The Lesser of Two Evils
Yes, it true. I’m in a bit of a snit lately. I’m sure you’ve noticed. That is, unless you’re my wife.
I suppose this past week was a prime example of how I redirect my sadness into anger. I’m way more productive angry than down in the dumps. I wonder if The Buddha (reference yesterday’s comments on Who Can Blame Me?) has any enlightenment on this? Of the two, does my anger or my sadness punish me more? Does it even really matter?
UTI Clearing
By all clinical indications, it appears Ryan’s urinary tract infection is responding to the antibiotics. He is on them for ten days total and is three days into them. His vital signs are “normal” again and he had a peaceful night. It was heart-wrenching to see him in such pain. I’m sure this was just another contributor to my “snittiness” (I know, it’s not a word… until now!).
via scornfulprose.blogspot.com
His infection, or more accurately the antibiotics, threw the plans for today in the trash. Ryan was scheduled to have a number of procedures performed at Loudoun Hospital. This included a full panel of blood tests, x-Rays, Dexascan (measures bone density), and something else that I don’t remember. Late yesterday, after an exhausting day of probing (probably not the best choice of words, given the UTI) into it, we finally hear back that the antibiotics will taint some of the blood test results. We could have still went ahead with the other procedures, but we felt this would just double his exposure to picking-up an infection. Beyond this, his immune system is already working hard on clearing the UTI. For Ryan’s sake, we decided to wait and do it all at once. The less time in a hospital environment, the better. I guess this is a good rule to follow, no matter the circumstances. I love it when I state the obvious!
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- What are the symptoms of a UTI? (zocdoc.com)
I hope Ryan continues to feel better. I just want you to know that every time Hannah sees Ryan she sees an improvement. Obviously it’s much harder for you folks to see the small changes seeing Ryan everyday. I believe like someone before, it is a marathon not a race. As far as all the other comments…..I believe in lots of different things but my strongest belief is good vibrations, karma what ever you want to call it. Let’s try hard to keep this a positive place.
Ken,
It looks like your “snittiness” is rubbing off on your readers! Way to go! Keep it up! It’s been quite entertaining… LOL!
Glad to hear Ryan is feeling better, and YOU will too!
😉
Anything for the cause!!
“Still here, always here, forever”.
I can do that for you Ken, and for Ryan.
Ken, my mom used to say to us kid when we were growing up..”stop being such a snit”, so as for me and mine, snitty, snittiness, snit, they are all words we know. I think “_itch, with a B ” has replaced the word snit today, but Sue being the gentile person she is still uses snit….You go girl, show the world some civility. As for your behavior changes, its understandable. Whenever Jonny has come to see Ryan he is a “nasty _itch with a capital B”, for about a week. His anger at what he lost and what he misses is front and center for all of us to help him cope with. The pain and anger your family has is immense, I am so thankful the community of Ashburn has rallied around you. They are amazing with their giving of time, materials, and love. You are lucky to have them in your life, it would be hell times 4 instead of hell times 3 without them. Don’t even give the thought of hating Jonathan May and Austin Vantrease a second thought. I also hate them for what they not only did to Ryan and Brian, but how their selfish actions have effected my son and all Ryan’s friends. As Taylor Swift sings in her song …”all your gonna be is mean”. That song is for Jonathan and Austin, I think of them everytime I hear it. God bless and hoping for a fairly even keel day for you all, glad the UTI is clearing.
Hi Ken,
I heard about Ryan’s story through my Mom, Jennifer, and have stared at this page for a long time before deciding to comment.
While I cannot even begin to imagine what your going through, as someone who has seen a loved one go through extreme pain that, at times, seems endless, I feel I can relate.
Please don’t let anyone make you feel that you don’t have the right to be angry or sad. I am so angry and sad about what has happened to your son and I don’t even know him. Only you your family see, hear and feel what Ryan goes through on a daily and nightly basis and that gives your the right to feel anyway that you do.
I truley admire the devotion and love you have for your child and will be hoping and praying for him always.
Morgan
Morgan~I could not be prouder that you are my beloved child. You have taken care of me during the absolute worst days of my life. You became a daily caregiver for me when you should have been being taken care of by me. Who knew that a 17 year old girl could learn very quickly how to manage paramedics, nurses and doctors better than most adults? I will forever be grateful that you stepped up to the plate when I needed someone the most. I know I am a bit biased, but I think you might be as close to the perfect child as God Allows.
Ken, please let Sue know that Morgan is the daughter I told her about on our first meeting when we were sharing the pain of the effects my illness and Ryan’s attack and the aftermath on both of our daughters! Sue’s Crew, this is my amazing child~
Will do!
I concur, not that you need it, that you consistently make wise choices regarding the care of Ryan. Jonathan’s bout with MRSA, that cause his skull prosthesis to be removed, was a real wake up call to us regarding hospitals and their ability to spread all kinds of infections because of their disregard for simple rules to keep them from spreading. But I digress.
I am thinking of that song “nobody does it better” and can’t remember who sang it but it was a loooooooong time ago.
That’s you!
Vicky, NOT to digress from showing support for Ryan and Ken–and get into “hospital-bashing” (don’t get me started)—I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate your comments. 🙂
I always appreciate Vicky’s comments too!!
Whoa, K.T. — chill out! No one said you couldn’t talk about the Buddha nor anyone else. What are you so offended by, and what is driving you to start a dialogue here about religion? All Jo said, was, “Jesus, not Buddha.” So? What was your intention in coming to this blog to post today? Was it to show compassion and caring for the Divineys, or — to start some kind of distracting, divisive discussion about religion? What is behind all this hostility? First it’s Bob calling people “haters,” and now you’re showing up to toss verbal bombs about religion. What about Ryan? He is why I am here. You?
…so I put them in a message for Ken…
More on “heart-wrenching”
Ken, Sue, I have something to share on “suffering”, but my thoughts are far too personal/painful to share in this blog….
I hope they help.
I get it, Ken. I’m glad you use this forum to share your anguish and pain with us. I’ve learned quite a bit from you simply by the grace in which you’ve handled this terrible situation. I’d like to think that it helps that we understand it, we can talk through it, and that we try to carry some of the emotional burden for you. I’m glad to hear that Ryan is more comfortable today. We all love you & “We Got This”, buddy!
Hear, hear!!
John ,You said the way we all feel Thanks
Gail
“heart-wrenching” Yes. I KNOW. I remember…
“the less in a hospital hospital environment” Good–you’re enlightened…
(sooo glad the UTI is receeding…)
Hello Ken, some weeks are just harder than others…and anytime Ryan gets a UTI or other infection, of course this makes you feel worse because of your deep love and concern for your son. We all relate to this. This is not a race, it’s a marathon — and I hope you know you can lean on us — we will always do our best to help.
As for the Buddha — with all due respect, I don’t believe karma had anything to do with what happened to sweet Ryan. It was the sinful and savage actions of two people. Alas, there are many more where they came from; we live in a world filled with sin, but also, thank God, wonderful, compassionate people like the employees at Michael & Sons (and all the other fantastic people who love and care about Ryan and your family).
Always remember that you and your family are surrounded by the safety net of Team Diviney. Your strength is an inspiration to us, and the tremendous amount of work you do to help Ryan gives us a fresh perspective each day. Hope you are able to document all that you’ve been doing — it’s a story people need to know. It will give them enlightenment about the lengths a Dad will go to take care of his child…all in the name of love.
Sending love and prayers that today is a much better day for you and Ryan. What would the world be like if it wasn’t for Dads like you?
Beautifully said on all aspects, Paula! FYI, My post above was not responding to Jo, just wanted to clarify for anyone that might mistake it as such. Love to all~
Take him, he’s yours. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – spoken by Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus, not Buddha!
Wow, the second someone makes a comment that isn’t a christian one, you people shoot it right down. Remember folks, not everyone is a Christian here. Why can’t you just keep your comments to yourself and let someone try to help like you. Our focus should be on Ryan. Not what people post on this website.
Ken,
Do you even believe in God. Just wonder?
K.T. — How is it you feel you have the right to tell others to “keep their comments to themselves” while you say exactly what you think? Don’t be a hypocrite. Everyone comes here for a reason, but none of us are the same. All of us are here because we love Ryan and his family, and we want to help them. Peace out.
Excuse me Paula? I clearly didn’t say how i felt. I stated not everyone who visits this website is Christian. Now I ‘ll say how i feel. I find it offenses that someone can’t make a comment without people lashing out at them. Just because someone is different, doesn’t mean it’s wrong. No one puts down what you say about your “God”.
Jo Hobbs says:
May 20, 2011 at 9:12 AM
Take him, he’s yours. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – spoken by Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus, not Buddha!
So why is right for you to put down what someone else believes in????
Not shooting down Buddha’s words. As a faithful, praying Christian, just emphasizing the words of the comforter, Jesus. I think that all prayers, words of wisdom and inspiration, and comfort are welcome here. And certainly, I know that all who write here are not Christians.
■Ryan’s Rally: We Got This on FaceBook A place where people can come together to offer support, prayer, words of encouragement and other thoughts and wishes for Ryan and the Diviney Family.
What exactly was the point of your post, might I ask? I did not read into Ken’s posting as one of attacking another religious figure or religion.
Why do some people infer that the Christians that respond think their view is the only acceptable view? Everyone in the world has the right to believe in their own higher power, if they are a believer at all.
What I can tell you as a person not just a Christian, though I am that proudly as well, is that people of all races and religions smile the same, feel pain the same and grieve in similair fashions. This in itself binds us as a human community. Anger in itself may feel the same, but may be presented differently. This differentiation falls between being slightly upset to terroristic and evil acts. When evil and harm is done to one’s children most people within the human community grieve terribly.
Ken did not bring into the forum yesterday the discussion of Buddha, another poster did. You can determine what you read from that post, you cannot dictate how people respond to it.
To your question of whether Ken believes in God, that is absolutely none of your business unless HE chooses to share that with you.
Click on “About Me” in the menu.
Let’s all coexist and remember that everyone has freedom of choice. We don’t have to agree on a higher power. We just need to agree on why we sign onto Ryan’s page………………………..for Ryan.
Oh, this is such good news, and a beautiful morning — no rain — as an added delight! You are doing just fine with your anger, and the sadness may permeate your being much of the time. We try to help keep your chin off your chest, but we understand; sometimes that is not possible — same for many of us, but like you, we try. Love from Maryland, always here.