So it has been awhile since I've posted so I thought I would give everyone a little update on how Rylan is doing. She is doing WONDERFUL!!!!! We took her for her post-op checkup on Monday the 15th. She got the last of her stitches taken out and they said that everything looks great. They told her that in another week she could start doing some light swimming. She was super excited to hear that!!! We don't have to go back until July 13th.
The hardest part for Rylan has been the limited physical activity. No running, bike riding, jumping on the trampoline, etc. We've been trying to keep her busy with indoor activities and taking her to her friend's and cousins t-ball and baseball games. It helps, but she asks every day how many more days until she can ride her bike and jump on her trampoline. We still have 4 more weeks of limited activity so please pray for us!!!!
We also booked our vacation to the Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City for July 27-30. This will be after Rylan's 6 week checkup so she should be cleared and ready to go by then!!!! We are all so ready for a break and family vacation!!!!
Before I forget....I would like to thank everyone for all the phone calls, cards, gifts, delicious meals, and visits the past few weeks!!! We are so very blessed to have such great friends and family and we could have never got through all of it without you!!!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Praise God!!!
Today has been a very long day but so many long awaited prayers were finally answered.
We had to have Rylan here at 6:00 am this morning for her surgery. When we got here they gave her a dose of liquid medicine to help calm her. Up to that point this morning she had not shed one tear over her surgery. I think the reality hit her this morning and she was having a very rough time. Seeing her cry was the hardest thing for Scott and I. The medicine worked its magic and she was asleep before they had to wheel her back to surgery around 7:30 am. Scott and I were both with her up to that point and it was a relief to both of us to see her asleep.
The nurses called us with hourly updates throughout the surgery. The surgery itself did not begin until about 9:30. At that point she went on bypass so they could repair the defects. Everything went smoothly and they stitched her back up around 1:30 pm. They took her straight to the ICU where Scott and I were able to finally see her about 2:30. It was a little overwhelming to see her with all the tubes and wires, but at the same time such a relief to see that my baby was alive and well!!!!!
While she is in ICU she can only have 3 visitors in her room at one time. Scott and I couldn't bear to leave our baby's side again so all the family members that were here took turns coming in to see her. She slept through most of it, but would wake up occasionally to say I love you or ask for a drink of water. She was so thirsty and had very bad cotton mouth. She would wake up and ask for a "little, tiny, cup of water" or take my finger and want me to feel how dry her mouth was, but they wouldn't let her drink anything for awhile in fear it would make her sick to her stomach. We kept her somewhat satisfied for the next few hours by swabbing her mouth with a wet sponge or occasional ice chips. At about 7pm they finally let her have a few sips of tea, but it later made her sick to her stomach and she started to throw up. So after that we decided to just stick with the occassional ice chips.
Scott and I have taken turns most of the night staying up with her. She is hooked up to so many monitors so it is so hard to not jump up and run to her side everytime one of them beeps or flashes any number different than what the nurses said was normal. So far they say all her numbers and stats look great and that she is doing wonderful. We just pray that her recovery keeps going well and that we will have our baby girl back in no time.
We are so very thankful for the ALL the wonderful doctors, nurses, and staff that we have had so far. They have all been nothing but AMAZING and are giving Rylan nothing but the best care.
We are also want to say thank you to all our friends and family members that were either here with us throughout the day, stopped in to see us, or were just praying for us. It means so much to us to have all of your prayers and support. We could not have gotten through this without you.
Rylan is starting to stir and wake up so mommy duty calls. I will try to post again when she is up and better or there is anything new to report.
God Bless,
Lindey
We had to have Rylan here at 6:00 am this morning for her surgery. When we got here they gave her a dose of liquid medicine to help calm her. Up to that point this morning she had not shed one tear over her surgery. I think the reality hit her this morning and she was having a very rough time. Seeing her cry was the hardest thing for Scott and I. The medicine worked its magic and she was asleep before they had to wheel her back to surgery around 7:30 am. Scott and I were both with her up to that point and it was a relief to both of us to see her asleep.
The nurses called us with hourly updates throughout the surgery. The surgery itself did not begin until about 9:30. At that point she went on bypass so they could repair the defects. Everything went smoothly and they stitched her back up around 1:30 pm. They took her straight to the ICU where Scott and I were able to finally see her about 2:30. It was a little overwhelming to see her with all the tubes and wires, but at the same time such a relief to see that my baby was alive and well!!!!!
While she is in ICU she can only have 3 visitors in her room at one time. Scott and I couldn't bear to leave our baby's side again so all the family members that were here took turns coming in to see her. She slept through most of it, but would wake up occasionally to say I love you or ask for a drink of water. She was so thirsty and had very bad cotton mouth. She would wake up and ask for a "little, tiny, cup of water" or take my finger and want me to feel how dry her mouth was, but they wouldn't let her drink anything for awhile in fear it would make her sick to her stomach. We kept her somewhat satisfied for the next few hours by swabbing her mouth with a wet sponge or occasional ice chips. At about 7pm they finally let her have a few sips of tea, but it later made her sick to her stomach and she started to throw up. So after that we decided to just stick with the occassional ice chips.
Scott and I have taken turns most of the night staying up with her. She is hooked up to so many monitors so it is so hard to not jump up and run to her side everytime one of them beeps or flashes any number different than what the nurses said was normal. So far they say all her numbers and stats look great and that she is doing wonderful. We just pray that her recovery keeps going well and that we will have our baby girl back in no time.
We are so very thankful for the ALL the wonderful doctors, nurses, and staff that we have had so far. They have all been nothing but AMAZING and are giving Rylan nothing but the best care.
We are also want to say thank you to all our friends and family members that were either here with us throughout the day, stopped in to see us, or were just praying for us. It means so much to us to have all of your prayers and support. We could not have gotten through this without you.
Rylan is starting to stir and wake up so mommy duty calls. I will try to post again when she is up and better or there is anything new to report.
God Bless,
Lindey
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The Day Before Surgery
So the day started at about noon. My dear Rylan started the day out with an Xray which took about an hour. We then went to the doctors office and Rylan had a EKG and an Ultrasound. She was so brave and well behaved throughout all of the procedures. We then went to have the lab work done and she did not enjoy the drawing of her blood but what kid is not afraid of needles. I have some dear friends that are afraid of needles just ask Dustin about the TB tests we had to take. Anyway our day ended at about five and we then went and checked into our hotel. We then enjoyed a glorious dinner at Toby Keith's I Love this Bar. We then went back to the hotel and let Rylan swim for about an hour. We then met Lindey's family at their hotel and enjoyed some family time. All in all it has been a great day and I must commend the staff at the Children's Hospital for their generous hospitality. I would also like to say that friends and family have made this time in our life a whole lot easier with their contributions and prayers.
At six in the morning the fear that I have been carrying around for six months now will come to an end. I appreciate everything that everyone has done for my family. God Bless you all!!!!!!
At six in the morning the fear that I have been carrying around for six months now will come to an end. I appreciate everything that everyone has done for my family. God Bless you all!!!!!!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Daddy's Words
Here are a few words that Scott put on his facebook status today that I wanted to share...
"is thinking as this day comes to an end and tomorrow I start a new journey. Some have asked me how I stay so strong and I think to myself that its not in my hands, its in his...I am just my daughters protector but he is my daughters creator and he knows how to handle this better than I do..God Bless all you that pray for us..."
These touching words made me realize how lucky Rylan and I are to have such an amazing daddy and husband in our lives!!! We love you Scott!!!
"is thinking as this day comes to an end and tomorrow I start a new journey. Some have asked me how I stay so strong and I think to myself that its not in my hands, its in his...I am just my daughters protector but he is my daughters creator and he knows how to handle this better than I do..God Bless all you that pray for us..."
These touching words made me realize how lucky Rylan and I are to have such an amazing daddy and husband in our lives!!! We love you Scott!!!
Almost Time
Well...we are getting down to the wire...only two days until Rylan's surgery. She has an appointment at 12:30 tomorrow for all her lab work and pre-op stuff. They said the appointment should last three hours or so. Since we have to be back at the hospital at 6am on Thursday for her surgery we decided to go ahead and get a hotel room for tomorrow night. We told Rylan we could go do whatever she wanted tomorrow night. Her only request was to go swimming at the hotel! So we will probably do just that and go out to eat for supper. Until all of this I don't think I realized how important all those little moments together as a family really are!
We are so very thankful for all our friends and family that are helping get us through this difficult time. There is no way we could make it through without all your help, suppport, thoughts, and prayers. THANK YOU ALL!!!!
Scott or myself will try to keep posting on here as well as facebook, and myspace throughout the week to keep everyone updated.
Love,
Lindey
We are so very thankful for all our friends and family that are helping get us through this difficult time. There is no way we could make it through without all your help, suppport, thoughts, and prayers. THANK YOU ALL!!!!
Scott or myself will try to keep posting on here as well as facebook, and myspace throughout the week to keep everyone updated.
Love,
Lindey
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Surgery Week
As most of you already know, Rylan is scheduled to have her open heart surgery on Thursday, June 4th at 6 a.m. at OU Children's Hospital. We created this blog in hopes that it will be the easiest way to try to keep everyone posted on Rylan. Please continue to pray for Scott, Rylan, and myself as this is going to be a very long week for all of us. As much as we dread this week, we are just so ready to get it over with so we can put it behind us and get on with our lives!
For those of you reading this that don't know the details here is the myspace blog I wrote on January 13, 2009 that explains Rylan's condition and her need for open heart surgery.
About a month ago Rylan's doctor discovered that she had a heart murmur. For precaution he referred us to a pediatric cardiologist in Oklahoma City. Yesterday was our appointment with the pediatric cardiologist. After they did an ekg and an ultrasound they said Rylan has ASD (Sinus Venosus Type) and Partial Anomolous Pulmonary Venous Connection.
This condition will require that she have open heart surgery to repair it. Our doctor reassured us that this is one of the most common surgeries that they perform and that it has a very high success rate that this would be the one and only surgery required to fix her problem. The doctors say that it is not urgent and that she can resume all normal activities until the surgery. The doctors recommended that we schedule the surgery this summer so it will be easier on Rylan. They said she will be in the hospital for approximately 4 days and have a recovery time of 4-6 weeks.
They said that this was something Rylan was born with and that this is usually the age they catch it. It is something that has no effects on her now. It only becomes harmful at a later age if not repaired. So it is a blessing that the doctors caught it when they did.
As you can imagine, this was a great deal to take in during a two hour doctor visit! Not at all what we expected. So far Rylan is doing great. I don't think she completely knows everything that is going on, but since the surgery is so far away we aren't saying much to her now. No need for her to worry about it, I think Scott and I are doing plenty of that for all of us!!!
We are supposed to go back to see the doctor in April so they can run a few more tests and we can set a date for the surgery. So for now it is all a waiting game. Until then we are just trying to stay strong for her and constantly praying that God will help us through this.
For those of you reading this that don't know the details here is the myspace blog I wrote on January 13, 2009 that explains Rylan's condition and her need for open heart surgery.
About a month ago Rylan's doctor discovered that she had a heart murmur. For precaution he referred us to a pediatric cardiologist in Oklahoma City. Yesterday was our appointment with the pediatric cardiologist. After they did an ekg and an ultrasound they said Rylan has ASD (Sinus Venosus Type) and Partial Anomolous Pulmonary Venous Connection.
This condition will require that she have open heart surgery to repair it. Our doctor reassured us that this is one of the most common surgeries that they perform and that it has a very high success rate that this would be the one and only surgery required to fix her problem. The doctors say that it is not urgent and that she can resume all normal activities until the surgery. The doctors recommended that we schedule the surgery this summer so it will be easier on Rylan. They said she will be in the hospital for approximately 4 days and have a recovery time of 4-6 weeks.
They said that this was something Rylan was born with and that this is usually the age they catch it. It is something that has no effects on her now. It only becomes harmful at a later age if not repaired. So it is a blessing that the doctors caught it when they did.
As you can imagine, this was a great deal to take in during a two hour doctor visit! Not at all what we expected. So far Rylan is doing great. I don't think she completely knows everything that is going on, but since the surgery is so far away we aren't saying much to her now. No need for her to worry about it, I think Scott and I are doing plenty of that for all of us!!!
We are supposed to go back to see the doctor in April so they can run a few more tests and we can set a date for the surgery. So for now it is all a waiting game. Until then we are just trying to stay strong for her and constantly praying that God will help us through this.
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