Part eleven: Wrapping it up

Being back home was so good. Ryan was weak, but having him back at home, resting on the couch, eating normal food was great. Our kids were happy. I was happy. Ryan was happy.

We knew that we Ryan would have to have surgery, but first a PET/CT scan of the adrenal mass would have to be done.  We went in the following Monday to get the scan done and waiting for the results a few days later.

We had just finished the scan here and you can just see how much better Ryan looked! Now we just needed to wait.

 

On the way home from the scan I let Ryan drive the last few miles. I loved being able to help him feel normal, but I can honestly say that now I know what all you parents feel like when you let your 14 year old with a permit drive. Yikes. He did fine, but I was a nervous wreck.

 

We continued on with normal life. Our kids started back to their little school a few days a week and Ryan got a special surprise from the Atlanta Braves. The autograph baseball was everything to him! It was pretty cool. The lesson here? Wake up and firmly believe you are somewhere else.

The scan came back Thursday and the only thing that lit up was the mass. If it happened to be cancer, which would only be known once it came out, it at least hadn't spread. There was nothing else in the full body scan that would be a cause for concern. This is when they began to seriously think that the adrenal mass had caused everything. The surgeon's nurse called the same day we got the scan results to set up an appointment. We automatically assumed that it would be a few weeks for the mass to come out, but when she said we needed to come in that next day for our pre-surgery appointment because surgery was set for next Tuesday. To say we were a little surprised was an understatement. Nonetheless we were ready! We headed down there Friday and did the pre-op stuff. We both left feeling comfortable about the surgery. Their biggest concern was Ryan being on a blood thinner and bleeding becoming an issue. They plan was for it to be a laparoscopic surgery, but if for some reason bleeding became an issue he would have to cut him open and quickly get the mass out. They switched him from a blood thinner pill to a shot which I was fortunate enough to get to do. Now, we just sat back and waited for surgery day to arrive. We passed time swimming at my parents, hanging at the house and going to church!

Tuesday arrived and I was extremely nervous. Ryan was as cool as a cucumber. He just kept saying that God had brought him through all that, why wouldn't He carry him through this. Yes, I agreed. But geez, someone needed to be at least a bit concerned! Let's just say I was less than pleasant that morning on the way. I bit Ryan's head off I don't know how many times, but finally confessed that I was just stressed out.

Ryan's friend made these. I loved it. There were lots of prayers going up for Ryan on this day.

 

We arrived and were taken back into a family room. I think they were scared we would take over the entire waiting room again. Ha! We all got to hang out until about an hour before Ryan was to be back in pre-op. Once they called us back, Ryan and I went back and I sat with him for nearly an hour before they were minutes from wheeling him back. I was nervous, still, but prayed constantly. Ryan, still, was just as chill as he could be and this was before they gave him any medicine. They were to start surgery at 1, but they actually didn't start until 2.

 

I knew that surgery was to last an hour, but I was knew that Dr. Kim was extremely thorough and would likely take a little longer. I was fine that first hour, but then I noticed myself watching the clock. About 3:30 Dr. Jones text me and asked if he was out yet? I said we hadn't heard anything and he said he was go check and them come see us. By 3:40 the man at the front desk said they were finished and that a couple of us could come to the room so they could meet with us. Me and my MIL went to the little consultation room. I'm not sure who was more nervous. I know both of our hearts were pounding and we felt like we couldn't breath. What felt like an hour, but more like 10 minutes, Dr. Kim popped around and smiled a big smile saying that everything was perfect and that he had done so well. Ryan's heartrate and blood pressure never missed a beat and his lost maybe a teaspoon of blood. Praise God! The mass was a little bigger than what they thought, but it can out so cleanly. They would be bringing him to recovery soon and as soon as they did I would be able to go back and see him.

 

I got to see him a short while later and he was so out of it. I stayed a short time and they said once they had a room ready they would let me know.

 

At 6 they moved Ryan to his room where we would stay just one night. He was in a lot of pain that night and definitely put his nurse to work. He realized the goodness of morphine, but the horridness of being on a liquid diet!

 

The next morning we were waiting for discharge and I caught him snoozing sitting straight up. See, morphine. Ha.

We knew that the mass would be sent to pathology to determine whether or not it was cancer. We got home and Ryan recovered there. He was still in some pain, but it wasn't anything that his pain meds couldn't take care of.

 

We received word on the mass.

 

Pheochromocytoma.

 

An extremely rare adrenal tumor that wasn't cancer! We were so relieved! Now, Ryan just needed to fully recover. 

He quickly got back in the saddle at work. I think it was a week and a half and he was in the office for a few hours. 

 

We are truly getting our lives back on track. It seems crazy that two months have already passed. We are certainly blessed. We've loved having Ryan back home and feeling like ourselves. Our sweet kiddos are growing so quickly. 

We were fortunate enough to have a follow up echo, which was perfectly normal, and then dinner with Dr. Jones and his wife. It was so nice to get to have conversations outside of the hospital walls with the man I feel like we owe Ryan's life to. He will forever hold a very special place in our hearts. Pun intended. 

So here we are... Happy and healthy. 

Claire's got big shoes to fill. Her daddy has touched so many lives of those around us. Her daddy is loved by lots of people and someday I hope her and Wyatt are able to fully appreciate the kind, loving man that Ryan is. 

On the last note, I hope you will all join us for a fun run on October 11th!!! If you could only imagine the pure joy it will give me to see all of you amazing people in one place at one time!!