The Girl with no name!!

This will be boring because Jess is in the hospital so I just put up pictures no long wisdom filled dissertation. She was born just after 8 AM weighing 7lbs. 1 ounce and 19 1/2 inches. Her brothers seemed to like her at least for the first couple of minutes. P.S. -Forward all name ideas to Jess!!!

Dr. Pepper

Ty has had a lot of questions about baby this time around. And as he gets older his questions get more intelligent. One of the questions he had was how the baby get so big since we can't feed her. I explained that there is a little tube that connects my tummy and the baby's tummy- which connects at our belly buttons and it's what feeds her.

"So- what you eat- the baby eats?" Ty asked.

I was so impressed with his line of thinking that I nodded excitedly- so glad that he understood.

Fast forward a couple of days... Ty was watching me fix a sandwich for lunch and I poured myself a Dr. Pepper.

"Mama- is Dr. Pepper still bad for little kids to have?"

"Yes Ty. It doesn't make you grow big and strong like milk and juice does."

"But if Dr. Pepper is bad for kids, then you shouldn't be drinking it since the baby eats what you eat."

I am no longer impressed with his line of thinking. I now have to drink my caffeine in hiding!!

In the meantime- I'm huge. I think my toes are painted pink... though at this point I can't tell. Now that we have officially set a date for the baby- time has started to crawl. It just can't get here fast enough- and I know I may be singing a different tune in about five weeks when I have a newborn and I'm totally exhausted- but at least then it's for a good reason. Now I'm just so tired of getting up to pee that I'm thinking about borrowing one of Ryan's diapers... okay- I'd have to borrow the whole package in order to get it around me at this point but whatever. Don't mess with me. At least we're in the home stretch at this point. Braxton Hicks is still vying to be my clingy best friend, keeping me in pain and up all night- but there is an end in sight. I just have to keep telling myself that eventually pregnancy does end. It has to. No one is ever chronically and permanently pregnant. And I refuse to be the first.

This and That

So I have a few random pictures that we've taken over the last couple of weeks that don't really go with any kind of independent post- so I'm combining them.

Today was actually a really good day- I got enough sleep last night and the pain was pretty minimal, so my family got a real dinner tonight! The boys even helped me make a Jello Cheesecake this afternoon and were so excited to eat it after dinner! I think Ryan ate more than Shaun, Ty and I combined- he just kept spooning it into his mouth! It was crazy! His little stomach felt like it was ready to explode! I guess he's just making up for the last two months were he ate almost nothing. I'd be curious to know how much weight he lost over that little period of time. Anyway- if you want to make a friend for life- feed Ryan Chicken Cordon Bleu and Cheesecake!

The boys also got haircuts this last weekend. And let me tell you- they seriously needed them. They were both starting to look like Chewy from Starwars! It was totally crazy though- Jamie (our stylist- she does my hair and both of the boys) started cutting Ryan's hair and all of a sudden there were these two little bald spots on the back of his head! She thought that maybe they were scars from the accident, but it turns out that it's one of the body's ways of dealing with severe trauma- you lose hair! Apparently in two very specific spots this time. It's totally nuts!

And the other night- I got to snuggle with my boys for a few minutes before bed. They are such sweet little kids (most of the time) and I just love them both so much. They are both so excited for new baby- Ty asks everyday if the baby is ready to come out yet and whenever I start to complain about hiccups (she has them everyday) or a foot in the ribs- he's the first one there to try and feel it. Ryan is also ready for baby to get here. If you ask him what the baby says- he starts to do a little fake cry and then he shakes his head and says "No, No, No, No, No" as if to tell baby that she can't cry. It's so funny. I don't know that he really gets what's going on- but we're about to shake up his little world in a few weeks. I guess he should be used to that by now- his life is anything but calm.
We still don't have a clue as to what we're going to name her at this point. It may just end up being girl. We officially have 19 days left to think about it though- so I suppose I have some time before I start polling nurses in the Operating Room.

Pre-school Graduation

It's that time of year... School's just about out for us here in Idaho, and we are all so excited! I can't wait to have both Shaun and Ty home with Ryan and I- we have big plans for the summer this year! But before I get ahead of myself with all of that- we got to attend Ty's preschool graduation on Thursday night.

And what's a graduation without a party!? Ty's teachers went with a Luau theme and had all things Hawaiian to entertain all of us. Ty's favorite was probably the volcano. They had built a volcano in class a few days ago out of salt dough, and got to help it "erupt" on the night of their graduation (think vinegar and baking soda). The kids all thought it was great, and everybody got a turn.

We were also privy to a very special performance put on by the class. They sang us a couple of songs and did a little dance- all to rave reviews!
And what graduation would be complete without a picture of Ty with his teachers, Miss Heidi and Miss Linda. Ty has had so much fun this year and we are so glad that he loves school so much!

Project Bathroom

For three years we have lived in this house. And for three years I have hated the cabinet in the bathroom. It is one of those pre-made oak looking things that has been so beat up that it just looked like crap. I thought so anyway- Shaun didn't see anything wrong with it and wanted me to leave it alone (actually I think he was afraid that I would make him help if I did something different with it). Anyway- here's a picture of it... See?! It's ugly.

So one afternoon while the boys and I were killing time in Lowe's waiting for Shaun as he went off and looked for some obscure object that he needed for another project we're working on- I picked up a can of black paint and a few paint brushes and promised myself that I was FINALLY going to do something about the bathroom cabinet. I even went and found new hardware for it... Shows you how serious I was!!!

However- with Ryan's recent predicament and the whole pregnant thing... needless to say the can of black paint sat on a shelf in the baby's room for months. Well now that we're trying to get said baby room put together for baby- things had to be moved and rather than put the paint can out in the garage where it would probably never get used- I pulled out the paintbrushes and started on my big project. It took a couple of days to get enough coats of paint on the stupid thing to cover all of that wood- but my persistence totally paid off! I think it looks soo much better! And even Shaun said that it looked alright.

A Date

It's official! We are having our little baby on June 7th at 7:00AM! We just scheduled surgery this morning and ALL of us are very excited.

We Have Lift Off

It's official... our little boy is walking again! I think we're more excited about it this time around than we were when he decided to start walking a few months ago! He officially took his first step on Thursday and has been honing his skills ever since. It has been kind of neat to watch him re-discover certain things he can do, like going from a sitting position on the floor to standing. He's still a little stiff-legged and he's had his share of trip ups, but all in all- we are so proud of him. We are also so grateful for all of the help that we have had since returning home- our ward and friends have been so supportive of our family. And thanks to my mom for her efforts in coming up to the house and staying for as long as she has- I know it can't be all that fun to help run somebody else's house- but she has been so wonderful and such a big help when she is here. I'm thinking of faking an injury so that she'll have to come back next week...

Ty has been loving the warmer weather that we had for about two days this week! He spends the majority of any halfway warm day in the sandbox (which I'm telling you now- if I had known how much time the boys would spend in that thing- it would have been the very first project when we moved into this house) building volcanoes and sandcastles. He had to have a bath by himself the other night, wherein I actually had to shower him off first before I could fill the tub just to get the sand off of him- then he needed a good long soak to get the dirt off and we followed with another shower just to make sure we got all the sand out of his hair. He was squeaky clean!!

I am counting down the days until June when baby girl will finally make her debut. Not that I'm all that excited for the sleepless nights and the breastfeeding again- but I am super excited to be able to lay on my stomach again. This baby will be a C-section just like the first two, but it's nice going into it knowing kind of what to expect. We will be having the baby in Salt Lake (one life-flight in a life-time is enough for me) but look forward to coming home and hopefully having life slow down for just a little bit (okay- there's a chance that I just jinxed us).

Shaun is excited for school to be out in a few weeks and is working on his big Field Day-palooza for the kids at the end of the year. The only thing he's NOT looking forward to once school is out is all the not so fun stuff that comes with summer- like mowing the lawn and spraying for mosquitoes (a must in Montpelier). Despite that- we have some fun plans as a family for the warm weather and are super excited to spend most of our days at the lake and in the backyard! Hope baby girl likes being outside as much as the rest of us!!

One Week Out

We are officially one week post cast... And it has been interesting!! Ryan still isn't walking on his own yet- but he is finally to the point where he can sit by himself and has started to scoot again (I know- I thought we'd seen the end of this- but I guess it was a good skill that he learned back when he should have been crawling). He actually didn't even want to do that- we were trying to talk him into it (which is just stupid- who ever has talked a two year old into something that they ended up agreeing with? I don't think it's ever happened), and he just kept yelling "No!" Finally Ty took pity on Shaun and I and he sat down on the floor next to my feet and told Ryan to come play cars with him. Ty proceeded in scooting over to the cars- and Ryan quickly followed. Of course. I'm still shaking my head at how fast he was to follow Ty.

You can see how excited he is to try walking again.... Umm... Can you say NOT AT ALL? But this is a good picture of his skinny little chicken legs.
One thing that has been so fun is how much Ryan absolutely LOVES his baths. It's not that he ever hated them- but I think he just tolerated them because they were a necessity. Now- he thrives on them. He has one in the morning and one in the evening and every time you mention it- he's trying to rip his clothes off in order to expedite the process. I'm glad something makes him happy!!
Alright- maybe that last comment isn't fair... Ryan is much happier now than he was at this time last week- his freedom has improved his mood exponentially, but we are still so far from where he wants to be that he just gets so frustrated. I took both of the boys over to Shaun's school today in the hopes that watching the kids in Shaun's classes would excite Ryan to try moving a little bit more. It did all that and more. He got so excited watching them play dodgeball, that he even took a couple of steps on his own in order to get to the balls. The kids in the class were sweet to him- any time they saw him try and go after a ball- they came RUNNING to help him get closer. We stayed for two class periods before Ryan was absolutely exhausted (okay- and I think Ty was too- he actually joined in the games of dodgeball and loved every minute of it) and we had to head home. I am so proud of him for everything that he has accomplished this last week. I know it can't have been easy for him to try out his shaky legs, but he did it anyway. Way to go little one!!

Look Mom! I Can STRETCH!

Ryan was so exhausted after we brought him home that we laid him down in the crib for a nap- the first thing he did was roll over. He is such a tummy sleeper- and I'm sure these last six weeks have been rotten for him. He slept for about three hours, more consecutive sleep than any other time during which he had the cast on. It was such a relief to him and to Shaun and I.

After we brought Ryan home and he got up from his nap, we threw him in the tub. His skin was so dry and itchy from being in the cast for the last six weeks that his skin was almost slimy. I had to get down on my hands and knees and lean into the tub (okay- I was mostly in the tub too) in order to get a good enough hold on him that he wasn't crying. Ryan relaxed almost immediately once he realized that I wasn't going to let him go and we got to work on straightening his legs. His Orthopedic Surgeon told us that warm baths would be the best thing for him at this point and that it was important to let him go at his own pace. So we sat in the tub that way for about a half an hour- just working on stretching out again. My legs were asleep by the time that we were done- Shaun had to take Ryan and get him dressed while I crawled out to the living room- the couch was calling me! And Ryan... Even though he could technically move around a little bit more now- he was more than content to park it back on the loveseat and just relax.

I don't know if you can really see the skin discoloration here on his hip- it matches his shoulder- I wonder if the scars will be permanent...

Cast Away

April 26th will forever be a happy day in our memories. Ryan finally got the cast off!! Ty went with Shaun and I up to Shriner's hospital at 9:45 AM. They took a few X-Rays and... The nurse came back and told us that the cast could come off.

The nurse took us back to a room with a few beds and THE SAW. Ryan wigged the second she turned it on- which I have to admit- was loud. Ty threw his hands over his ears and gave Shaun and I both a panicked look. Ryan continued to cry- even with Shaun and I next to him... until Ty came up and sat next to him. It's still amazing to me the connection that those two have- I wish that I could make Ryan settle down the way that Ty can, and I wish that I could make Ty laugh the way that Ryan can. I guess that's the beauty of their relationship.

Ty HAD to save the bar that went between Ryan's legs (and I think that if he could have- he would have taken the cast home too- but I think we have memories enough without the cast), and I have to admit that I beamed with pride when the nurse told me that it was the CLEANEST cast she has ever removed. Of course- with all of the precautions that we took- really do you expect anything else?

Ryan was relieved when the saw finally stopped- and I couldn't believe how SKINNY he was! He literally has no butt anymore.

Anyway- he has been so miserable lately, and I am so grateful that we have reached the end of THIS part of his recovery process. We spoke to his Dr, and she told us that Ryan wouldn't be able to walk for a while because of how much muscle mass he has lost, and when he did start walking, it would be with a definite limp, at least until the muscles returned to match the left side. We will have to go back in about two months, and more X-Rays will be taken and the Dr will determine if any further treatment is necessary.

Days at Home (For Real This Time)

We did eventually come home to our house- despite what our neighbors may have thought. It was nice, even if it was a little daunting. And it helped that my mom came up a few days later and stayed the week. It also helped that Ryan is no longer stinky.

We took him to the hospital for his Orthopedic check-up and the surgeon took one whiff of him and told us that the cast would have to come off. Oh bummer. :) Our Orthopedic Surgeon that we met at Primary Children's Hospital was actually a Doctor from Shriner's Hospital (also in Salt Lake)- so all of our follow-up will be and has been at Shriner's. Dr. Hennessey took a minute to sit and explain the newest X-Rays for us- which was so interesting! Because of how crazy things were when we were first admitted to Primary's- nobody really took the time to walk Shaun and I through some of Ryan's actual injuries- beyond the fact that he was in serious condition. So, to be in a more relaxed setting and have the opportunity to look at the new scans was really kind of nice.

She showed us that when the right side of the pelvis was crushed (and you could see all the breaks)- it actually moved the left side of his pelvis- almost twisting it. So while the right side was broken- we were actually waiting for the left side to straighten itself back out. And because of all of these things- Dr. Hennessey would not just cut the cast off and recast. She wanted him put under anesthesia so that she could get the cast on tightly in order to hold both sides the way they needed to be held. We arrived at Shriner's at 8:30 in the morning and didn't walk back into my mom's house until 9:00 that night. It took ALL day- which was good- it just meant that they did things the way they wanted to- and they wouldn't release him until he ate and peed.

When we got home we set Ryan up on the loveseat in the living room with plenty of pillows and blankets (and chocolate milk- he was a rotten eater throughout the weeks he was in the cast- so the fact that he would eat ANYTHING was so exciting). We had buckets of toys set up around the room and anything else we could think of that he might want. Ty was the best big brother ever though- anytime Ryan wanted a car or a coloring book- Ty was the first one running to him with the requested toys. Ty always made sure that Ryan had enough to drink and would sneak him packets of fruit snacks when we weren't looking.

After what happened with the last cast- I was a total freak when it came to keeping Ryan and his cast clean. And if any of you know me- know that this isn't a total surprise. I bathed Ryan in the kitchen sink- he liked soaking his toes (I think because he got some joy out of being able to splash me- maybe it was like a retaliation because I was making him wash his hair every day).
But like I said... he did NOT like having his hair washed. But wash it I did- every morning and he cussed me through every second of it. I kept telling him that I always win- but he didn't believe me.
For a change of scenery- once in a while we moved Ryan to Shaun and I's bed- where we would be immediately joined by Ty. They loved watching movies on the bed- our saving grace was Winnie the Pooh. Ryan has never been much of a movie/TV watcher and the fact that we found anything that he would sit still for was something you could almost kiss! Ryan's favorite is the "Super Sleuths" and we watched them over and over and over again.
As Ryan got stronger he also wanted to be more mobile (surprise surprise), so he also spent some time on the floor- where he kind of looked like a turtle laying on his back- his feet up in the air and the cast rocked him back and forth.
Anyway- we are excited for the cast to be off and life to move forward again. We are so grateful for what a trooper Ryan has been (even if he has been a grumpy little bear for the majority of the time) and even more grateful that it looks like things are going to heal the way they are supposed to.

Easter

Easter dawned bright and... snowy. Yeah. I keep trying to get Shaun to move me to Mexico so that I never have to look at the white crap ever again- but it's apparently a work in progress. Anyway- I wanted there to be a few pictures up of the holiday...

We started the day with airing Ryan out- he still stunk pretty bad because of the poop and we found that if we used my mom's hairdryer on the cool setting- we could kind of dry him out. It stunk to high heaven and we'd have to open all the doors to complete this "airing out" process (my poor parent's house may never be the same).

Ty had a blast running around in the snow looking for eggs. Because the snow was kind of fluffy- the eggs kind of got buried in the snow- making it more of a treasure hunt than anything else.
Ryan even got to be a part of the egg hunt- with dad's help of course!
Ty LOVES his new baseball mitt- and kept grandpa outside forever just so that he could keep playing.

Poop

So this last week was pretty eventful... On top of EVERYTHING else that has been going on, Ryan picked up a flu bug during one of his doctor appointments at the hospital. Yeah... Usually throwing up is enough for me to handle- but Ryan also got a case of the trots that was rather... explosive (I'm not trying to be gross... I just want to describe the situation). Wednesday night, we had poop up the back of his cast, out the sides of it and down the legs. It didn't really even get on his sheets or his pajamas. The cast pretty well contained it. I tried my darndest to reach up, in and around the cast to get everything out- but I wasn't even close. I could still see it and smell it- but there was absolutely NO way to get it all cleaned out. I called his orthopedic surgeon the next morning and she told me that there was a chance that once it dried out that he would be fine. The clean freak inside me wanted to scream at her- but since I don't have any initials behind my name (like M.D.), i decided to give it a try. Unfortunately- I don't think it ever really dried out- Ryan is such a sweaty little kid- that I think it just continued to be all moist inside the cast. As a result- anytime you walked past him- it was like walking next to an open sewer drain. I got to a point I could barely even hold him- if I got too much of a whiff- I had to make a run for the bathroom. It was awful. Props to my dad- he would still take Ryan for walks even though he smelled so bad.

This weekend was also Easter weekend- something that my boys really weren't ready for. Ty understands why we have Easter, and when asked about it- he promptly replied that Easter was about "Jesus being Resurrected," so I feel like we got the important message across- but neither of the boys even knew what an Easter Bunny was. Ty was totally confused as to why there was a bucket full of candy and eggs all over the place- but he was more than excited to find a new baseball mitt hidden in the basket. In fact- he immediately put it on and demanded that someone go out and play catch with him. He was not good- but improved upon practice- he and Grandpa even rallied to a total of 7 catches at one point! The Easter Bunny was also smart enough to make sure that Ty got a softer version of a baseball so that when it inevitably hit him in the face- it wouldn't hurt too bad...

Grandma Jacki and Papa Orllo also made the trip to Salt Lake to come and visit us while we were staying with my parents. Ryan thrives on visitors and lit up when he saw familiar faces. I think Ty was excited to see them too- they took him out for ice cream- and I think that the break was more than welcome to our little four year old.

Shaun was able to stay until Monday afternoon, since this was his Spring Break (yeah... we were supposed to be in St. George this weekend). We were all sad to see him go, but knew it wouldn't be too much longer before we were home for good. Shaun is such a huge help and comfort to me- I always hate it when he has to go.

Tuesday we had an appointment with Ryan's Orthapedic surgeon, Dr. Hennessey. She is actually from Shriner's Hospital in Salt Lake- which I have never really heard a whole lot about or had a lot to do with. We actually had to MapQwest it in order to find the right place. My mom came with me, and so did Ty, not thinking that it would be an overlong appointment. We checked in and talked to the Orthapedic Resident about Ryan and the pooping incident (we had him all but covered by a blanket in order to keep the smell contained and at a minimum). We also got to have new X-Rays taken, and the Resident took a minute to sit down with us and explain the pictures. When Ryan's right side was crushed- it broke his pelvis in three places on the right side- but at the same time- it also moved the left side- almost twisting it, and kinking the spine at the same time. This totally made sense- but no one had taken the time to explain all of this to us before. It was nuts seeing how much progress Ryan's body had already made in correcting the problem- but it was also a little sobering to see how far it still had to go in order to be back to normal.

It took Dr. Hennessey all of two seconds to decide to re-cast Ryan. I told them to make sure they take in their gas masks when they took the old one off. We were actually taken right upstairs and checked into the hospital. They couldn't get Ryan into surgery until 3:00 that afternoon, and it was only 9:00 in the morning- so we had some time to kill. But Shriners was absolutely AMAZING! They had a HUGE play/rec room for kids to play in- and we took Ryan for wagon rides to and from the gigantic space and Ty was in heaven! He got to see a magician, a banjo player, he made a butterfly and played basketball. Ryan was a trooper- he couldn't eat until he was out of the operating room- so we had to come up with some ways to keep his mind off food. The Dr was actually going to have him put out under general anesthesia again before she would even think about re-casting him- so the prep for that seemed to take forever too. Once he was finally in the OR- it only took about 45 minutes before he was wheeled back into his room- and he totally flipped out. Ryan apparently has a hard time coming out of anesthesia- and couldn't stop crying. A carton of chocolate milk helped a little bit- but it took some time before he finally settled down.

The nurses had to make sure that Ryan could eat and pee before they would let him be discharged- and we didn't get back to my mom's house until about 9:00 pm... We were ALL so tired. I still can't believe how good Ty was the entire time. He is so amazing- and I think that he may have a future in medicine- he is soo nosy!! He has to know what every machine and wire is for and doesn't rest until ALL of his questions are answered.

We spent the rest of the week gathering up our things and on Friday, we loaded up in my mom's car and drove to Logan where we met Shaun. We had a quick lunch and then our family headed on up to Montpelier. Home has NEVER looked so good. We all slept so well Friday night. We spent Saturday cleaning up and trying to figure out the best way to situate Ryan for the next three weeks. We ended up putting half of a mattress pad on the loveseat and covering it in blankets and pillows- trying to pad him enough to make him comfortable. He seems okay when he goes back and forth between his loveseat and the recliner- in fact- we even took him out to Sacrament Meeting this morning. He actually did really well (granted it was only an hour- but it was the longest he's been out for any period of time that he wasn't just laying down), and everyone was so happy to see him- we have had a wonderful support group up here and I am more than grateful for all of the love and concern that we have had from the people here.

It looks like things will be pretty quiet for the next couple of weeks- I don't think we really have plans to go anywhere, and I'm assuming that care-taking for Ryan and Ty will take most of my energies anyway.

I'll keep you updated and hopefully we'll get some pictures up from the last week. Sorry it was just text this time, but I'm on Shaun's computer and don't have access to my pictures.

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!!!!

Days in the Trauma Unit

Ryan was moved from the ICU into the Trauma Unit on Tuesday (I think- the days are really blurred there for about a week), which, while still scary- was a much more relaxed environment and we started to think that the light at the end of the tunnel was maybe an exit rather than a train.

Once we had been there for a day- we were given the all clear to even hold Ryan. This was such a huge relief- the entire time that Ryan was conscious during the last few days- all he wanted was to be held by either Shaun or I... and it was just one of those things we couldn't do. Ryan's trauma doctor wanted him to be absolutely still so as not to disturb the liver, which was slowly starting to get it's HCT levels up. Plus, moving him any more than was absolutely necessary also disturbed his pelvis and collarbone.

Ryan's spirits started to improve upon the move as well. He was still more than a little irritated at the fact that he couldn't move, and it helped that he was allowed a thickened liquid diet. Again- because of the severity of his liver lacerations, he wasn't allowed to eat for about four days (something that if you know Ryan at all- is all but impossible. He just LOVES to eat), so when we offered him a banana- he went ballistic. In retrospect- it was actually kind of sad- he grabbed at the banana like he had never seen food before and was afraid that he never would again. He was so focused on the banana- that he ate a good portion of the peel as well. He wouldn't let us take the banana long enough to peel it for him- I think he was afraid we were taking it away. He ended up throwing the last part of the banana at Shaun because once we did wrestle it away from him long enough to peel some more for him- he was so angry that he wouldn't take anything from anyone.

We were able to cheer him up a little bit though. Grandma Janet came to visit shortly after that and she brought a Winnie the Pooh balloon for Ryan to look/play with. He loved to hit it- but it kept getting away from him, so we ended up tying the balloon to the iron bar that connected his legs in the cast. It worked out pretty well- and it was so nice to finally see a smile on Ryan's face.

We also found that Ryan had started his own following of nurses over here on this side of the hospital too. While still angry at Shaun and I for the banana incident (and he wasn't too fond of anyone that came in wearing a white coat)- he loved the nurses. He found shortly after his move over into Trauma that he was wearing a bunch of leads that were attached to his chest. He also figured out that if he pulled one of the leads off, it started a machine beeping and one of the nurses would come running in. We would go home at night to rest, and when we came back in the morning, the night nurses would have all these stories of Ryan pulling off a lead whenever he needed some company. He would pull one off, wait for the nurse to come in, and then he would stick it back on.

Ryan was also visited by his share of doctors while he was in the Trauma Unit- and again- this was where we started to realize the real danger that he had been in when he was admitted to Primary Children's. I think the doctors were kind of vague in the beginning- maybe it was so that we as parents didn't freak out- or maybe... okay- really I don't know. And there is the possibility that I had a hard time concentrating on EVERYTHING that they were telling us. Anyway- besides the pelvic breaks (which we found out when he was taken back into the Operating Room- the Orthopedic Surgeon had to actually re-set the bones his his pelvis because of the way that they had broken- I am so grateful that he was put out during all of this) , the collarbone break and the lacerated liver- Ryan also saw an Ophthalmologist because of some pretty bad bruising he had behind his eye, which they are hoping won't manifest itself in some type of permanent blindness in the right eye. And because of the hit on his head (which was classified as a mild traumatic brain injury) from the bumper- he is at risk for the next six months for seizures.

It's more than a little overwhelming- but I can't help but think that he'll be alright in the end- there is a reason this little boy is still with us. He must have bigger things to do in this life because his Heavenly Father decided to keep him here with us.

Days in the ICU

I know that I have been remiss in keeping the blog updated through the last few days- but when I look back at pictures... it just makes me sick to my stomach. The more that we find out about the injuries that Ryan received- the more we realized what had happened inside his little body and it makes me want to throw up. The nurse that Ryan spent the longest time with, Tracey, told me that I would want a ton of pictures of the time here in the hospital so that we could see the progress that Ryan has made- but for now... Blech.

To be fair though- Ryan was still Ryan, even hooked up to all the machines that he was and even while drugged up. It was more than a little relieving to hear stories from the nurses and doctors about pieces of his personality come through.

One of the Pediatric Residents that was on duty Sunday was doing her rounds at about 6:00 in the morning and was doing an assessment on Ryan. She was asking him simple questions- along the lines of "Can you hear me?", "Can you squeeze my finger?" Ryan would nod or shake his head in answer to her questions. She continued down her list and asked him "Can you open your eyes?" To which Ryan nodded his head- but kept his eyes closed. She sat there for a second and then asked him, "Will you open your eyes?" Ryan nodded his head again and opened his eyes for her. She told us the story later when we were sitting in his room- joking about the fact that a 20 month old had given her an English lesson.

It gave me hope to hear stories like this- it made it easier to believe that despite the tubes and beeping machines that my Ryan was in there somewhere.

Everything Can Change in a Moment

We have definitely had a wild ride these last few days- none of which I hope to EVER repeat. We spent this last weekend in various hospitals and have learned more about trauma accidents than I ever cared to know.

We started the weekend innocently enough, up in Declo- hoping to spend a quiet weekend with Shaun's parents. We spent most of Saturday morning playing out in the yard, about 11:00 we kind of went our separate ways in order to get ready for lunch. I ran into the house to grab my purse and Shaun went into the garage to put together a booster seat for Ty. Papa ran to put the pitchfork away and move the truck around to the front of the house. Ryan ran after Papa... only nobody noticed. Papa backed the truck up- and Ryan got in front of the bumper. The back bumper knocked Ryan to the ground and before Papa could get the truck stopped, the back tire ran up and over the right side of his body.

I heard the screaming and ran outside- at first I thought Ty had been hurt because of how hard he was crying and shaking- but he kept saying over and over "My brother, my brother." I finally grasped the situation and ran to Shaun- who had a hold of Ryan. Jacki had run into the house to call 911.

One of the Kidd's neighbors, Lisa, is an EMT and arrived first and was able to get Ryan laying down and some oxygen started. The ambulance wasn't far behind. Ty started freaking out again at this point- I think because of all the activity that suddenly sprung up around him and the fact that we were all talking around him. He started shaking, so I picked him up and we walked over to the ambulance and met the police officer that had arrived on the scene. We talked about what had happened for a second and what all of the people were doing to Ryan. Ty settled down a little bit and Shaun and I climbed inside the ambulance with Ryan, Lisa and the Ambulance Man (who's name I have forgotten). We headed to the Burley hospital where the ER team took Ryan and did some X-Rays and got him stabilized. They were so impressed with the fact that Ryan not only stayed conscious, but was relatively calm during their exam. Before they even finished their tests- life flight was called from Twin Falls to take Ryan down to Primary Children's Hospital down in Salt Lake City.

Once Life Flight arrived, Ryan was loaded into the back with two other Life Flight EMTs and the pilot strapped me in next to him (I was worried that I wouldn't be able to go with Ryan- what with me being 7 months pregnant- but in the end my worries were for naught). It was so overwhelming to sit in that helicopter... We took off and headed towards SLC. The flight itself took about an hour- but we were delayed once we got there because the pilot had never actually flown into the U of U or Primary's (the two hospitals are right next to each other). So he kept circling the area- he was under the impression that the hospital was next to the stadium... which it's not. I kept trying to point him up the hill- but I am assuming he thought I was an idiot. Eventually he found the helipad that he was supposed to land on- but because of the wind- he couldn't get the helicopter to touch down on the pad the way it was supposed to. We would start to lower down and would get just above the cement when the wind would whip the back of the helicopter around and we'd have to start all over again. The pilot tried 4 or 5 different times and some different approaches, but couldn't get it down. So we ended up landing on top of the U of U hospital.

Once we touched down, we were met by an oversized golf cart (for lack of a better description). Ryan was loaded onto the cart and we all climbed on. Then the cart took us for a ride that reminded me a little bit of the ride "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" at Disneyland- we whipped around corners and flew through traffic. I had to keep checking behind me to make sure that Ryan hadn't flown off the back. It was nuts and I was more than relieved when we wheeled around to the ER entrance of Primary's.

I followed Ryan into the ER- and I think the enormity of the situation really hit me when I walked in. The ER was so full of people and beeping equipment and yelling and nurses running all over the place... all for my son. I got sick to my stomach as I watched them run their first assessments. As they transfered him to CT- I had the opportunity to run out to the Waiting Room- where my family had gathered (Shaun had called them once we took off from Burley- unfortunately Shaun could not go in the helicopter with Ryan and I, so he drove down to Salt Lake with Ty, Jacki and Orllo) and I gave them a quick update- which in reality- wasn't a whole lot of information- because I didn't have a lot of information. What I did know at this point is that his pelvis was broken and there was a great chance of more internal injuries. I then was escorted up to CT where Ryan was scanned and they found that he had a severe lacerated liver. Apparently Drs classify liver injuries on a scale of 1 to 6. A 6 is basically a non-functioning liver and Ryan had a severe 5. With liver injuries- the best form of treatment is to "Watch and Wait," so nothing surgical was needed at this point. The scan also revealed that his pelvis was broken in three different places. So the Trauma team had Ryan moved up to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for further treatment.

Once we were there and halfway settled- I started taking some pictures. I know it sounds morbid- but I almost wish I had had my camera earlier. Maybe one day Ryan will think pictures of the helicopter would be kind of cool. Anyway- below is a picture of the bruises, cuts and scrapes up and down Ryan's body.

Ryan was sedated pretty early on, but he had a really hard time understanding why neither Shaun or I would pick him up (he didn't understand that we couldn't). So he laid on his back with his arms in the air, yelling for "Mama" and "Dad." It was so hard to sit there and only be able to hold his hand.
One of the first things that happened was Ryan was given a breathing tube- this actually happened before we took off in the helicopter in order to have more control over the functions of his body. But once we arrived at Primary's they added an NG tube that helps with actually pulling fluids OUT of Ryan's airways. He had a cold prior to getting hurt and was having a really hard time coughing- so this tube "helped" him to do that. He was also hooked up to a ventilator to help him breathe. It was awful though. All the sound went out the breathing tube- so his cries were silent- but he still had big alligator tears coming out of his eyes.

And yes- his face is super-puffy. When the tire was on top of him, all of the blood from his abdomen had to go somewhere- and one of those somewhere's was up to his head. And it didn't help that enroute to Primary's he was given almost a pint of blood- so he had a ton of extra fluids in his body. I thought his eyes were going to explode they were so swollen. And it didn't help that his Drs put a pretty big neck brace around his neck since his spine had not been cleared of injury.

Sunday morning Ryan was taken into the OR for the casting of his pelvis. The new X-Rays that were taken that morning showed the breaks were actually spread out- there was one in the front, one on the top of the hip and the other was back by the sacrum. The cast they put on him was pretty extensive- it starts about mid abdomen, and then goes all the way down the right side of his body and ends at the ankle. Then it also wraps around his body and goes down the right side down to his knee- and to top it all off there is a bar between his legs to keep them separated and to give some strength to the cast. Drs also found another break in his right collarbone- but apparently the break was clean enough that it would heal itself.

The picture below shows the NG tube and the breathing tube a little better.
Ryan was given a big boy bed on Monday in the hopes that it would help settle him down. Because the bed was bigger- it allowed Shaun and I to get closer to him, without having to pick him up. His liver injury is such that he can't really be moved- and needs to lay flat for at least 4 days. The cast helps with that- but it doesn't stop him from freaking out when we don't pick him up. It's so hard to tell him no when it's all that he wants.

Monday afternoon he was able to get rid of the breathing tube- which meant that he also was able to come off of some of the heavier sedation drugs. And that was kind of a catch 22- it was good because he was more lucid and able to tell us what hurt and where- but he was also able to get really mad when he didn't get what he wanted. Which was: Eating, Going and being held. His Dr told us that he wouldn't be able to eat for several days because they wanted the liver (which aids in digestion) to be absolutely silent in order for it to repair itself the way it needed to. It was so hard to see him cry, ask for food and hear his stomach growl all at the same time.

We were able to have a few visitors though to help break up the days and to keep his mind off food. His favorite visitor was his brother and Ty was extremely nosey... He had to know everything that they were doing to his "Baby Ryan." And I think that Ryan liked to have Ty there too- something about his big brother was very calming to him.

Swelling is starting to go down in his face on Monday afternoon...

Grandpa JB was also able to sneak away from work for a few minutes to come and visit Ryan. He brought his iPhone with him and Ryan sat and played with it for a while when he got worked up. Grandpa has an app that has all of these animal pictures on it with the corresponding sounds. Ryan loved it.

Ryan also got to have a few bites of a slushie on Monday evening... He was pretty excited, but the few bites almost wore him out and he got very sleepy afterward.

Tuesday Ryan finally got some food!! He got a slushie for breakfast and he was moved out of ICU into the Trauma Unit (this is a good move). Ryan was SOO excited about the slushie. He would take a bite and go "Mmmmm... Num Num Num" and immediately open his mouth for more.

One day he may shoot us for the next picture- but the fact that he was peeing is AWESOME. So we took a picture of it.

Tuesday he also lost the oxygen tube and most of the puffiness was gone from his eyes. Though they are so bruised that it looks like he got into a pretty good fight (which is partially true- he just lost a fight with a truck- Shaun thinks that Ryan could have won if it had been a car instead).
He rested much easier once he was moved to his new room- which has been a huge relief.
Ty came for a visit Tuesday and the two of them snuggled on the bed for a little while and Ty showed Ryan how to play a video game that he had brought for him to play. It's probably a little beyond Ryan at this point- but the fact that he was with Ty more than made up for the fact that he didn't understand anything. Ty's companionship is something that I think Ryan really misses. When Shaun and I walked into the room this morning- he almost got angry that it was us and we hadn't brought his brother. He just kept repeating "Where's Ty?"

Anyway- at the end of today, Tuesday, things are really looking good. When we left the hospital this evening, Ryan was able to lose the catheter (which he showed his excitement for by peeing on his dad promptly after it's removal) and all IV's. He is a much happier little boy now that he has some actual food in his tummy (he got a banana and a smoothie for a snack this afternoon and some milk and applesauce for dinner) and he pooped.

We are so grateful for all of the progress that has been made the last couple of days and know that our son is truly blessed. We are so thankful for the phone calls, the prayers and the messages that we have received. Thanks to all of you out there for the love and support- we wouldn't have made it through this far without it.