Unexpected Answers

Last weekend we had a Howard Family Reunion. It was a lot of fun and busy, especially for Sari & Brett who had 26 people in their home. One night some of the sister-in-laws stayed up taking. The course of the conversation took many turns, however, one point we were talking about Brother Lund's book "Hearing the Voice of the Lord". I have to admit I haven't read all of it yet, but one thing became clear to me, I will explain. In the mist of all our recent unexpected troubles, has come a lot of unexpected answers. I will admit, the past couple of years has been very hard on me personally. There is so much that I don't understand and many days I am so exhausted just trying to keep things together it is hard to think straight. Some times I have spent so much energy trying to understand, I forget to listen to the answers that I have been given. Ryan has been spiking some high fevers, which is not unusual for him, however, post surgery it is not good. Fevers also bring his oxygen lower and since his oxygen was in the 80's while in the hospital, I knew that he would need to be re-admitted soon. While worrying about it, I felt I needed to put his name in the temple. I did and with-in hours his fever broke. He is not turning as blue as often and is smiling a lot more. I know there could be many logical reasons for all of this, however, I don't doubt for a second that the temple was instrumental in helping improve his situation. Now on to Tyler. His pain has been has been high and pain medications were not helping much. Most MD's that he has seen have not been very helpful. So I started researching and asking a lot of questions. Finally, I called some people I felt impressed to talk to. Through the course of these conversations we found a holistic cream that I could apply directly to his skin. My mother-in-law offered to ask some friends and put his name in the temple as well. Today is the first day he has not needed pain medications, the blisters are healing, his vision is improving and he has been awake all day. It is amazing how little unexpected answers can solve a lot of problems.

Ryan's Home & Tyler is not doing well

Ryan's surgery went well. He has some typical Ryan complications (and I am sure more to come), but we are home. He actually is doing much better out of the hospital than he was in. After he was able to stay off oxygen for a couple of hours we were allowed to walk the halls and that was all we did for the next 12 hours (all through the night- actually I did the walking and he was in the wagon). He was so non-compliant that I think they were happy to see him go. I was so busy just trying to take care of him that I didn't get any pictures. The only thing that caught us off guard was that he had to have his adenoids removed AGAIN. I know that 5% of cases they can grow back, I just was not expecting it to happen so fast. 2 adenoidectomy in less than a year seems a little crazy. Talk about crazy, I also rushed home because Tyler is not felling well. Apparently he has shingles on his face. He is in a lot of pain and has trouble seeing. I had the impression that something was not right, but people kept telling be their post-tonsillectomy stories and tried to reassure me that the pain was "normal". Unfortunately for Tyler, this extreme pain has little to do with his tonsils. I feel so bad for them. Every week there is another medical issue we have to work through. Right now we are trying to get through each day at a time with as little long term effects as possible. So far there are no blister on the cornea, just the inside of the eye. I guess blindness is only an issue if the blisters are on the actual cornea. So for now we are keeping a "eye" on him (HA HA). We also wanted to give a big thanks to Nana & Che Gunn for taking care of Davin so Trevor and I can take care of the rest. We appreciate the help!!!

Davin's Turn

Today was Davin's turn for surgery. He had oral surgery at the hospital. He is doing great and hasn't even missed a beat. This time he didn't yell or try to hit anyone at the hospital. In fact, he was quite polite. He made sure that all the nurses and anesthesiologist knew he had to go home but that THEY would be OK without him. What a difference from his last hospitalization (thank goodness). He is now at home and playing his new Dora Game Cube game he got for being such a big boy. Since they had to do root canals he might be a little sore, but other than that he thinks his 3 new silver teeth are great! The surgeon was able to fix the other cavities and seal the remaining teeth that had weak enamel so hopefully he won't need more work done for years. He is now our man of steel.

My X-Men

So we met with the pediatric infectious disease MD on Thursday. He went over all of Ryan's medical records and had some new ideas for us. Since there are so many variables, he is going to "round table" Ryan's case with the heads of the other pediatric departments at Primary Children's Hospital next week. One good news is that he feels his "infections" will not get worse and that his immune system is doing what it is supposed to do in response to infections. That is the good news. The bad news is we may never know what is wrong with the boys. He feels strongly that this is a genetic mutation- either cyclic neutropenia, Hiberian fever, pfapa or a ciliary dysfunction. We are going to do some testing so we will know how to treat him when he gets sick. He also told us that since it is probably a genetic mutation and not an immune function, he is not contagious when he presents with "cold symptoms" so there is no need to run the other way. After his surgery the MD said to take him out in public because he does not feel exposure to infection is the cause of the illnesses. So we are so excited that we don't have to live in fear of germs anymore. Hopefully this is one step closer to normality.

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day to all the great dads, especially ours! To Trevor, thanks for being such a wonderful dad. You are the boys first exposure to a true "super hero". Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound (you know the ones made of blocks on the kitchen floor), you have X-ray vision (finding all the things Ryan loves to hide), you have super strength (just watch you break free from the pillow forts), you have mind control (able to convince the children that chores where their idea), you are able to fly into action (taking on projects and kids) and most importantly you have a strong moral compass that you children see and admire in you. Sure even your sand castles are artistic creations but the boys are by your side evey step of the way. We love you and hope your father's day weekend was well spent!

Tyler Is Doing Well

Tyler had his surgery yesterday and is doing well. The nurses said he was the perfect patient and the surgeon said his surgery couldn't have gone better. In all he was under for a little more than an hour and they were able to remove 4 moles and his tonsils/adenoids. The moles were a little deep so he has some stitches and a shaved head. Of course his brothers wanted their heads shaved as well. You know, they have to do what their cool brother is doing. Any who- right now we are just controlling his pain. He should be completely recovered in about 10 days, just in time for Davin's oral surgery. Oh joy!!!

Enjoy Life

Jen's Surgery- Update

Well I went ahead with my "big" surgery last Thursday. Today is the first day I haven't felt "out of it". Our house seems so quite with the boys in Wyoming (thanks Marda) and at times it is sad walking past their rooms and know they are not in them. It has been such a blessing to know that they are with their grandparent and having a great time in the process. Two weeks with all three is a lot! Also, Trevor has been such a wonderful support through-out everything and willing to take on tasks. I love you! However, I think he is kind of bummed that he didn't get to scrub in on the procedures. My mom has been here taking care of me- it has been nice but I actually feel a little guilty since her life is so busy. She actually didn't want to leave while I was in surgery (4.5 hours) and has waited on me hand and foot since. Also thanks to Elodie for visiting me in the hospital and bringing dinner. Some friends you just can't do without! I'm also glad that Candi worked in the Med/Surgery wing of the hospital. I came home with 4 catheters in my chest and 4 large drains through out my abdomen. When I called her, she was so sweet to come and change all the padding and help drain the tubes. Now I'm down to one drain, that I should get it out next week. The good news is once the swelling and healing takes place I will be a new woman once again. I'm so glad that I went with a plastic surgeon this time. He was able to fix the problems from my previous surgeries and feels confident that I should not have any more issues with my stomach and chest. He also believe my back problems should be more manageable from here on out. So here is to a fast recovery!