Latest on Ryan. Thank you for continued prayer. Dear Prayer Warriors, Today at twelve Ryan had a Continuing Care Meeting at U of M to discuss the current situation and talk about future plans. Friends of ours, the Weerstras, took Gaylan up to Ann Arbor, it was great to have another sets of ears to advocate for Ryan. Upon arrival they were ushered into a conference room. When the door was opened there sat twenty medical personal with every specialization imaginable. That’s about triple the amount of staff that was present at the Continuing Care Meetings at Devos. A literal “wow” came out of the mouths of those walking into the room. During the meeting the medical staff said that their goal was to get Ryan off of the ventilator, which looks probable. If you have read some of our past post, have had someone in intensive care, or work in the medical profession, you know that Doctors and Nurses alike are slow to be optimistic. We are very happy with this news because if they had any hesitations the staff wouldn’t have given us the news. Currently, there is no time table set from now until the vent is off because variables that come into play during rehab between the lungs and physical strength. For all intensive purposes, they do not think that Ryan will have to go home with the vent, but the staff is preparing Gaylan and Roberta to care for Ryan on the vent in his current state. It is uncertain when weaning him off the vent will begin. The process starts an hour or two first, then bumping it up to overnight, and experimenting with having him disconnected during the day. It all depends on how Ryan’s body reacts. Ryan is waiting to be move to rehab. Basically, the only thing that is inbetween Ryan going up to rehab is, what they call, “a bed traffic jam.” In short, some patients are expected to be moved, but this hasn’t happened yet. Once upstairs, Ryan will go to the Pulmonary team which will have him for three to four days. Next PM&R (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) will take over, but Ryan will stay in the same room on the twelfth floor. Doctors and Nurses are teaching home care to us to prepare us for working with Ryan later. The medical staff said it is always much harder to step back and teach someone, rather than having taught and canceling the need or classes later. After the vent is out Ryan will have a stopper put in place to seal the trach. The doctors want to leave it in and accessible for another month in case of any needs that come up during that time. After that month, Ryan would probably be a reevaluation to discuss removing and healing of the trach and trach site. Ryan’s lungs are doing well and the STATs have remained steady so they haven’t felt the need to do x-rays. During the meeting, the staff discussed weaning Ryan off of the feeding tube. He has lost over twenty pounds since being in the hospital so it is very important to keep his weight from falling any more. The fine balance is somewhere between letting Ryan feel hungry and getting him the food when he doesn’t want or feel like eating. As noted before, Ryan’s stomach has noticeable shrunk since the pre-accident cleaning house that we know and love! Last night Roberta(Mom) and Ryan watched their first movie together in the hospital. Ryan likes movies and has taken the liberty to watch many with Gaylan and his siblings, but this was a first for Mom. The TV in Ryan’s room has a wireless keyboard to surf the internet or control the video selections or channels. Roberta handed the keyboard to Ryan and said that he should start the movie. Mom said, “He couldn’t really do finger movement, but he moved his arms to get the fingers to touch the keys with more dexterity than I thought he could.” There is definitely more movement coming back to the wrist and arms. Ryan has been saying that his hands feel like they are burning hot and have been very tender to the touch. This is rather interesting because a week ago they still felt like they were limbs that had fallen asleep. Today we had some fabulous friends, the Weerstras, that not only drove Gaylan up to Ann Arbor, but also offered to help in any way they could. We have a room in the Ronald McDonald house just a block down the road, but we are expected to do a fifteen minute chore every day when we stay there. With Roberta holding the fort down in Ann Arbor, often there is very little time actually over there, and when one of us do get over there we really need sleep, to do laundry, and a shower. Roberta said, “I slept in my clothes Sunday & Monday and was finally able to shower and change on Tuesday, and frankly didn’t have the time to get the Monday chore done." Ryan said that he wanted to spend more time with Gaylan, and the Weerstras offered to do our fifteen minute Tuesday chore! Outside of the hospital there is a beautiful trail with a river running through the trees. By taking the chore on, Mom was able to get outside for leisure only the second time since the accident. She has been going from the car to the hospital, to home, to the Ronald McDonald House, to the hospital, and all over again. It really refreshed her and brightened her day to get that walk in. So please, if you ever come up, it would be so helpful if you could take the fifteen minute chore like sweeping the floor for us. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the Nanningas, who are like a third set of grandparents to us, and conveniently live down the road a half mile. They have done everything from teaching Alyona school, bring Jason to speech therapy, hosting out of town guest, fixing around the house, being a taxi, moral support, and so much more! I don’t know if they are ever going to be able to get rid of us! But we won’t be getting rid of them any time soon! Today Ryan was watching the TV while waiting for the lift team to assist in getting him in the chair at 5:30 pm. A commercial came on for pizza and Ryan said, “That sounds so good!” Much of the time, Ryan doesn’t have an appetite. Today was no exception as Ryan hadn’t eaten anything substantial all day. Roberta capitalized on the moment and said if Ryan would eat she would order pizza and have it delivered. Ryan promptly agreed and they ordered pizza in. Ryan ate two pieces of pizza and had a full bottle of Snapple! This is huge! Praise God!!! …and food is good!!!! Today Ryan was up in the chair twice, which is a first since being at U of M. He was brought outside which is also another fabulous first for Ann Arbor! The second time in the chair, Ryan took a really long walk and ate the pizza and Snapple in the beautiful courtyard. Ryan, along with the rest of our family, really melt when our hair is played or messed with. It was a huge treat today when the Nurse asked Ryan if he wanted his hair washed. Of course he didn’t pass on that one. But even better, there is a room called the “Tub room” with a beauty salon in it. The staff took off the head rest on the wheel chair, tilted the chair back, and washed his hair under running water for the first time in six weeks! Praise Jesus! Can I hear an Amen?!
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 10:00:58 +0000
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