Yesterday morning I took Ryan to get all sorts of imaging done. He had several x-Rays, a dexascan (bone density), and a CT scan.
The CT scan was of his abdomen and pelvis. The urologist ordered this to see if, perhaps, kidney stones or some other blockage was causing Ryan’s recurring urinary tract infections. The technician read the scan while Ryan was off getting other images and reported to me that Ryan’s kidneys and bladder look great. Phew!
We had some follow-up x-rays done and sent these off to various doctors, but right now I’m most interest in the dexascan. This will tell us Ryan’s bone density. I hope to hear something today but it will likely be sometime next week.
Some might recall from Monday’s post that Sue took Ryan’s urine over to be cultured. The results came in yesterday. He has another UTI. Again, we caught this before it started causing him any major discomfort. We are using a product called AZO Standard that was given to us through the Wish List (Thank you!) to relieve Ryan’s discomfort until the antibiotics kick-in.
Ryan enjoying the patio.
The warm weather over the past two days allowed for Ryan (and me) to enjoy the new patio. I took him out to catch some rays and breath in some fresh air. I situated him so his eyes were just slightly away from the sun and let the warmth hit his face. It’s hard to believe it’s this warm in February.
I even grilled out last night! This was the first time in nearly three years. We had some Omaha Steaks that were kindly sent to us last year that I saved for just this. It would appear that I didn’t lose any of my culinary skills in grilling the perfect steak. Yum! Bobby Flay has nothing on me when it comes to grilling out. I got his “throwdown” right here. Or, should I say, “smack down”. Oh no, I didn’t!
If the weather is nice this weekend I believe I’ll throw on some hot dogs and hamburgers.
Ryan looks great! Can’t believe Duke is not perched on his lap enjoying the patio too. Omaha Steaks are great, we recieved them once for a gift. I had never had them before and really enjoyed them, hope you enjoyed too! You need to get yourself a hammock out there to relax in while Ryan is sunning himself.
ken,so glad to see Ryan enjoying himself.Well,I’m going through my senior3 year,attending classes from 6:30am to 10:0pm.I have so little spare time that I can’t follow this blog regularly.I just hope that…that someday I will be able to go to America and visit your family…..But,it may be just a dream…..well,it doesn’t matter.I just hope Ryan will be able to be responsable.Everything will be alright.
Hello Everyone!! Just a reminder that the drive is on to get a MotoMed machine for Ryan. The MotoMed will be very beneficial to Ryan in many different aspects of his health. Ken has worked hard to keep Ryan in excellent shape. The MotoMed will help supplement Ken’s therapy to keep Ryan’s muscles and joints limber. As stated in the literature:
“Muscles shorten and tendons harden if they are not moved regularly. The joints also get increasingly stiff. As a result, it becomes more and more difficult to bend and stretch feet, legs and arms. With the MOTOmed, the legs and arms can be stretched and bent hundreds of times in 10 minutes for example. This helps to regularly “lubricate” the joints and to make the muscles more flexible.”
Thank you so much to everyone who has supported Ryan!! Please share this information with others so that Ryan can begin his new therapy as soon as possible. Let’s keep working together to help Ryan as he continues on his journey to recovery!!
Thanks all!
Paula
Thank you, Paula. The model we want to get for Ryan also stimulates the muscles (synchronized electrical impulses) that will give him a cardio workout and resistance (leading to increased bone density). It might also help him relearn leg movement.
Ken, I’ve been trying for several days to donate but PayPal for some reason doesn’t want me to use my credit card. I’ve run in to this before…it wants me to use my debit card. (Yet I can use my credit card for other transactions, for example when I go into Amazon for the wish list stuff, or when I purchased the Vocelli’s deal to benefit Ryan). I’ll be happy to go through my debit card but I can’t do it until pay day (just a few more days!)Have a good weekend!
<3 carla
Sounds to me like you have your personal PayPal set up to pull from your debit card. You might want to look at your payment choices/preferences and select another method. Let me know if this is the solution.
Glad to hear your grilling skills remain sharp. With that good looking patio in the background, I expect you and Ryan will spend a lot of time out there this coming season. Take care and God Bless you.
Ryan looks like he is enjoying the sun on the patio. I wish it was that warm up here in upstate NY. No snow anywhere I live but with the wind feels like 10 below. Not patio or grillin time up here, yet.
Ken,
Thank you for sharing Ryan with us. I have learned from your site lots of things. Ones that I believe will benefit Courtney. We have completed additions to the house and she will be returning home tuesday. Due to your knowledge, I have had a dexascan done on Courtney as well. We should here about them soon to. I know that sometimes it can be hard to all you do with Ryan and keep us posted. However from a scared mom going through this to, you help me realize that it can be done and it can be done well. VERY WELL! Much Love and Prayers, Courtney and Becky
I’m delighted to hear she will be going home!
Ken, So glad all scans were good and darn for that UTI ,but hopefully ,like you always do ,it was gotten early.Loved the picture of Ryan getting some rays.It must have been nice to grill outside after so long, Please say hi to Ryan and hope your day goes smooth.Hoping for that MotoMed!!!!! Love Gail
Hello Ken, that’s good news about the xrays, and also good news that you were able to (once again) get the UTI under control before it caused problems. I gotta tell you, that is an awesome picture of Ryan!! The steaks sound like they were delicious, and bring on the hotdogs and burgers too — I wonder how the (live) dogs responded to all that grilling : )
Hoping you and Ryan enjoy the day, try to get outside early, then batten down the hatches because big wind gusts are coming this afternoon!
Sending you good thoughts, hugs, love and prayers as always!
Paula
p.s. I agree about putting the MotoMed in a place where everyone can see it
Your post made me smile. So glad you and Ryan got to enjoy the beautiful weather and the yummy steak…not sure if the weather will hold for this weekend but doesn’t mean you can’t grill out anyway!!!
Nice to see Ryan getting fresh air and some Vitamin D from the sun. Thank you for always sharing updates and photos. You are an extraordinary father and husband. Reading about your grilling talents made me smile since you could feel lightness and joy in your voice.
Staying near, praying always, ready to help in anyway.
I found your fundraiser by accident yesterday for the MotoMed for Ryan. There wasn’t a post for yesterday so I was looking through the website and came across this. I made a donation and posted it on my facebook page as a challenge to my friends and collegues. My point is, I didn’t know about this campaign. Maybe it should be on your home page with the thermometer like you had for the Chic Magnet – I think it needs more exposure to get this done for Ryan. Just my humble opinion.
Glad you’re enjoying nice weather and so far the scans are positive. It must feel good to Ryan to have the Sun on his face. For those of you who don’t know about the MotoMed Fundraiser, it’s on the Events Page. I normally wouldn’t check this because I don’t live in the area, but I’m glad I could help.
Great suggestion. I put the MotoMed fundraiser on the Home Page.