Sleep and headaches and surgery . . . oh my!

Bryan is thankful for sleep (and drugs). The doctors feel it is extremely important for Bryan to get as much rest and sleep as possible before next week’s surgery and since that just doesn’t seem to be happening, they’ve given him some medication to help him sleep. Last night was the first time taking it and he slept really well. So he will likely be on this medication until the surgery.

Also, regarding Bryan’s persisting headaches, he’s been bumped up from Extra Strength Tylenol to Tylenol #2 now and that seems to be helping more with the headaches.

And that brings us to next week . . . a busy week for Bryan with respect to his medical care. Bryan’s surgery to deal with the second aneurysm has been scheduled for Friday, June 4 at 8:00 am. On Tuesday he is scheduled for his pre-operative appointment with the surgeon. On Thursday night, Bryan needs to be at the hospital for an MRI. The time is unfortunate because Bryan and Michelle would just like to be home relaxing and trying to get to bed on time instead of being at the hospital. But the doctors want the MRI to be as close to surgery as possible. Hopefully it won’t go too late because they’ll have to get up quite early to be at the hospital two hours before surgery on Friday morning.

So that brings us to specific prayer requests:

• For Bryan to continue sleeping well at night
• For Bryan’s headache management to continue to improve on the increased strength of Tylenol
• That Bryan and Michelle (and the rest of the family) will remain calm and at peace as they await next week’s surgery
• That surgery will actually happen at the scheduled time and that it won’t get bumped for something more urgent
• That God will continue to be glorified through this journey

Thank you for your continued love and encouragement and especially your prayers.

A Quick Update

Bryan is thankfully getting over the bug or whatever it was he was experiencing – thank you for your prayers in this area. He's had to change his medications a little bit to deal with his headaches better – they are still constant, but somewhat controlled. Sleep continues to be an issue. He still sleeps with his upper body somewhat elevated and is unable to sleep in positions that used to be comfortable for him. It seems that moving from his bed halfway through the night to the couch is allowing him to change his position enough to fall back to sleep again.

Thankfully Bryan has been feeling well enough to get up and around every day. He has been going for short, slow paced walks daily, which he really enjoys.

Thank you for your continued prayers. Please keep praying for Bryan – specifically for the headaches and the sleep issues.

Feeling Yucky

I’m writing this post to ask you to please pray for Bryan as he’s feeling a tad under the weather. The last three days or so haven’t been very good for him. He may have a touch of a bug of some sort as he’s been feeling kind of nauseous and has had a slight fever. He also hasn’t been sleeping well at night. He’s still taking his Tylenol, Advil and Gravol as needed.

As you can imagine, this is all making Bryan feel quite anxious. He’s worried about the nausea . . . scared of the thought of throwing up and putting pressure on his head where the second aneurysm still is. Feeling generally unwell is making him frustrated as he wants to rest up and gain as much strength as possible for the next surgery.

So please pray for the following:

• That Bryan will get over the sickness he’s dealing with
• That Bryan will be able to physically relax so he can rest and sleep
• That Bryan’s mind will be at ease and his worry will subside
• That Michelle and the rest of the family will remain relaxed and calm so they can continue to support Bryan

Follow-up Appointment

Bryan had his follow-up appointment today with one of the neurosurgeons and the nurse practitioner that he often saw at the hospital. It went well and there was a lot discussed.

The CT scan that was scheduled for the end of May has been cancelled. The last one he had was good and since he’s had so many scans in the last month, they would like to avoid exposing Bryan to any more radiation.

Surgery to clip the second aneurysm is going to happen at the beginning of June. The exact date will be confirmed in the next few days.

Bryan’s blood pressure was checked and it was good.

With respect to medication, he is going to finish off the last three pills that he has for his neurological pain and then he will just be on the Tylenol and Advil.

Specific prayer requests:

• For rest for Bryan so he can gain strength and be as ready as possible for surgery #2
• For Bryan and Michelle and the kids as they gear up and prepare (emotionally) for surgery #2
• Thankful for all the support – emails, blog comments, meals, childcare and other practical things, etc. . . .
• Thankful to God for his faithfulness to Bryan and his family

13 Years!

Happy Anniversary Bryan and Michelle!

Praying that God will bless you with many, many more happy and healthy years together.

Love you!

Thankful for Meals

Thank you to everyone who offered to help out with meals for Bryan and Michelle. We have three meals booked every week until the end of June! We’ll leave it at that for now and reassess later to see if more will be needed after that point. It’s amazing how many people have come forward to help in this situation – and not just with food.
Many times during the past three weeks, Bryan would comment on how overwhelming it was that so many people wanted to help him and his family. At one point he said he couldn’t believe how many people care about them. Like any good sister, I assured him that it wasn’t him, but rather Michelle that people care for. LOL! Good thing he can take a joke eh?

Anyway, it sure is a blessing to have so many family and friends surrounding Bryan and Michelle and their children during this challenging time. Thank you for your continued love and prayers as well as providing the practical things . . . particularly meals.

Meals

Three weeks ago, life drastically changed for Bryan and Michelle. Now that Bryan is home from the hospital, life is a little bit easier but definitely not back to normal. Bryan still has a long way to go in his recovery. Without going into a lot of detail, he has a lot of limitations that restrict him from doing the things he used to do . . . and at this point these restrictions are place for an indefinite period of time.

So in order to make life easier for Bryan and Michelle, we would like to arrange meals for them . . . if possible three times a week. If you are able and willing to help out in this area we would love to hear from you. If you are a member of the church where Bryan and Michelle attend, please contact Ida K. to offer to help out. If you are not a member of their church, you can contact Karen (Bryan's sister) at mk@carmtechsolutions.com to offer to help out. We know that Bryan and Michelle will appreciate this as it will give them one less thing to think about. Thank you in advance for blessing their family in a practical way.

Home Sweet Home!

Yep, that's right . . . Bryan is home. Three weeks exactly from the day he was rushed to the hospital - he's home! God sure is good and we are so thankful for the healing that has happened and continues to happen in Bryan's body.

I know it seems like we've perhaps over-stressed the whole issue of Bryan not having visitors but I feel the need to do it again. Just because Bryan is no longer at the hospital and it would be so easy to stop by at his house, please repect the fact that Bryan needs his rest. He was told today when he was leaving the hospital that he should still have a NO VISITORS policy. Having a lot of people coming and going is way too overwhelming for him and he needs to get rest. He needs to continue to heal and gain strength so he'll be ready for the next surgery to repair the second aneurysm in a few weeks down the road. So thank you for respecting this request.

Bryan still spent most of the day at the hospital today. He slept most of the afternoon away. He still has a headache bothering him a lot of the time and so he needs a lot of rest. Once he woke up though, he got all cleaned up (even shaved) and was ready to go. It took him a long time to actually leave because he had to say bye to all the friends he's made over the last three weeks.

Bryan has a follow-up appointment next week Monday to see how things are going and then he's going back again on the 27th for a CT scan. We will continue to update Bryan's progress on the blog (maybe not everyday) so stay posted.

Thank you for your continued prayers for Bryan and his family.

Pictures, cards, poems and notes from his kids and nephews and nieces hanging in the hospital room:

Sleeping the afternoon away: Ready to finally head home: Sweet reunion with the kids:



Welcome home signs for Papa: Family picture with everyone finally all together at home again: Oh wait, here's what they're really like:

Sunday Update

Bryan spent some time this morning with his family - Michelle and the kids (and mom) came to visit for a while this morning. He's always excited to see the kids and it makes his day. Even though Bryan's confined to the hospital, he made arrangements to have flowers brought to the house for Michelle and wrote out a beautiful card for her. (I think there may have been some tears!)

Unfortunately Bryan had a headache all day today. The nurses said it's probably from him being weaned off his pain medications. Thankfully the low back and leg pain seems to be under control.

The prayer request tonight is for Bryan as he starts to think about coming home. It's going to be a huge adjustment for him and it's not going to be easy. He's not going be able to physically exert himself at all, he still won't be able to have visitors, he's going to have to work on activities that exercise his brain and he's going to tire a lot easier than before. There will be a lot of limitations and restrictions that he's going to have to get used to. It's going to be great to finally have him at home again but it's going to be a big change for everyone. Please pray for Bryan and Michelle and their kids that they will have strength and patience as they adjust to their new normal.

Saturday Update

Bryan had another good day today. He has been up walking around his floor a fair amount and saying hello to all the people he's met along the way. The nurses have begun weaning off his pain medication - which has gone really well. His pain has been mild today - He even made it to 2:30 this afternoon without the need for any Tylenol 3.

Bryan and the family are so thankful for the progress he has made, a great nursing staff, incredible prayer support and most importantly - an awesome God.

CT Scan Results

Bryan had his CT scan this afternoon and the results were good. There is still some mild vasospasm but that's what the doctors were expecting/hoping for. Last week the vasospasm was quite severe so they were hoping it would now be mild. We're almost at day 21 after the aneurysm burst so that means Bryan will be over the time period when there is a risk of vasospasm. So at this point, it's extremely unlikely that those mild vasospasms would get worse.

Bryan will remain on the IV overnight tonight so that the saline will sort of flush his system of the dye that was used for the CT scan today. And then tomorrow he will come off the IV again. The nurses are also going to start weaning one of his pain medications by 50% tomorrow and then hopefully even more on Sunday. The plan is that by the time he's ready to leave the hospital, he will only be on Tylenol #3 which will be much easier when he's at home.

So please pray that the reduction in pain medication will go well and that Bryan's pain will remain under control and be manageable on less medication.

Thursday Update

Thank you for your prayers for the CT scan today . . . but it didn't happen. For some reason there was an oversight and it didn't get booked. So now the CT scan is supposed to happen tomorrow (Friday).

Bryan had a good day today. His pain was relatively well controlled - it seems to be better now that he is able to get up and stretch his legs a little more.

There was a little bit of an upset that happened this evening. I'll start by saying that Bryan's nursing staff has been absolutely incredible. Every nurse that has taken care of him since his admission two and a half weeks ago has been so kind and caring - often going above and beyond. It's been such a blessing and comfort to know that Bryan is in good hands as he's recovering. And honestly, Bryan deserves it, because he's been a stellar patient - which isn't always easy when you've been stuck in a hospital for that long. Anyway, tonight he had an unpleasant experience with a lady that was scheduled to be his nurse. She was extremely unkind and rude – it was unbelievable. Bryan was really upset because she was so heartless and it was clear to the other nurses that she was making Bryan upset. So they made some switches and arranged for someone else to be Bryan’s nurse for tonight. Thank you Lord for looking after Bryan and his needs. He seriously couldn’t have handled having her as his nurse (and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to leave the hospital knowing that woman was in charge of my brother!) Thankfully we don’t have to worry about it. This has just been another one of those God moments where we can see that He is in charge and knows exactly what we need.

So when you’re saying your prayers and thinking about Bryan, please remember to thank God for His amazing, love, care and provision.

Wednesday Night

I wasn’t going to do a blog post tonight because there’s not really that much to say. Today was rather uneventful for Bryan – which isn’t a bad thing.

Tomorrow morning Bryan will go for another CT scan to assess the status of the vasospasm. Please pray that it all goes well and that there is no sign of vasospasm anymore.

Family Reunion

The much anticipated family reunion finally happened today! The kids were so excited when Michelle told them they were going to be able to see Papa today . . . and perhaps Bryan was even more excited.

Michelle talked to the kids and prepared them for the visit. She explained to them that Papa would have something connected to his arm for medicine (the IV) so that he could get better. She told them that he would have a scratch on his head. She told them that Papa might cry a little bit but that it would be happy tears because he was so glad to see them.

The visit was amazing. The kids were so happy to see Bryan and vice versa. The kids checked everything out and asked lots of questions. They found it quite interesting when the nurse came to take Bryan’s blood pressure and give him some more medication. Breanna was the most clingy to Bryan and wanted to sit on his lap almost the whole time. Zachary was just a cool dude (sunglasses and all) the whole time acting as though nothing really fazed him. Cassandra was the most interested in Bryan’s incision. She kept pointing to it and asking him if she could see it again. Samantha was very serious at first just kind of looking at Bryan and then she totally gave him lots of smiles and giggles and showed off how good she’s gotten at walking over the past two weeks. Bryan kept commenting on how much she’s grown. I have to say though that my favourite part of the visit was when three-year-old Cassandra blurted out, “we have a broken Papa!” Good thing Bryan has a sense of humour!

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the visit (posted with permission from Bryan).

Oh and just to give you a quick update on Bryan (minor detail after the family visit), he had a pretty good sleep last night - only waking up to go to the bathroom and for a new IV. His pain was quite severe this morning but by this afternoon it seemed to be better controlled. His blood pressure was low this morning so he's been put back on some IV medication to help that. It needs to stay above a certain level to help decrease the risk of vasospasm.

We're so thankful that Bryan had another fairly good day . . . and made even better by the visit from his kids. What a blessing that they were finally able to get together and that the visit went so well. Please continue to pray for healing for Bryan so that he can come home and see his kids every day!

Monday Update

Bryan had a really good sleep last night. When he woke up this morning, one of the first things out of his mouth was, "that was the best sleep I've had at the hospital ". So that was a good start to his day. His pain again was off and on. It was pretty intense around lunchtime and then again after dinner.

Michelle showed Bryan some of the blog posts today and he read some of the comments that have been left. He was a little emotional when reading it all - it's so overwhelming for him to realize how many people have been thinking about him and praying for him over the past two weeks. Thank you so much for the love and support you've shown to Bryan and his family. Please continue to pray.

Bryan was able to go for a few walks again today. He didn't seem to be as short of breath with that today. In true Bryan fashion, he says "hi" to everyone as he walks. He recognized different nurses and other medical staff that he's met over the past two weeks. They all remember him and love him and are happy to see him up and walking around. He has definitely made a lot of new friends and he always makes a huge effort to remember their names - which of course makes everyone smile. It's great to see him walking around and sitting up in his chair instead of being confined to his bed all the time. Every day we see more and more signs of the old Bryan coming through.

He's come a long way and we're thankful to God for the healing in his life.

Sunday Update

Very little sleep was had by Bryan last night. He was moved in the middle of the night (still in the ICU) and the guy in the bed beside him is very loud. So that doesn't help at all with Bryan's sleep issues. His pain was also hard to control today. The nurses and doctors have been trying to wean him off his pain medication, or at least spread the doses out a bit, but they haven't been too successful. The pain seems to finally be better controlled this evening. It's still loud there though so let's pray that Bryan can have a good sleep tonight so he'll feel a little better tomorrow - he's really tired tonight.

The main prayer request tonight is for separation issues. Please pray for Bryan and Michelle's kids. They're having a hard time not being able to see their "Papa" for so long. Their lives have been turned upside down, and although they've been really good, it's been so hard on them. Today was particulary hard and when the kids are sad about not seeing Bryan, then it's not always easy for Michelle to leave them to head to the hospital again. Bryan too is having a hard time not being able to see the kids. Tomorrow marks two weeks since he's seen them and each day gets harder as he misses them more and more. So please pray for the family as they go through this difficult time of separation.

A Good Day

Today was one of the better days for Bryan. He had a good sleep last night - only awake when he had to be (for vitals and to use the bathroom) so this morning he seemed quite well rested and refreshed. His leg/low back pain seemed better today too. It still comes and goes and when it is present, it can be quite severe.

Bryan went on a couple of walks today too. The longer one this afternoon felt really good for him. It seems to help him to stretch his legs and he also feels a sense of accomplishment and improvement when he is up and about. His face was just beaming as he was walking.

I think that's it. There isn't really much to report today. Things went relatively well and at the end of the day Bryan even said, "I had a good day".