, either...) He got in as we were finishing dinner Thursday evening, and then we all packed up to leave for our town's big fireworks show at the high school. A fun time was had by all...It wasn't too hot out, there were lots of friends to catch up with, and the Homestead Creamery ice cream truck was out. Gabe really didn't care for the fireworks, but he still enjoyed seeing his buds, especially London, Mosely and Bergen.
Friday morning was very special, too. The Keigley's, who moved to SC a few months ago, came over for breakfast. Gabe had a blast with his buddies and all the kids enjoyed our new toy room. After Gabe's nap Friday afternoon, we all trekked out to the lake to see everyone there. Noah and his girlfriend Rachel came down and some family friend's of the Lester's were also there. Tim and I had jumped off of the infamous cliffs on the lake earlier in the week, so everyone else wanted to head out there, too. The lake was packed and the cliffs were full of jumping kids, so we jumped right in for a nice adrenaline rush! Tim, Mike, Abby, Jon and I jumped a few times, and if it wasn't so crowded out there, we might have kept going.
Saturday was filled with some tubing down the Pigg River, lots of fireworks, lots of food, and lots of friends. A major event was Mike giving Abby a promise ring!
We had such a great time with everyone. Ryan wasn't feeling great all weekend, so that put a damper on things, but just to be with people we love is a great thing. We are sure blessed with some wonderful family and friends.
So...I finally finished this! And now it is so far in the past...no one probably cares to read it. Oh well. I can check it off of my own personal list and that makes me happy.
Gabe and I are heading out in the morning for SC to hang out with the Keigley's this week. Ryan will come and meet us later this week. I need to get packed up now...
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Happy 4th of July!!
Wow, I do realize that it has been way too long since my last update. I am not sure how many people I may have left hanging...If you've been checking for news on Ryan, sorry about the delay! I'll give you a quick update on him, and then fill you in the what we've been up to the last couple of weeks.
Ryan called the doctor last week to fill him in on his symptoms and see if there was any plan of action we needed to take. Since his headaches and nausea had not really gotten any worse, and there has been nothing concrete to nail down which tumor we are dealing with, the doctor told Ryan to give it a few more weeks and see if anything else changed. That is OK news for us, because we really just don't want to have another surgery on the books right now. Even though it is looking pretty sure that he will need to get these tumors removed, it is nice to have some more time before going through it all again. This last weekend has been very busy and he's feeling pretty worn out, so hopefully we can take it easy the next few days and get back to feeling more normal. We still appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers.
Well, we have some friends leaving right now, so I will just make this two separate posts and fill you in on our July 4th weekend later on. I have lots of pictures to add and fun things Gabe has done to document, so I promise I will write more soon!
Ryan called the doctor last week to fill him in on his symptoms and see if there was any plan of action we needed to take. Since his headaches and nausea had not really gotten any worse, and there has been nothing concrete to nail down which tumor we are dealing with, the doctor told Ryan to give it a few more weeks and see if anything else changed. That is OK news for us, because we really just don't want to have another surgery on the books right now. Even though it is looking pretty sure that he will need to get these tumors removed, it is nice to have some more time before going through it all again. This last weekend has been very busy and he's feeling pretty worn out, so hopefully we can take it easy the next few days and get back to feeling more normal. We still appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers.
Well, we have some friends leaving right now, so I will just make this two separate posts and fill you in on our July 4th weekend later on. I have lots of pictures to add and fun things Gabe has done to document, so I promise I will write more soon!
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