San Francisco

Jason and I had the privilege to go to San Francisco over the weekend, leaving our baby Ryan for the first time! We had a great time exploring Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, Lombard Street, China Town and Little Italy.
We arrived Friday night and went straight to the hotel, got up in the morning and had breakfast in the restaurant at the hotel. Then went on our walking exploration of SF till the evening when we got all foofed up for the Exploratorium. It was an event put on by Jason's work. They did a great job putting it all together and the food was great and desserts even better! The next day (Sunday) it was time to leave but not before going exploring again and getting lost for about an hour. We ended up at the Cheesecake Factory for breakfast. So good! Wish the weekend lasted longer. Loved it!

My Mom

This is my beautiful mother. I don't have many pictures of her because she hates her picture being taken. She actually smiled for this one, and dare I say posed? She went out with me and my kids to Red Robin for Rhett's 11th birthday in April. Sorry, you know I'm behind! We had a great time together and I always love spending time with my mom. Nothin' like it in the world! She retired last year from the VA hospital and loves her new found freedom and I'm enjoying having her around more. Watch out mom, we're coming to your pool a lot this summer!!!

Why I do what I do

What a beautiful family I have. Each a great blessing and they are my life. I would do anything for them and love them with all my heart!
I had to share, now if only I could have been in there instead of being the photographer. It would have made for a great Christmas card, eh?

Never mind

Okay, my blogs weren't showing up because for some odd reason it seems that the text was white. I'm changing the colors and it's suddenly appearing! Oh, what a relief. All that hard work. It's still there!

I lost everything!

I changed my template today and it deleted almost my entire blog. The pictures remain but all my writing is GONE! I am a bit irritated right now!!!

Getting back to it!

Well, after a long time of not blogging I don't even know where to start. I guess I should finish up the last blog entry since you are probably wondering how Ryan is doing.
After the first seizure back who knows when, which was a Monday, we left town that weekend to head up to see Travis (Jason's brother), Joann (wifey-poo) and their 3 adorable kids. All seemed well. Got back Sunday night. Tuesday in the wee hours of the morning Ryan wakes up to eat (around 2-ish), normal, I feed him and notice he feels hot. I take his temperature and it's 102.4. This fever came out of no where and he never had symptoms of any kind of sickness. I know seizures can be induced by a fever so I grab the Tylenol hoping to stave it off. Back to bed he goes after a full tummy. I laid half awake for a little bit feeling anxious about his fever and heard Ryan whimpering/complaining so I got up and found him having a seizure. Not a sight a mother should see. I rolled him on his side and ran to grab the phone, immediately calling 911. While on the phone with them (for 10 minutes) I talked quietly to Ryan and rubbed his back. He was able to hold on to my fingers with his left side so I knew he was aware I was there. With a full tummy he threw up everything over the course of about 10 minutes. Everyone in the house was still asleep at this point. The paramedics announced their arrival as they entered our home waking up Jason, his mom and dad. They were in shock and a bit panicked as to what was going on. I was told to move Ryan to the front room so they had space to care for him, still in a seizure. His color was good but they needed to stop the seizure with a shot of something. I didn't know what it was. I walked him outside to the gurney after they checked him over. They strapped me in and I held Ryan on my lap. Once we were on our way he started to slow. By then it had been about 25 minutes or more that his little body was jerking uncontrollably so he was completely worn out and sleepy. His eyes would hardly open and his body was limp. I went alone, able to keep control of my emotions, with Jason about 45 minutes behind us. Getting to the hospital Ryan was more aware but exhausted still, right side limp. They hooked up the necessary equipment to him including an IV for anti-seizure medicine and fluids. He finally fell asleep and they ended up admitting him for the day for observation and to get an EEG which helps figure out where and why this is happening. He now has a Neurologist added to his ever growing medical team. He was very irritable during his stay because of the type of medicine he was given which didn't get completely out of his system for a few days. That was a bucket load of fun right there my friends. He is now on anti-convulsion medicine three times a day which doesn't seem to have any side effects so far. He is our happy boy again and we are loving him up! His body recovered fully. The after effect of a seizure on him is called Todd's Paralysis and can last up to 48 hours. He is now clapping and army crawling everywhere, eating everything in his path!

9-1-1

Yesterday started out very productive, trying to settle into our new establishment and find a place for all our junk! I laid Ryan down for his nap around 10am and was putting around and getting ready for the day. A little after noon time I heard him wake up and cry but my hair was wet from the shower and I wanted to blow dry it before getting him up and he usually likes the sound of the hairdryer so I took a few more minutes to do that. When I went in to get him I grabbed his arms to help him sit up and I noticed he wasn't making any effort to sit so I just picked him up and put him on my hip. He was kind of like a limp noodle and continued to cry so I didn't really think anything of it just yet, I thought he was just super hungry and throwing a fit so we went in the kitchen to get some barley cereal going for him. I was paying more attention to him now and how his body was moving. I noticed his whole right side was barely moving, panic set in and I rushed to find his Neurosurgeon's number. A minute later I was dialing the number and I let it ring a couple times and then (ding) I'm thinking what the heck are you doing, Lisa, call 911, he needs help immediately! I don't know what's happened to him and if it's something that's time-sensitive.
Never before have I had to call 911. It took 3 or 4 rings and I'm thinking, why the crap are you not answering after ONE ring! I did stay calm and was able to explain what I had observed so far. I gave all the information they asked for and a few minutes later I hear the blare of sirens. A little embarrassed that they were coming for us, I opened the door and paced till a fire engine and ambulance got there (Ryan in my arms, who was happy by this point but body still not working). I had about 6 emergency prepared men plus Ashten and Chaney (trying to comfort him and understand what was happening to their little buddy) in the front room asking questions and one who worked with Ryan.
They were ready to transport him to the hospital so I called my friend a couple blocks over and she was there to pick up the kids, it seemed like, as soon as I hung up the phone! Julie, you are wonderful, thanks so much! They strapped me in to the gurney and I put Ryan in my lap. We were off to Legacy Emanuel (no lights or sirens, he was stable). It was quite a peaceful ride, actually, Ryan was very calm.
Once there they got a CT scan ordered to make sure the shunt was functioning properly and cross that off as a possible reason for his condition. He was slowly improving by this time. That test turned out fine. Well, to sum up the rest of the visit, they narrowed it down to a seizure. Now, I know nothing of them but I will soon.
We are back at home and Ryan is back to his happy, all functioning self! We are waiting to get in to see a Neurologist now and find out what is happening in that adorable little head of his. We are holding our breath that it doesn't happen again. I really can't believe that happened yesterday. Who'da thunk. He is well and has proved many doctors wrong in his abilities and strength. Neiner, neiner! What a blessing he is and I thank Heavenly Father for him daily.