Days Home (Sort of)

After we were released from the hospital, instead of going all the way home to Montpelier just to turn around and come back for follow-up visits all week, Ryan, Ty and I decided to stay in Salt Lake at my mom's. It was also kind of overwhelming to think about going home and trying to figure everything out all by myself. Ryan has gained about 20 pounds since the addition of his cast- and everytime I pick him up I feel like I am either going to have a baby or a hernia. So the idea of the addition of extra arms (my mom, dad and sister) was more than a little bit appealing.

Ryan's new hangout is on grandma's couch- surrounded by all the pillows we could find. Because of the way Ryan's cast is on him- when you lay him flat- his legs are sticking up in the air (he kind of looks like he's in rigor mortis or something), so he's propped up at every angle. Unfortunately, Ryan has never been much of a lay-around kind of kid- so he's going nuts. He hates TV and now he's stuck staring at one for most of the day. We try to keep him entertained- but it's hard coming up with new things for his fingers to do.

His favorite way to release his frustration at being kept still all the time is walks. And again- I am so grateful for the helping hands that my family has offered me. I can only hold and carry Ryan for so long because of how heavy he is- and the bar that separates his legs cuts my baby in half- so I can't hold him close to me for long periods of time either. He loves grandpa though, and everytime Ryan sees him, he holds his hands out and says "Wanna Walk." I think Ryan welcomes the distraction and the opportunity to sit in a little bit different position.
Ryan also LOVES visitors. And I want to say a big THANK-YOU to everyone that has made the effort to come and say hi to him. He just lights up everytime the doorbell rings. My grandma and my uncle even made the effort to bring their dogs to visit (which Ryan was so excited for).
And then there's Ty- who has been such a trooper through all of this. He's been a little quiet- and I don't know if that's because he's still in awe of everything that has happened or if he's just tired (like everybody else). In his quieter moments of reflection- he comes up to whoever is around and says things like "I wish my brother never got runned over." Or "I wish Ryan didn't have his hip broke." I wish I could open up his little brain and find the memory portion- and then just erase the time frame of about 11:00 until 12:00- maybe replace it with a video of a dancing elephant- so that he doesn't need to relive the images that haunt Shaun and I's memories everytime we shut our eyes. I am so amazed at the amount of love that Ty has for his brother and his ability to want to take away the pain from his brother- it just seems advanced for a 4 year old.

I am also so grateful for my cousin, Nicole- I don't know how we would have survived these last few weeks without her. She has a little boy that is the same age as Ty, and they have invited Ty to Wheeler Farm, to Preschool and on playdates- it has really made Ty feel like he is a part of every thing that is going on- and at the same time- he isn't stuck sitting in the hospital all day. So thank-you, THANK-YOU Matt, Nicole, Daniel and Liz- you are lifesavers!!!!