April 30, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,

          I posted Ryan's schedule a few minutes ago and it's amazing how busy he is!  It's a far cry from even six weeks ago when he was still so sick.  Over the past week, we've had a chance to look at the journal we kept for Ryan during the beginning of his time at Craig.  The doctors and therapists kept telling us how well he would do once he felt stable enough to begin his rehabilitation.  I can still remember the first few times the physical therapist tried to sit Ryan up in bed at Littleton Hospital . . . it was so painful to watch.  Now he is wheeling around in his manual chair, learning to drive, doing "para" style transfers without a slide board, feeding himself, dressing himself with a little help, showering, etc.  We are so grateful for the progress he is making and his independent spirit.  He is such a remarkable young man!  (I think its okay for Moms to say that!)

          Today was Stake Conference with our first televised session from Salt Lake.  Elder Oaks, L. Tom Perry and President Monson were the speakers and the broadcast was for all of the stakes in Colorado, Montana and Wyoming.  Their messages were inspiring.  Ryan spoke in the 9:00am Youth Session and really enjoyed preparing for his topic, "What I Am Grateful For."  He narrowed it down to 'Being Grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ' and more specifically his feelings about the gifts of Agency, the Atonement and Resurrection.

          Following are a couple of the quotes Ryan used for during his talk.

 

 Sacrifice is never convenient.

In fact, the truer measure of sacrifice

isn't so much what one gives to

sacrifice as what one sacrifices to give.

 Faith isn't tested so much when the

 cupboard is full as when it is bare.

 In these defining moments,

the crisis doesn't create one's

character it reveals it.

The crisis is the test.

Elder Lynn G. Robbins of the Seventy

May 2005, Ensign

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1916

But to every mind there openeth,
A way, and way, and away,
A high soul climbs the highway,
And the low soul gropes the low,
And in between on the misty flats,
The rest drift to and fro.

But to every man there openeth,
A high way and a low,
And every mind decideth,
The way his soul shall go.

One ship sails East,
And another West,
By the self-same winds that blow,
'Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales,
That tells the way we go.

Like the winds of the sea
Are the waves of time,
As we journey along through life,
'Tis the set of the soul,
That determines the goal,
And not the calm or the strife.

 
We hope you all have a great week.

 
Love, Bridgette, Barry, Ryan and Kaitlyn

Ryan's Schedule - Week of May 1st

Ryan schedule for the week of May 1, 2006

Probably the best time to visit is after 4:00 in the afternoon unless you drop by during lunch.

Monday

9 to 10 – Occupational Therapy

10 to 11 – FES Bkie

11 to 12 – Physical Therapy

1:40 to 2:30 – Eye exam with Spivak

Hand cycle sometime during the day!

 

Tuesday

9:30 to 10 – Standing Frame

10 to 11 – Occupational Therapy

11 to 12 – Functional Skills

1 to 2:30 – Adaptive Transportation

2:30 to 3 – Wheelers

3 to 4 – Physical Therapy

 

Wednesday

8 to 9 – Occupational Therapy

9 to 10 – Physical Therapy

10 to 11 – FES Bike

11 to 12 – Functional Skills

1:00 to 2:30 – Adaptive Transportation

3 to 4 – Fit Class

 

Thursday

9 to 9:45 – Therapy Pool

11 to 12:00 – Functional Skills

1:15 to 2:00 – Family Conference

2:00 to 3:00 Hand Cycle

3:00 to 5:00 – Occupational and Physical Therapy

 

Friday

9 to 10 – Occupational Therapy

10 to 11 – FES Bike

11 to 12 – Functional Skills

1 to 1:30 – Standing Frame

2 to 3 – Physical Therapy

3 to 4 – Fit Class

April 27, 2006

Thursday, April 27, 2006

 

Dear Family and Friends,

            It's been an exciting week at Craig.  Ryan is participating in lots of activities and continuing to learn from his therapists and trial and error. An example of "trial and error" follows:  A few minutes ago Ryan was transferring himself from his chair to his bed without a slide board when he started to slide down the side of the bed.  I tried to hold him and lift him back up on the bed but I wasn't strong enough.  We both started to laugh and he ended up with a very soft landing on the floor.  I'm not as strong as I would like to be!  There were five or six techs and nurses who came in to give their opinion and offer help.  He is safely back in bed now and having a little rest.  I'm so happy we can laugh about these things!

            Ryan drove the Craig "drivers training" van twice this week.  Whitney, Aunt Deb and cousin Mercy were here to see him drive off on Wednesday.  He continues to use the FES bike a couple of times a week and go to "fit class."  Today he rode the hand cycle for about an hour, went to aqua therapy for 45 minutes, and to fit class for an hour.  No wonder he needs a little rest tonight!

            We also went to Ryan's eye doctor today to check his prescription.  The good news is that his eyes haven't changed in the last two weeks.  We have an appointment on Monday for an evaluation with the surgeon who will perform Ryan's Lasik surgery.  If all goes well, he could have surgery a week from now.  It's very exciting to think he could see without glasses or contacts!

            Barry and I had another productive meeting today with the attorney for the insurance company.  We are making progress on where we will go after we leave Craig, hopefully to another rehabilitation program in Utah where Ryan can also take classes at BYU.  We've also narrowed down the selection of a van for Ryan and are working with an architect on plans for Ryan's addition to our home. 

We feel blessed that Ryan is feeling so much better and continuing to grow stronger every day.

Aunt Julie and Uncle Jim sent a book soon after Ryan's accident called "Wisdom of the Prophets - Prayer."  Following are a couple of selections we wanted to share with you.

"Answers to prayer come most often by a still voice and are discerned by our deepest, innermost feelings.  I tell you that you can know the will of God concerning yourselves if you will take the time to pray and to listen."  --Ezra Raft Benson

"We might ask 'amiss' in terms of removing a challenge before us, when what we need is help in order to cope with that challenge.  There are ever so many ways in which we must come to be guided even in the content of our prayers.  It is not enough to kneel, important as that is, or to have faith, as essential as that is.  We must come to bend our will to the will of God, so that in our prayers we really commune with him and ask for those things which are right."  --Neal A. Maxwell

"Access to our Creator through our Savior is surely one of the great privileges and blessings of our lives. . . .  there is no limit on the number of times or how long we can pray each day.  There is no quota of how many needs we wish to pray for in each prayer.  He is reachable at any time and any place."  --James E. Faust

Thank you for the blessing you are in our lives.

Bridgette, Barry, Ryan and Kaitlyn

 

           

              

The gardens outside Craig Hospital. 

Ryan and Heather at "fit class." 

Ryan at pool therapy. 

Ryan ready to ride! 

Claire and Ryan off to ride their hand cycles. 

April 19 - 22

April 19, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,

          We woke up this morning to an email from Jared (Ryan's cousin) and Dani with pictures of their twins, Jacob Scott and Claire Alexa.  They were born on Grampa Warren's birthday and are absolutely beautiful!  At our family reunion in July we will have six babies less than seven months! 

          I spent the night at Craig last night for the first time in a couple of weeks.  There is always a steady influx of new patients and their families.  We miss seeing Sara and Penny and others who have become our friends.  Ryan's good friend, John, left on Tuesday.  We are planning a "field trip" to see John in Fort Collins soon.  Ryan's next-door neighbor, Ben, leaves on Friday.

          Yesterday afternoon, there was a guest speaker named Ron Heagy who spoke at Craig.  Ron has been a quad since he was 19 and is 44 now.  He delivered an inspirational message and showed beautiful pictures he has painted with a brush held in his teeth.  He is married with a darling, little 15 month old daughter.  An interesting side note is that Ryan heard Ron speak when he was in middle school. 

          Ryan has been exercising on the FES (Functional Electrical Stimulation) bike this week.  Ryan drives his manual chair up to the bike that looks like the fly wheel on a stationary bike and then his legs are hooked up to electrical stimulation that make his muscles contract and move the fly wheel.

          Ryan has enjoyed his driving classes and has actually driven using hand controls for the brakes and gas.  Except for the brake and gas controls, the other instrumentation on the van is the same.  The floor of the van is dropped about 11 inches to allow for better clearance getting his wheelchair in and out of the van.  Today we are continuing to evaluate vans and are hopeful Ryan can use a mini-van versus a full-size van.

          Ryan just returned from a forty minute hand-cycle bike ride with the therapeutic rec department.  A hand cycle has a large wheel in front and two large wheels in the back.  I haven't seen him that energized since his accident.  He said it was a blast!

          Today Ryan went swimming, biking, and rode the FES bike!  Quite an accomplishment for one day!

 

Saturday, April 22, 2006

          We are trying to tie up a lot of loose ends.  Ryan leaves Craig in less than five weeks.  We have met with architects and builders on our home addition which will probably take four to six months.  We've also looked at different van options for Ryan.  We are exploring options for rehabilitation programs in South Jordan and Provo, Utah.  We are meeting again next week with the attorney for the insurance company to see where they stand on these next steps.  Wish us luck!

          It's suppose to be 80 degrees today and Ryan is outside in the gardens at Craig working on his talk for next Sunday.  On Monday, the forecast is for snow and in the 40's.  No wonder we all love this time of year!

Love to all,

Bridgette, Barry, Ryan and Kate      

 

April 15, 2006

April 15, 2006

Happy Saturday Afternoon,

Happy Easter! It's looking a lot like spring in Denver.  Yesterday, after my classes, Mom, Whitney and family picked me up at Craig and we headed to the Denver Zoo.  It was 85 degrees and beautiful . . . so glad I got my buzz haircut last week!  I was able to push my chair the entire time I was there, up and down hills and rough terrain.  It felt awesome!  Izzy and Cal took turns climbing up on my lap for rides.  Whitney didn't bring their stroller so I was their transportation.

I'm also working in fit class on Tuesdays and Thursdays with a group of guys that are a lot of fun.  They are all para's but me.  Two of my best friends here leave next week.  John leaves on Tuesday and Ben leaves on Friday.  John will be living with his dad in Fort Collins and Ben is moving back to Austin, Texas.  I'm really going to miss them . . .  after awhile other patients become like family here.

Last Thursday, I had a follow up appointment with Dr. Brennar, my eye doctor.  Both of my eyes had improved a little while I wasn't wearing my contacts during the last couple of weeks so I need to wait another two weeks to have two consistent check-ups before I can be move forward with my Lasik surgery.  I was disappointed but I want to make sure my eyes are stable before surgery.

For the past couple of days, I've been out of my tubby-grips that I wear on my calves and thighs to help with blood pressure.  I have felt more light-headed again and my blood pressure gets pretty low.  I think in time everything will even out.

On Tuesday night, the Young Men from the Dove Valley Ward came to visit.  Thanks Brother O'Niones and Brother Hicks for coordinating the visit!  Last Sunday, Aunt Kalle's family came to see me and brought a great candy bar poster.  They are always lots of fun.  My cousin, Mercy, and her two children came for lunch last week with Whitney's family.  I sure love all the "little" people who come to see me.

I've been making phone calls to all of the members of my Elder's Quorum over the past few weeks.  The Elders and Priests, together with the full-time missionaries, are handing out invitations for Easter Sunday services and the Finding Faith in Christ DVD.  They will be giving out over 22 DVDs and invitations.

            In a couple of weeks, I'm speaking during the Youth Session of Stake Conference on "Agency."  I've enjoyed preparing and reading for my talk.

I'm excited to start driving.  I have two, two-hour driving classes next week which I am very excited for.  I'm also going to be training on the new FES bike.  It looks kind of like a stationary bike and I'll have electrodes hooked up to my legs to stimulate my muscles.  I'm really looking forward to trying out the bike.  I also have one pool therapy class next week.  This week in the pool I worked on my backstroke.  It's great to be in the water!

I want to wish you all a Happy Easter.  It's so great to be able to go to Church and partake of the Sacrament and listen to the lessons in Sunday School and Elder's Quorum.  I'm so fortunate to live close to Craig and be able to go to Church and be with my family on the weekends and have so many visitors.

On the door of my next-door-neighbor, Cody, was the following story, I would like to share:

Last April on a Sunday we took one of our "nowhere" drives, my husband was quietly driving a back road.  I was occupied in the front passenger seat watching the scenery.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye that my husband was straining to look out my window.  This startled me, since his eyes should be on the road in front of him.  I asked him what he was looking at out the windows, and he quietly replied, "Nothing."  His eyes went back to the road in front of him.

After a few minutes, I looked over at my husband and noticed a tear running down his cheek.  I asked him what was wrong.  This time he told me, "I was just thinking about Pop and a story he had once told me."  Of course, because it had to do with his Pop I wanted to know the story, so I asked him to share it with me.

He said, "When I was about 8 years old, Pop and I were out fishing and that's when he told me that the Pine trees know when it is Easter."

I had no idea what he meant by that, so I pressed him for more information.

He continued on . . . "The Pine trees start their new growth in the weeks before Easter – if you look at the tops of the Pine trees two weeks before, you will see the yellow shoots.  As the days get closer to Easter Sunday, the tallest shoot will branch off and form a cross.  By the time Easter Sunday comes around, you will see that most of the Pine trees will have small yellow crosses on all of the tallest shoots."

I turned to look out the window and I couldn't believe my eyes.  It was a week before Easter, and you could see all of the trees with the tall yellow shoots stretching to Heaven.

The tallest ones shone in the sunlight like rows of tiny golden crosses.

 I love you all,

 Ryan

 

April 11, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,

I wanted to take a few minutes tonight and catch up on the blog. The days go by so quickly here that I don't write as often as I would like to.

Since writing last week, I've been practicing what I've learned at Craig in the outside world. On Friday, Craig had a field trip to Colorado Mills Mall. I spent the day with Heather, my PT, and my buddy and next door neighbor, Ben. We had a great day terrorizing Heather with our wheel chair antics. I also had one of my favorites, Panda Express, and bought some new shorts.

On Saturday, Mom picked me up and we went to the Parker Rec Center to watch our eight year old next door neighbor, Cole, play baseball and to watch Callum play soccer. It was a beautiful day, over 70 degrees. We then met for lunch at Costa Vida and I got a buzzed haircut. It's pretty short! Kaitlyn and I went to Park Meadows Mall with Mom. I like the mall because it's easy to navigate. I also spent time at Whitney and Justin's house while they worked in the yard putting in a drainage system. I love to be with their little and very busy family!

On Sunday, I was able to stay all three hours at church. I've been making phone calls to the families in our ward to let them know we have "Finding Faith in Christ" DVD's and invitations for them to invite their friends and neighbors to church on Easter Sunday.

Amanda ordered my power chair today, a Quickie S646SE. I have tried out four or five different chairs but have decided on my first chair, the Quickie. We are continuing to evaluate manual chairs and seat cushions.

Today I also went to "fit" class where we do a lot of strengthening exercises. Craig is starting a new fit class for quads whose injuries are from C4 to C8 that I'm excited to participate in.

Sue, one of driver's training instructors, worked with me today to check my range of motion for my arms and strength in my arms and hands. She feels like I have enough strength to operate the hand devices for the brakes and gas. I sat in the driver's seat of a Dodge Caravan to get the feel for driving with the hand controls. I'll continue to take driver's training classes until I leave Craig.

Over the past couple of weeks, a missionary from our stake has been spending time with me. His name is Chad King and he had only been on his mission to California for a few weeks when he re-injured his shoulder and arm giving a woman who fell off a wall CPR. He will be in Denver until he is rehabilitated and can return to his mission. I've enjoyed having him come to Craig.

In the last blog, Mom talked about an exercise induced therapy program we are looking at in Salt Lake City. You can look at it on the web at www.neuroworx.org There is also another blogsite written by a patient who has been to Sit Tall, Stand Tall and Neuroworx. You can access it at www.kevinjmullin.com. Kevin's site is very informative and Dad had a good phone call with Kevin earlier today.

Last week, I went to see the surgeon who did my surgery immediately following my accident. He looked at the x-rays and felt like the stabilization surgery fusing C5, C6 and C7 was successful. There is some concern because there is more movement above C5 that could eventually cause me arm pain and require additional surgery. I'm scheduled to see Dr. Markey for a follow-up visit the day before I'm supposed to leave Craig.

Susan Zmolek emailed the following a couple of weeks ago. Thank you Susie!

Marty couldn't stop talking about Ryan's excellent talk in Church today. I missed it, and I could kick myself! Have a great week!

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

-- "Try to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free-wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself."

both from -The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis

My love to all of you, Ryan

April 6, 2006

April 6, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,

          We had Ryan's family conference on Wednesday with Dr. Balazy, nursing, occupational and physical therapy, and family counselor and wanted to give you an update.  Everyone is really pleased with Ryan's progress and the fact that he hasn't been sick for the last couple of weeks.  Ryan is able to decrease some of his medications.  In therapy, he still has lots to learn about using his wheelchairs outside of Craig as well as continuing to make choices concerning his manual and power chairs.  Ryan will also continue to try to develop the muscles in his fingers through various therapies.  His therapists also have a lot to teach him as far as caring for himself.  Since removing his PICC line on Tuesday, Ryan will also be eligible for water therapy.

          Ryan's discharge date from Craig has been extended to May 25^th.  We don't have definite plans for what comes next but are exploring a couple of options in Utah for out-patient exercise induced therapy.  Barry found a new facility called Neuroworkx in South Jordan, Utah, which was started by an OBGYN about four years ago following a spinal cord injury he incurred while jumping on a trampoline.  It looks like a great option for Ryan.  We will probably visit Sit Tall, Stand Tall in Provo and Neuroworkx when Ryan is released from Craig to see if he wants to continue rehab there. There is a possibility that Ryan could also take a class or two from BYU.

          Unfortunately, we haven't started the addition on our home so we can't bring Ryan to our house until he has a bedroom and bathroom on the main level which could be four to six months from now.  We are trying to work with the insurance company but it has been a slow process.  Uncle Keith has put Barry in contact with people from his company who have given us some direction concerning worker's compensation which has been helpful.  For now, we will need to be in a hotel that has a roll-in shower or an apartment that can accommodate quads.  We all look forward to all be under the same roof again.

          Today, we meet with Dr. Markey, Ryan's surgeon, to determine if he has healed properly and can stop wearing his neck collar.  We look forward to his appointment and feel like it will go well.

          Our thought today comes from Matthew 11:28-30 and was written on Ryan's scripture quilt by Leslie Orr.  Thank you, Leslie!

            28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

        29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

        30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

We hope all is well in you world.  We love and appreciate you.

                             Sincerely, Bridgette, Barry, Ryan and Kaitlyn

           

                 

April 4, 2006

April 4, 2006

 Greetings from Craig Hospital!  We apologize for not writing more frequently.  Now that Ryan is able to be out and about without his IV pole, he is not in his room all that often.  His days are full of physical and occupational therapy, fit and exercise classes as well as education classes.  I'm also spending the nights at home so we miss our evening blogging time.

On Saturday and Sunday, we brought Ryan home to watch General Conference with us.  It was great to have our family all together (of course we missed Tyler and Rebecca and baby-girl-to-be Walters).  Baby Tate likes to sleep along side Ryan on the couch.  The girls made lots of snacks and worked on scrapbooking while we watched conference.  It is one of our favorite weekends together as a family.

On Monday night, Jeff and Jamie Downs brought their family to Craig for family night.  Ryan thoroughly enjoyed their visit!  Bishop Downs has been a great mentor to Ryan over the years and we love and appreciate their family!

Ryan has been working with Heather on car transfers and can almost do it by himself in a Honda Civic with a slide board.  My van is a little more tricky to get in and out of.  Ryan and Heather also worked on self-turning in a double bed.  Today is Ryan's first "fit class" where they work on his upper body muscles using weight machines, free weights and bands.

For the next couple of weeks we will be going to re-entry classes.  Today's topic was Spinal Cord Injury Research with Dr. Lammertes.  He talked about different research areas being explored for SCI injuries including stem cell research, different drugs, olfactory cells, and others.  It was very interesting and informative.  We had a couple of lengthy discussions with Dr. Lammertes when Ryan was a possible candidate for the proneuron study shortly after his accident.

Ryan is having his PICC line removed later this afternoon.  YEAH!  He will be totally free to go to water therapy classes now.

We have our family conference tomorrow.  It looks like Ryan's discharge date will be some time in May.  The insurance company has yet to make a decision on our home addition which is extremely frustrating because we want to bring Ryan home as soon as possible.  In the interim we aren't sure where we will be living.

The Porter family wrote their favorite hymn on Ryan's scripture quilt.  It is Hymn #124.  Thank you!

            Be still my soul:

                   The Lord in on thy side;

          With patience bear

                   Thy cross of grief or pain.

          Leave to thy God to order and provide;

          In every change he faithful will remain.

 
                     Be still my soul:

                   Thy best, thy heavenly Friend

          Thru thorny ways

                   Leads to a joyful end.

Love,

Bridgette, Barry, Ryan and Kaitlyn