Ryan Update

18 May posted by

Ryan and Aaron left for Philadelphia on Monday morning for a few appointments.  He had his MRI scheduled- he gets those every six months.  He also had a checkup with the oncologist and with the ophthalmologist.

If you’ll remember, last time Ryan ran into some setbacks and complications.  One of the tumors had increased to the point where they didn’t want to do the laser treatments, and instead he had surgery where they sewed a radiation patch on the back of his eye for a few days.  Scary stuff!  Because of everything last time, this set of appointments was only 2 months from the last ones, instead of the usual three months.

But this time, we received nothing but good news!  The MRI was clear, and they didn’t even need to do any laser surgery on his eyes like every other time- the radiation worked!  So, he gets another three month reprieve from heading to Philly.

When Aaron and Ryan got home last night, the twins immediately ran to each other and embraced… so sweet!  They miss each other so much- Dylan doesn’t know what to do with himself without his playmate!


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Filed Under: 1featured, retinoblastoma, Ryan

Doc Appt

11 May posted by

My current healthy craving.

I went to the doctor on Monday. It was the one I’d seen during my pregnancy- well at least until she referred me over to the OB clinic and then I had the D&C. I like her, she’s a short, chubby, middle aged woman who listens to my concerns and stuff.  It’s much easier talking to her than some random buff Marine.

It was a medicine refill appointment- they like to see me yearly to ensure my blood pressure meds are at the right dosage. I’ve been running a bit high for awhile, since the twins really. She asked me if I wanted more kids, because if not she’d put me on something better, but for pregnancy, the one I am on is the best.

I told her we were thinking about it, and if it happened, it happened. We were totally done before the miscarriage, but now… I am not 100% sure anymore.  She said that she’d like my blood pressure to be a bit lower, and said we could increase my dosage. I told her how just the other day I started eating better and exercising and that I planned to stick with it. So we decided that it would probably be best to keep my dose where it is, because as the weeks go on, my BP should decrease a bit due to exercise & diet change. It’s high, but not high enough to be dangerous where it’s at.

I asked her to run some blood work- I started with my thyroid, blood sugar, and then mentioned how my iron and B12 were low during pregnancy and asked to have her check them. I started to mention vitamin D as well, and at the same time, she suggested it. It was nice to know that we were on the same wavelength.

I have to email her next week to ask for the results- most of the tests were the kind they send away to be done. I’m also due for a tetanus shot, but the immunization clinic was closed by the time I was done with my appointment and blood work, so I’ll have to go back for that. She wants to see me in three months anyway for a BP and weight check.

She told me to keep taking prenatals, just in case we decide to have a baby. And then at the end of the appointment she was all ‘Call me if you get pregnant so we can get you on all your other meds’

It’s nice to not be criticized for my health or big family. It’s pretty rare that a doctor doesn’t get all judgy on me, and instead is supportive and helpful.


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Filed Under: 1featured, about me, appointment, health

Oh! My! Boys!

26 Apr posted by

Oh my dear blog, today is a DAY!

First Dylan was running around the kitchen, prancing and hopping as he likes to do, when he smashed his head into the corner of the counter.  It created like a puncture wound- it’s deep and it bled for awhile.  And it’s under his hair, so we couldn’t put a band-aid on it unless we were willing to shave a spot of his head.

Aaron was home for lunch when that happened, and we decided he probably didn’t need a stitch for it since it let up after awhile.  He sat and watched TV for awhile holding a napkin to his head.  Ryan was sweet to him for half a second and pulled a blanket up over him and patted his head.

I’ll spare you the bloody wound photos and just share the cute one of them acting like they like each other:

Then the girls came home from school, which immediately makes the boys go crazy.  They get all wound up and today they went from cuddly, sleepy twins to spastic and energetic punks.  They were in the living room, and Ryan decided to jump off of the recliner.  He’s half blind and not as agile as Dylan, so needless to say it didn’t go as he planned.

He face planted and teeth went through his teeth and lip.  Blood poured out- and I couldn’t see where it was coming from at first.  Once I finally got his mouth to slow down so that I could clean it up from the rest of his body where it dripped, I noticed he also has rug burn on his forehead.

Two bloody boys in one day- it’s a record.


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Filed Under: 1featured, injury, twins

Headaches (RTT Redux)

18 Apr posted by

Rereading yesterday’s post… I realized I totally forgot to post about the headache part- oops!

Yesterday when we first sat down at the barber I started getting a headache.  The barber shop is in the PX, and I totally thought about buying some Excedrin Migraine to ward it off, but I knew I had a big bottle at home and decided to just wait.  There was only one person in front of my boys, and they were so well behaved, I didn’t want to leave in case the place filled up, even just to run to the other side of the store.  Usually the place is packed with Marines.

By the time both boys were finished and I was paying, I was ready to cry.  Despite the air conditioning in the PX and the fact it was totally an appropriate temperature in there, I was sweating.  If my house wasn’t around the corner I don’t think I’d have attempted to drive.

I got home, turned on cartoons for the twins, bumped the A/C down to frigid, and took the migraine pills, but I was still super hot.  I couldn’t get comfortable.  The pain was triggering nausea but at the same time I wanted to lay down.  I finally sat in the tub with the shower on cold  and that helped.  Luckily the twins were tired from the park and content to sit on my bed and they even ended up both falling asleep.

I haven’t had a migraine like this in YEARS.  I have no idea what triggered it, but back when I had them in the past, I had a prescription to take when they’d start.  I’m thinking if I get another like this, I need to see about getting it again, because they make me miserable and I can’t relax and sleep the headache off with the twins.

Do you get migraines?


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Filed Under: about me, health

Remember When…

14 Apr posted by

This face kept us up all night

Remember when Dylan went to the hospital recently because of his breathing and they sent him home with an inhaler and said it was asthma and allergies?  Well apparently he’s really allergic to New York because he has been miserable most of this week.

He has been getting progressively worse as the days go by. We’ve tried a couple different allergy medicines and he has been giving his inhaler a workout but he is still having issues.

I think between the pollen and cats his system is just overwhelmed.

Last night was the worst of it all though.   He had spent the day coughing and barely eating (which is so not like Dylan) but he was in good spirits and happily playing.

As the evening went in though his allergy meds and inhaler just weren’t cutting it anymore. He fell into a fitful sleep a little before bedtime and I tucked him into my mom’s bed. Around the time the rest of us were ready to head to sleep, he threw up.

It is just not possible for a two year old to get sick neatly.

It has been a long night.


5 Comments
Filed Under: 1featured, dylan, health
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