July 10, 2006
Dear Family and Friends,
Ryan and I keep promising each other we are going to update the blog more often . . . it’s been two weeks since Ryan wrote after attending his first day of classes at BYU. We are not doing very well, not because we don’t think of you all often but because out lives are so full. I’ll try very hard to start writing at least a weekly post. Where to begin –-I’ll start with the most recent events and work backwards.
Ryan has been studying for his first American Heritage midterm which he will take tomorrow afternoon. It’s hard to believe summer term is already one-fourth finished! It is one of the general education requirements for graduation from BYU and falls into the political science category. We’ve been warned by many students that it is a difficult class. The class has over 400 students for lectures on Mondays and Wednesdays and a lab on Fridays with about twenty students. I’ve enjoyed remembering/learning about the formation of the United States and all that entails.
On Sunday, Ryan went to a Helaman Halls single student ward and met with his bishop. He says he is getting more familiar with people on campus and beginning to recognize more and more faces. On Sunday night, Shane and Jacie Summers and Jacie’s friend, Nate, and Matthew Chandler came for dinner. Vinny Meyer was invited to come also but wasn’t able to make it. It felt good to be surrounded by a group of energetic college students!
On Saturday, Ryan, and our friend Marva Call and I drove up to Park City to go handcycling with the TRAILS (adaptive sports for people with disabilities) group. The National Abilities Center is based in Park City and was there with handcycles for those who didn’t have their own cycles. The path was uphill and very tiring! I tried riding the bike, pulling with just my arms and not using my trunk muscles and I’ve got to say it was a workout. It was a beautiful day and the TRAILS volunteers also had a barbecue with hamburgers and hotdogs. In August, the TRAILS group will go fishing and in September they will go canoeing. We continue to meet more and more nice people. Dr. Rosenbluth, Ryan’s physiatrist, rode along side Ryan and helped keep his cycle on track. Ryan’s cycle was built for a lower level injury and a little tricky to maneuver.
On Friday, after class and therapy, we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean. We found out there is an added bonus at Wynnsong Theaters if you are in a wheelchair. You and your “date” both get in for free!
From a medical standpoint, Ryan has been lacking energy and not feeling as good as when he left Craig. The nurse will do a complete blood workup this week. We are still trying to regulate his Coumadin for blood clots.
From a physical therapy perspective, Ryan continues to build his upper body and is getting better at more challenging transfers. He’s getting better at getting onto our couch where his chair turns into a recliner. We’ve also practiced getting into the auditorium seats for Ryan’s American Heritage lectures. Ryan is having a lot of pain in his lower back and also the area at about his fourth vertebrae. Five, six and seven are fused so it puts additional stress on the fourth vertebrae. He thinks if he can sit in the auditorium seats it won’t put as much strain on his back to take notes and watch the professor.
On Tuesday, the 4th of July, Ryan and I went to the parade in Provo and then drove up to Aspen Grove where we used to have Walters’ Family Reunions when our children were small. It was wonderful to be there and think about all the fun we had in the cabins and then in the lodges. Ryan had a counselor, Jon Standing, whose father-in-law still runs the camp. Jon is a special education teacher in Provo and we got his phone number so we could make contact with him. Jon and Ryan stayed in contact for many years after the reunions so it will be great to reconnect with him.
On Tuesday evening, we drove to Salt Lake to have dinner with Jan and Bruce Smith and their family. They are lifelong friends from Chicago and when we are together its like we’ve never been apart except that their children now have darling children of their own!
Whitney and her kiddos drove to Provo with Hayley’s help on Sunday, June 25th. We had a busy week together before driving over to Sun Valley on Friday. Alisha, Jacob, Riley and Mason also spent Wednesday afternoon with us . . . what a darling family! Jacob received a job offer while he was at our house and began his job in Lehi the following day.
We had a great weekend in Sun Valley with all of my siblings and their families. It was great to see Kaitlyn again before she left to go back to Denver with Whitney on Sunday. We stayed in Shari’s new home that sits on the river. My brother Mark built Shari’s home and it is absolutely beautiful! It was so relaxing. Shari was kind enough to let us use her master bedroom and bathroom and I think we did great adapting to our first overnight outing away from Craig. Our Craig physical therapist, Heather, really tried to anticipate what Ryan would need for traveling and we felt very prepared. Thank you, Heather, we love and miss you! I’ll include pictures on the blog from our weekend in Sun Valley. A highlight for me was watching Ryan play catch with all of his cousins. It brought a smile to my face and a feeling of gratitude into my heart to see him participating with them. Ryan and Hayley also drove over from Rexburg to spend the weekend with us.
Barry, Kate, Rebecca and baby Sidney are on their way to Provo on Wednesday. We can hardly wait to get our hands on that sweet baby girl! We’ve missed out on all of the family bonding and activities while we’ve been in Utah. It will be great to get our home remodeling project underway where we can all be under the same roof again. It will most likely be a full year after Ryan’s accident before his addition is finished.
We have our nephew Eric’s reception to look forward to this weekend and the Walters’ Family Reunion next week in Jackson, Wyoming. It will be so great to be reunited with all of Barry’s family and celebrate Granny and Grampa’s 60th wedding anniversary.
With our love,
Ryan, Bridgette, Barry and Kate
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