Yep. There’s a ton going on right now. Just like my other weekly updates, I’ll limit the boredom and include some of the things I hope you find interesting.
- Foot Doctor. The Podiatrist, Dr. Shuman (loving that name!), will visit out home this upcoming week. She will take measurements on Ryan’s feet and ankles to fit him with custom leg braces (AFOs) for daytime use. We already have an excellent pair of AFOs we put on Ryan each night. She’ll also measure him for the shoe we picked, the New Balance 812 Extra Depth. That same day we’ll simultaneously order the products and submit a claim to insurance (and hope they pay).
- Tarsorrhaphy. Also this week Ryan will be taken to Fair Oaks Hospital to have both his eyes stitched partially shut by Dr. Kevin Scott. This is necessary to protect him from losing one, or both, eyes. I hate it, but know it is a necessary operation. Ryan is the first patient in the operating room that morning, so we’ll be up bright and early. Well, brighter and earlier… as it were. It’s worth it though, since the room should be it’s cleanest. For the operation, Ryan will be put under general anesthesia and the actual procedure is not lengthy at all. Recovery will bring discomfort. We are told to expect his face to bruise and treat him with a pain-killer and antibiotic for several days. Then, in two weeks we’ll take him back to the doctor for follow-up and slight adjustments to the tension of the stitches.
- RT-300 FES. Ryan made a major performance improvement this past week in the amount of power he exerts in pushing greater torque resistance. The only trade-off is in distance travelled and even that’s not significant. After much debate, the therapist released his maximum thresholds mid-week and turned much of the control over to me. So what did I do? I tested Ryan to see what he is capable of doing. Turns out, he even surprised me. The very first day he pushed 36% more resistive force for the same length of time (one hour). He did it again the next day too. For his hard work, he took Friday off from the RT-300 to allow his muscles to recover. I’ll still need to factor in today’s session, but here is a graph of his weekly averages. Scroll your cursor over the graph to enlarge it.
Weekly Averages
- UTI. My decision, with Dr. Rodriguez’s blessing, to put Ryan on the antibiotic Cipro turned out to be right (Whew!). The bacteria causing the infection is sensitive to it and Cipro should knock it out. Today is his sixth day on the medicine. A strategy I’m pitching with the Eye Surgeon is to extend this dosage following the operation, since Ryan will need an antibiotic post-surgery. I was asked an excellent question about how much water Ryan gets each day. Water intake is key so that urine doesn’t stagnate in the bladder because he’s often urinating. For Ryan, he puts out around 300 ml with each purging. He purges ten times a day, give or take. We give Ryan over 2.5 liters of water daily (plus over 0.5 liter— or 500 ml — of other fluids, like cranberry juice). For all the Americans out there, this is equivalent to over 85 fluid ounces and greatly exceeds the recommended daily intake (64 ounces).
- Hair Cut Video. Ryan started off the week with a fresh haircut. Kari, his younger sister, did the honors before his nightly shower. She is using the trimming kit that was purchased from Ryan’s Wish List (thank you!). I shot a quick half-minute video of her doing it that I thought you might enjoy (below) to cap off today’s post. Also, I added this to the Video page and a photo of her doing this in the Photo page.
Thanks for the updates. My prayers continue for Ryan and his family.
Congrats to” Ride for Ryan” riders .Glad all went well and you arrived safely Such a great thing to do !
Never bored ,Ken:)
Ken, Thanks so much for updates..and I too wish Ryan didn’t have to have surgery, but if it helps him in the long run, that’s what matters. Ryan is doing great on RT300, keep up the good work Ryan!!!! Once again you hit the nail on the head with Cipro,thank goodness it’s helping and you started it early(smart man)
Hoping insurance pays for sneakers and day leg braces, they will help Ryan so much and are certainly needed.
Love the video of a good sister giving her big brother a hair cut ,You did good,Kari :).Thinking of you all and that weekend is calm Love gail
Kari, a second career in the making??? Cosmotology perhaps, is dad your next client? Now that’s a viedo we would like to watch, wonder who would squirm the most in that one. Make sure you get your tip Kari.
Oh how adorable!! Jaimi’s right, Kari sounds a lot like Sue, especially her laughter. What a wonderful sister, daughter and friend Kari is. And so beautiful, too. In the dark, there is light, and we just saw a big example of that.
Thank you for all the information you gave us in today’s update, Ken. It is very helpful to know, so that we can stay on top of what’s new with Ryan. Thank God you made the right decision about the Cipro, and I really like your idea to recommend to the doctor that the Cipro just be continued.
I wish Ryan didn’t have to have this surgery either, but — it’s all part of the drive to keep his health the very best it can be. I am praying he will be able to still see, at least a little bit.
God bless you and your wonderful family. Your actions and dedication to Ryan continue to inspire us daily.
Sending love & prayers as always, and of course, faith and hope
Paula
Regarding the Cipro, I specifically remembered the smell of a past UTI strain and this one smelled like it (almost a bitter quality).
Wow, Kari has Sue’s voice and laugh<3 Sweet!
Yep, both of your kids are pretty awesome. Thank you for sharing that “clip” with us 🙂 Praying that all goes well for the orthotics and tarsorrhaphy, and so relieved to hear that yet another UTI is under control. You and Sue are pretty awesome too!
Been wondering what is happening over there. Now we know! Thanks.
I love the video. Kari, you are one rockin’ woman! And a fair hair-cutter! I have to admit, I was a bit concerned there for a moment, remembering what I once did to our dog! It was not pretty! But Kari is a wiz at this. Ryan looks great!
Thanks for the update, Ken. This is indeed a busy time for you Divineys. Next thing you, it will be time for Kari to go packin’ off to school! Summer is way too short! 🙁
Always here with love and prayers.