Ryan Improving

We made it through the weekend… and that’s no small feat in the hospital. The best one can hope for is for the status quo until Monday morning when it returns to full staff. Fortunately, this happened.

Some early morning labs came back and everything is moving in the right direction. I’m now able to start planning for his (eventual) discharge. I’ll become borderline obnoxious in pressing the doctors to give me a compelling reason to deny/delay discharge. That’s not to say there won’t be, but every day minute he stays in this environment exposes him to illnesses separate from his original condition. It all comes down to risk versus benefit.

To explain what I mean by “pressing”, I (essentially) ordered an IV midline to be placed today. Although seemingly a tad irked at me, the doctor (a.k.a., Hospitalist) signed off on it. [Update:] Subsequently, I learned that the kidney doctor had already ordered this, so perhaps I wasn’t as influential as my ego had thought. Eh, I’ll just pretend I was.

Once home, his recovery will continue for weeks. We already know that we’ll be administering IV antibiotics for another 10 – 14 days (hence, the midline placement) as well as periodic blood work. These kidney/bladder infections are slow to bounce back. It take months.

My spirits were lifted — more than written words can express — when I had a moment to check on the support for the documentary being produced about Ryan, called Storming: The Ryan Diviney Story. This film means everything to me and my family in our relentless pursuit to keep Ryan relevant. Your willingness to share (on social media) the documentary’s trailer inspires us. For those who haven’t watched it yet, it’s worth your while to understand the importance to us. Also, please excuse me for beating the drum to SHARE it directly from the film’s promotional website.

If you’ve already done this, do it again. Then again. And again. This campaign began trending last week and continues to this time. Please help us keep it this way. Here is the direct link: Storming: The Ryan Diviney Story.

In my borderline obnoxious way, please remember to share (from the film’s website). Unlike the medical community, I sense you won’t become a tad irked at me. Anyhow, I hope I’m able to convey to you that, despite all that is going on right now, this becomes more important to me.

You see, I fear just how many more times Ryan can continue to recover from these setbacks. My instincts tell me that time is of the essence.

Now, back to my (medical) goal for the day of getting Ryan discharged. Arriving home is, of course, the goal… but it’s not easy when we walk through our home’s door. I become obsessed with my mission to sanitize and sterilize everything. Even the dogs are not safe from my quest! First, it’s all the items that came back with us from the hospital. This includes both Ryan and me getting an antibacterial shower. I fear inadvertently bringing germs into our home. Honestly, I’m not normally a germaphobe, but hospitals give me the heebie-jeebies.

I can practically see those microscopic bastards crawling around everywhere I look.

It might not be right away but I’ll be sure to let you know within a day when he gets home. Please be sure to check back for updates. In the meantime, I again want to let you know how deeply touched we are that you — and people like you — continue to love and care for Ryan.

We need you. For Ryan’s sake.

UPDATE! Ryan is cleared for discharge later today. Unless something unexpected crops up, we’ll be home by tonight!