Some More Results

I forgot to mention in my last post the results we got on Ryan's most recent sleep study! As I mentioned before, Ryan felt he slept better at this second sleep study, and it showed. On his first sleep study, he had 357 limb movements (restless leg syndrome, where greater than 40 movements is considered "severe"). This prompted his doctor to check his iron levels, which in turn led to him being prescribed high doses of iron supplements*. On his second sleep study he only had 4 limb movements, so the combination of iron and the Cpap machine made a HUGE improvement! We found, however, that while in his first study he wasn't getting enough deep sleep, in his second study he got too much deep sleep, which can also cause issues. But his doctor thinks that his body will continue to work things out and regulate itself over time. We also found out that part of the reason that Ryan continues to snore even when wearing his Cpap is because he has a deviated septum. This may require surgery, but first he's doing a month of flonase to see if that helps any.

*Iron can be poisonous if too much is ingested, so please speak to your doctor before 

adding large amounts of iron to your supplements.

We got a phone call yesterday with one result from Ryan's endoscopy: he has celiac disease. They are doing additional tests, and we'll meet with that doctor in a couple of weeks to go over all of the results in greater detail. In the meantime we are going gluten-free, so if you have any tips/tricks/advice from doing a gluten-free diet yourself, please let us know! This diagnosis, from the brief internet research I've completed, seems to answer a lot of the "why"s, but I won't go into more details at this time.

In physical therapy, Ryan has been taught a bunch of core-strengthening workouts that hopefully won't aggravate his back. He also continues to work on improving his strength, stamina, and balance, and on stretching out his super-tight hamstrings.

In occupational therapy, Ryan has begun working on getting logged into his work accounts to test some of his abilities and memories of work procedures. It's really nice that his therapy sessions are done in the same building that he works in (even though he's currently on an extended leave of absence until the doctor thinks he's ready to return to work). He also re-tested his grip strength yesterday and found some improvement there, though he still struggled with the peg-board test because he hasn't been as focused on improving fine motor skills as he has been on improving strength and gross motor skills. A lot of the time he feels very overwhelmed with all of the things he needs to work on, especially when they all used to come so naturally to him and he can clearly remember doing them with no trouble before this brain injury occurred.

Last week we took a drive in the mountains and went on a short hike. The hike was on a road, which made it more do-able for Ryan (he only fell once), and the dogs had a blast exploring the mountainside.

Goofy Papa! :D

Identifying animal tracks.

Yesterday Nyx decided that it would be more fun to rip up her comfy seat than it would be to just sit on it...

I asked Becca to write the alphabet from memory (along with her name after only practicing her last name once before), and this is what she did:

If you look closely, you can see that she attempted to write, "Now I know my ABCs, next time won't you..." :)

Ryan cleaned out his wallet the other day, so we had all of Cole's school pictures next to each other. I can't believe how quickly time passes!!! Our little girl is growing up too fast!

We hope you all have a lovely weekend! Remember that God is good, that He knows and loves you individually, and that He wants to help you through your trials. Turn to Him and you will be comforted.