Happy 75th Birthday, Grandma Barb!

What a strange sort of limbo we are in! Part of me is just enjoying a couple of weeks without thinking of surgeries and catheters and the ICU and recovery and staples, while the other part is dreading it all and wishing it was over and we were a couple of weeks past the whole thing.
The human side of me would love to know what God's purpose in this is right now--why pneumonia the day before surgery? why so many surgeries in a row? why does Gabe have VHL? why are these two tumors that we're dealing with now in such bad places to operate on? So many questions...So many things we'll never know the answers to this side of heaven. Although I'd love to keep asking why and I know many of you ask why for us, I am confident that God does have a plan in it all. His timing is perfect and all of this is for His glory.

Whew! On a lighter note...We are having a great Labor Day weekend. George, Tori, Ryan, Gabe and I headed up to Front Royal, VA to celebrate Ryan's grandma's 75th birthday. Noah and his girlfriend Rachel met us there and we fixed a birthday brunch for Great Grandma Barb Saturday morning. Gabe got to see the animals on the farm (he likes them all better from far away...) and he loved driving the golf cart with Daddy.
We girls split up from the guys on the way home and we shopped while they checked out motorcycles on the drive down. Great fun was had by all. (and I've found a kindred spirit in Rachel...we both really love shoes :)
Rachel and I did an hour-and-half long yoga workout last night after we got home--and she bought a new pair of running shoes yesterday, so she might join me for a run in the morning. Lindsey, my friend-turned-running-partner, did a half-marathon in Virginia Beach this morning, so I won't have her to push me in the morning...which reminds me--anyone who needs something to do this Saturday morning, you can come cheer me on at my first 5-mile race! I'm really looking forward to it, and am glad to have something happy to think about and work towards in the midst of everything else.
Well, that is all for tonight. Noah has set up a huge blow-up movie screen in the front yard and we are going to watch Transformers outside tonight. Anyone driving by is welcome to join in...

Goodbye Pneumonia!

Sorry we've gone for awhile without any updates...My mom flew back to CO on Tuesday and we've been pretty busy since then. Ryan's had lots of appointments at work and is trying to get better at the same time. He flew up to Maryland last night for his check up and had the xray this morning.

The news is that Ryan's chest is clear of pneumonia. He still has a bit of a cold, so the doctor wants to give him a couple of weeks to get completely better, then they'll do surgery on September 8. He'll be hanging out with his brother Noah in Northern VA until Sunday, so pray for safe travel for him driving back down alone. He's doing well, finally feeling a lot better, and Gabe and I are just having fun at the lake this weekend. I'll post some more pictures soon...

The Skinny

Hello to all of our blog followers! We are back home as of a couple of hours ago, and I am very ready to make it an early night. Hard to say if I somehow have pneumonia, too, but I do feel like I am getting something. Maybe I am just super-tired from all of this!
Anyway--they sent us home with a week's worth of antibiotics, they'll see Ryan back for another chest CT next Friday, and maybe we'll get a concrete day for surgery sometime before then, but we just don't know. At this point, there is a small chance for surgery the week after next, but our nurse just wasn't sure. We'll float along in limbo for a bit...

How Does One Acquire Pneuomonia?

Go figure! Ryan has pneumonia. Crazy. We just talked to a really funny Spanish doctor from the 'Infectous Disease' department who gave us a crash course in the different types of it, symptoms, where it can come from (birds, for one), and what we'll do for it. We'll get the final word from his surgeon, but it looks like they'll give him 7 days of antibiotics, reevaluate him again next week, and go from there. We're trying to figure out right now whether to stay here again tonight, head to Noah's for any amount of time, or just head on down to Rocky Mount. My mom is here until Tuesday and hasn't been to our house for awhile, so we might just head down there and relax for a bit until next week. Guess we'll let you know when we know!

Delayed...

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.

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.

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!