Upcoming surgery

It is quiet in our home tonight and no one is packing for tomorrow.  None of us really want to face the reality of another surgery. This will be Ricki's 4th surgery in 11 months.  We will be going to do

her pre-op stuff at the hospital tomorrow afternoon and then surgery Thursday morning to remove the 2 tumors inside her spinal cord.

  Instead ...we are enjoying looking at pictures of the past few weeks and enjoying the fun memories.  Feeling blessed.

Spring Update

We are all enjoying the sunshine again! It has been so good for Ricki'spirits!  It has been a tougher winter than we had anticipated.  When we discovered that she had lost all of her hearing in her right ear it broke all our hearts. To top things off she has  had a lot of pain and just not felt well. She has had some sweet acts of kindness that have been a welcome diversion for her.  In March our Ashley (Jason's sweet wife) helped Ricki participate in the miss cache valley teen pageant.  She had fun practicing her drawing skills for her talent.  But I think her favorite thing was dressing up and feeling like a princess.  Another fun diversion for her was just last week.  She loves the show "Downton Abby". Her youth leaders and friends put an amazing party together.  She had a beautiful dress to wear with gloves and everything.  It was like she was living  one of the parts in the show.  It has been fun to see a little more life in her again lately.

Today we are at primary children's hospital getting her dental work done.. She has struggled with letting them work in her mouth. Our Stevens wife Abby, works for a wonderful dentist that does some work at the hospital and was willing to work on her teeth.  So today we find ourselves at the hospital today but just for a short visit. 

Ricki's next surgery will be April 10. This one will be to remove a couple of tumors that are putting pressure from inside her spinal cord. Our surgeon was hoping they would give the ok to remove the tumor in her chest at the same time but the board of pediatric surgeons didn't feel it was prudent at this time.  So they will keep an eye on it will keep doing her MRI's every 3 months.  

Today it was a beautiful day in Salt Lake and we were able to enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful flowers. We are so grateful for the beautiful world that we live in especially in the springtime it makes each day a little sweeter! 

  

No more headbands!

This past week a sweet hairstylist Julie, from Serendipity Salon in Logan offered to do Ricki's hair.  Ricki has sported hats and hair bands to cover up where she has had surgery.  Her first surgery required them to shave  a 2 inch wide band of her hair from ear to ear.  Her 2nd surgery required a wider band of hair to be shaved on the right side of her head from her ear all the way up the side of her head. As a determined teenager Ricki has done a great job with her hair using headbands so it was not obvious. As her hair has grown out she has tried several things but her hair would just lay funny because of all the different lengths and thicknesses she had going on and would go back to a headband.

After getting her hair done she was so excited! No hair bands and her hair looked beautiful! I stopped counting the times she said that it was nice to feel "normal" again.  The smile on her face is worth a thousand words!  Thank you Julie for helping my daughter feel normal after some pretty crazy months in her life! 

Day at the Primary Children's Hospital

Last Thursday started out crazy...in Salt Lake they had freezing rain and in Logan it was snowing.  We made it safely through the canyon and made it to our first appointment which were hearing tests... Ricki had felt like she still had some hearing in her right ear and we were hopeful.   It was an emotional appointment.  We had someone new giving Ricki the tests and the instructions were confusing which added to her frustration. Part way through the test the gal giving Ricki the test stopped to give her a break. We cried together in the hearing booth.  She came back and Ricki finished as quickly as she could. The results were not what we had hoped for... With that finished we took all the items we had brought for the dinner we were providing up to the Ronald McDonald Family Room there at Primary Children's Hospital. We got everything set up for the dinner that night.   It was nice to get our minds off of things.  While there Ricki was able to give one of her poodles to a little girl in a wheel chair.  She was thrilled with her new friend and it brought a smile to Ricki's face.  Besides giving some stuffed animals to the Ronald McDonald house she also donated some  stuffed animals specifically to the neuro trauma unit. Next we were off to Ricki's ear surgeon..another hard appointment. There was just not a lot to be said.Next we finished off her day with the neurologist.  We learned in order to get her drivers permit she has to be on medication and be seizure free for 3 months.   The one thing about being at Primary Children's hospital is the sweet spirit that is there and we come away grateful for the wonderful care Ricki receives. 

Ricki's Friends

The past few surgeries Ricki has been so blessed to be given some special friends that have given her comfort and companionship during her stay at the hospital.  As we have discussed what she would like to do this Christmas she has liked the idea of giving back to others who may need a friend during their hospital stay.  Thursday we will be going to Salt Lake for Hearing Tests and doctors appointments. Since we are going to be down there Ricki will be taking some new friends that we got for her to share with others during our time at primary Children's.  It should make it a fun day.

Miracles

As I was reading my scriptures before I went to bed I read where the Savior is speaking to the multitude and says"Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them." This scripture had new meaning as I reflected on our experiences this past 6 months.  I was reminded that we had been blessed to witness multiple miracles in our life recently.  I am so grateful for the miracles that have transpired in Ricki's life.  The miracles began in May when there were several times that her life lay in danger and she was spared,  The next miracle is that her voice had become so soft because of her vocal chord paralysis that it was difficult to hear her.  Now I hear her talk and laugh without any effort to be heard. The most recent  miracle was recently when she had 3 tumors removed. One tumor removal will potentially give her the gift of hearing down the road.  The other tumors that were removed were nearer to her brainstem and  gave her the gift of life and the peace of knowing she will not have to worry about them causing her more problems in the future.  I also came to another realization of another miracle Saturday night.  Ricki and I had matching pajamas and were having fun being silly taking pictures in our matching p.j.s.  We were laughing and having a good time and as we were scrolling through the pictures we started scrolling back further and looking at some previous pictures I had taken.  Just 2 weeks earlier I had taken a picture of her in the hospital the day after surgery..WOW!  There was such a difference between the two pictures!  As we looked at the pictures we realized we were witnessing another beautiful miracle! She has had an amazing road to recovery...Looking at the pictures we had just taken you can hardly comprehend where she was just two weeks previously!  I am so grateful for the miracles that are happening in our lives today! Some are big and some are small but all are sweet tender mercies.  In that same chapter the Savior says "Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you."  I know that he has had compassion on Ricki and our family and we have had the opportunity to witness miracles in  our lives today. We are so grateful and humbled by his love and tender mercies. 

Road to Recovery

It has been a week of ups and downs.  One day Ricki has a fabulous day, then the next she is exhausted. It has been a full week of getting schoolwork finished up by the end of the tri-mester.  She has been so blessed to have some sweet friends that have come to her aide to help her get caught up in school.  

This recovery has been easier in some aspects and more challenging than others. She is learning to cope with the constant pains in her stomach, shoulder and back. We are still unsure of their cause.. Insomnia and fatigue have also become a challenge that she has not had to deal with before.  ( which aapparently is not uncommon with patients with brain tumors.)

Overall Ricki continues to make improvements every day and tries to keep a sweet attitude of determination to keep going and finding joy in life!  We are so proud of her!