Ronnie's latest surgery

As many of you know, Ronnie had surgery just a few days after we returned from our Caribbean Cruise (May 28th).  A scar band located on the back of his knee that has been a chronic open wound for over 3 years now was excised.  In its place, a temporary synthetic skin-like covering was placed.  His leg must stay in a brace to until his next surgery when a skin graft will be placed on the spot.  We are still waiting to hear when the next surgery will happen but it is looking like it will be either at the end of June or beginning of July.  Other than the inconvenience of the brace and immobility that comes with that, Ronnie is doing quite well.  We have been incredibly blessed by our loving friends as many of them brought us meals to help get us through the first week.  What a blessing!  There are no words to describe how blessed we are by all those that have poured into our lives over the last few weeks.  

April Surgery

Ronnie had surgery on Wednesday, April 25th. It lasted about 5.5 hours and they did quite a bit. They did a total of 5 Z-plasties on his right arm ranging from his shoulder all the way to his elbow. It looks more like one long zig-zag but Ronnie says he can already feel the difference. He also had a scar band excised from his right hand and a full thickness skin graft from his left arm put in its place. Two pins are currently holding his hand open and a large bolster is tied tightly to his palm.

They did not do any work on his torso or leg this time which meant no a slightly shorter hospital stay. He got out this morning and is relaxing on the couch. While his pain is tolerable enough to be discharged, it is by no means gone, so pray that it would continue to diminish.

Our biggest prayer request at this point is for Ronnie's hand. We knew going into the surgery that there was high risk for nerve damage since his hand has been operated on so many times. When he woke up in ICU, he immediately had the doctor called in because he had numbness in his fingers (mainly his pointer). After anesthetics wore off and feeling was still absent, the doctor said that he believes that the bolster is putting pressure on the nerves but there is no way to know if there is damage, permanent or otherwise, or to what extent until the bolster is removed next week. Understandably, this has worried Ronnie a lot as he does not know to what extent his hand will be able to function later in life. I am reassured that the doctors do not anticipate permanent damage, but there is no way to be sure. We know that God is the ultimate healer and we are praying that, whatever the outcome, his grace will be sufficient.

Surgery: Part 2

Today, Ronnie had the second half of his surgery that began in January. Back in January, surgeons made incisions in his right hand and right knee and filled them in with Integra®. Today, they took skin grafts from all along his left leg and filled in the open areas. Even though donor sites are quite painful, the results of the surgery should prove to be well worth it as Ronnie should be able to use his right hand more and also walk and bend easier.

Ronnie spent the afternoon in the ICU to get his pain under control. They expected him to only stay for about an hour but the loss of an IV, and the medication subsequently not making it to his blood stream, caused higher than anticipated pain and therefore a longer stay. He was moved out of ICU at about 7pm tonight and called me right away to bring him some dinner. Good to see that his appetite has not suffered! He is getting some rest now and will hopefully not have too much pain tonight as he sleeps. Thank you all for your prayers!

January Surgery: Part 1

Sorry this is coming so late, but the last week has been crazy plus my internet was out.

Ronnie had part one of his surgery on Thursday, January 12th on his right hand and right knee. Even though he was nervous about the surgery, he was excited too. This surgery is the one that could potentially help him turn another corner. It will allow his hand to be even more usable and help his walking to be much less painful, things he is very much looking forward too. On Thursday early afternoon, after the blessing of many friendly visits, Ronnie went into surgery. The surgery took a total of 5 hours, but had good results. In his hand, they made several incisions to open up his palm and allow his thumb to have more movement. They put metal pins into his thumb joints to temporarily hold his hand open. They also did several z-plasties on his fingers and wrist. On his knee, they excised a large portion of chronically open skin on the back of his knee and made a large incision going the whole circumference. The incisions allowed a large release of tension that Dr. L thinks may even help the stretching of his torso. They pinned the skin down and put integra (a pseudo skin) over the opening. Two wound vacs were attached to his knee. They also put integra and a wound vac on his hand.
After the surgery, Ronnie was in quite a bit of pain for the first couple days. It took a while to get on a pain management system that worked for both during the day and at night. He went back into the OR on Tuesday morning to do his first dressing change under anesthesia. The doctor was very impressed with the progress and even decided to remove the wound vacs! Today is Friday... just over a week after his surgery. They are doing a bed side dressing change today and then Ronnie will be allowed to come home until the first week of February when they do part 2 of the surgery (filling in with skin grafts).
We have been so blessed throughout this hospital stay in so many ways. I think this is the first surgery he has had since we have really established ourselves here in San Antonio. We have felt so loved on and encouraged over the last week. Ronnie has had a constant flow of visitors (and snacks!) from church and elsewhere to keep him company as well as lovely bouquets of flowers from our churches both here in San Antonio and at home. We are truly blessed and we thank God for that every day.

The Saddest Day of My Life Thus Far

Today was PawPaw's funeral. It has been a hard couple days, but Grandma has been holding up really well. I think she likes having so many people to talk to her and occupy her. She has always been a social butterfly. The service today was beautiful. It was fun to hear so many stories about PawPaw: playing basketball with neighbor kids, hearing about his high school days, learning the fun trivia facts he told everyone else... He was a fun guy. I liked how Pastor Brad summed it up.
PawPaw was: a Collector; a man of Character; Compassionate; Cool-Calm-Collected; a Connoisseur of Trivia, Science, and sci-fi; Competitive, Captured by God.

I will always miss my PawPaw, but know that one day I will see him again in heaven.

Below is a link to PawPaw's obituary.
http://hosting-24267.tributes.com/show/Raymond-N.-Meyers-92973581

"I'll have a blue Christmas without you"

I've already posted this on facebook but I thought I would say it here as well. My grandpa, Ray Meyers, had a massive brain hemorrhage this morning. He fell out of bed this morning and said that his left side was numb. My grandma called 911 and he was rushed to the hospital. He is now unresponsive as bleeding had moved to both sides of his brain and is causing a lot of pressure. Breathing tubes are keeping him alive for now, but he is not expected to make it. Though this is a horribly difficult and unexpected trauma for all of us, we know that he is spiritually ready and pray only that God's will would be done and that he would not suffer. Please keep my grandma and family in your prayers as we all travel to Ft. Wayne, Indiana to be together.

*Pray for Grandma to have strength for today and for the days to come
*For my Aunt Lynn to get over her cold so she can join the family soon
*For my mom, Aunt Lynn, and Uncle Rick with their tough decisions in the next couple hours and days
*For my sisters Shelby and Cori to finish up their finals without distraction and for Shelby's safe travels home from school
*For Ronnie and I to work out our travel plans with emergency leave and flights
*For post-Christmas plans to be rearranged with ease

Wisdom

Ronnie and I stopped in to visit a friend of my Grandma Meyers today. Her name is Helen and she is a wonderfully sweet 93 year old woman. She has been a prayer warrior for us over the past year and was so excited for us to drop by. Though we stayed for only a short while, I learned so much from her. Helen's late husband was a veteran of World War II. She proudly showed us the pictures of him in uniform. She pulled out an oversize binder filled to the brim with "His Story."

"Do you keep a journal?" she asked me.
"Not really, but I suppose I should." I replied.
"Oh, you must keep a journal." she insisted as she proudly flipped through the pages of "His Story."
You see, Helen is preserving history... for her, her family, and for future generations. She is creating books filled with stories, memories, pictures, and history. How precious is the gift of memories? She did not just stop there though. Helen has made a book of her daughter's story and is also working hard to create her own story. She inspired me today. She inspired me to dig into my family's story and to preserve it, and also to preserve the story Ronnie and I are just beginning to create.

Try, Try Again

Ronnie had another follow up appointment this morning to look over his chronically open donor site from his last surgery. Initially, they just restitched the incision, but when it came open again, they found that there was a large open area under the surface. Stuffing the wound with anti-infection cloth did not seem to help so today the PA attached a Wound-Vac to the site. The Wound-Vac provides suction which not only removes the infection but helps the skin to heal. We are praying that no surgery is needed to close up the incision. :(

Ronnie's Surgery 7-6-11

Ronnie had surgery to open up the palm of his hand that had been pulled closed by a scar band. Dr. L used full thickness skin grafts taken from Ronnie's left and right groin to fill in the gap in his hand. While the 3.5 hour surgery went very well, the nerve block put in place during the operation did not take leaving Ronnie in excruciating pain when he woke up. An increase in meds however brought on the unwanted side effect of unbearable itching. Anesthetists soon came into the ICU and again put in a nerve block.

The new nerve block however was short lived and soon Ronnie needed more pain meds and more itching meds. It took a couple days to get the meds right and the pain under control. It was not until Ronnie's fourth day in the hospital that he began to see a noticeable decrease in pain and could begin to decrease his meds.

Today is day six in the hospital and also the last day. Ronnie will be discharged this afternoon.

Ronnie's hand after surgery. The bolster will stay on for another few days.

Indy News

Ronnie was a special feature on Indianapolis's local FOX59 news earlier this week. The link to the news clip is below. A couple minor corrections... Ronnie is spelled with an "ie" not "y" and he is from Tulsa, Oklahoma, not Arizona (i thought that one was funny).

Young Soldier Guided by Faith, Courage, and Love

Surgeries, Leeches, and Politicians

We are back at BAMC after 30 days of leave. We had so much fun traveling around visiting family and friends in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma. It was so good to see everyone and thank them personally for all they have done for us in the last six months. We still recieve cards often and LOVE reading them and writing back.

While it was good to be home and we can't wait to do it again, it was busy and we are glad to be back to a routine here in San Antonio. Last week was pretty laid back with only a few "check up" type apointments in preparation for surgery.

Ronnie was admitted into the hospital on Monday morning. He had discontinued the use of Coumadin blood thinner on Saturday and we eagerly awaited INR results to see if they were low enough for surgery on Tuesday. We were excited when results came back good and he was approved for surgery.

Pre-Op

Tuesday was a waiting game as Ronnie's surgery was later in the day. He did manage to enjoy himself a little by writing "Dr. L Rocks!" on his stomach for his surgeon to see. haha. He was taken back around 1pm and the surgery lasted about 2 and a half hours. The doctor was very happy with the results. The surgeon team released a large scar band on Ronnie's right shoulder. Before he could not lift his arm to 90 degrees and now he has full range of motion! They also amputated his right pinky down to the third joint. Dr. L thinks he will be really happy with the results. The last thing the doctors did in the surgery was take a skin graft from his right hip and place it on a chronic open wound on the back of his right knee and on a couple other open spots on his thigh. While the graft stings quite a bit, it will help SO much with these stubborn wounds.

before

After

Today Ronnie has been undergoing "Leech Therapy." Yes, it is what you think. They have been using leeches on the flaps of skin on Ronnie's shoulder. As the wound heals and revasculates, arteries grow back faster than veins meaning that more blood is brought to the area than is taken. This makes the blood start to pool under the skin. Leeches help take that extra blood away. Ronnie didn't seem to mind his new little "attachments" and even likened it to breast feeding. hahah.

Leech Therapy

On another note, we were able to meet First Lady, Michelle Obama today! She was very sweet and quite stylish. We were impressed at how kind and personable she was too. She gave Ronnie presidential and first lady coins for his collection and a box of presidential M&M's. What a treat!

Meeting the First Lady

Home Again!

Ronnie is back home after four days in the hospital. His INR levels finally evened out, but not before he was our of places to draw blood from. Because of Ronnie's burns, the only places to draw blood from are his left hand and his feet. After three days, each location was exhausted and half a dozen nurses found themselves with failed attempts and Ronnie was thoroughly fed up with the worthless sticks. The doctors then opted to put in a PICC line, an IV of sorts that has a line to draw blood that goes all the way to the heart. Though a fairly standard procedure, they still had trouble inserting the line and needed a couple attempts. Thankfully blood draws were much easier after the procedure and Ronnie even slept through the night draws. The doctors opted to send him home with the PICC line so his weekly blood draws can utilize it for a couple weeks.

So glad to have him home. :)

.... One step back

Ronnie was re-admitted to the hospital yesterday afternoon after his lab results came back with low INR levels. His levels had dropped dramatically last week so the doctors increased his coumadin dosage to compensate. But after even lower results this week, the decision was made to admit him to 4 East. We dont know how long he will be in the hospital, but we are praying that it will only be a couple days. Ronnie was started on an Argatroban drip yesterday to help up the levels. He is a bit discouraged to be back in the hospital after doing so much better lately and also hates being poked with needles every few hours. Pray for strength and courage in the days to come.

Discharged from BAMC!

Ronnie was discharged from the Hospital on the rainy Wednesday of December 28. It was a long day of running around but he was ever so grateful to be out.

Update: 12/12/10 Near Death Experience... Again.

After a week of progress including walking, eating, feeding tube removal, and dismissal from ICU, Ronnie had a really scary day today.

Ronnie had a big scare today after an adverse reaction to a drug given to him through his IV. while we are still unsure exactly what happened or what caused it, but we do know it was a near death experience. The doctors were able to undo his reaction and stabilize him after finding out what his body was reacting to. Ronnie says he would rather be on fire than feel the pain that came with today's trauma. He repeatedly praised God for his "second" (or maybe third) chance at life. Please pray for peace as he is now experiencing some anxiety and fear of the medications.

On another note, Ronnie's next surgery is scheduled for Friday and they will be fusing his pinky. He is a little uneasy about the thought of not being able to use his pinky in the same way again, but what keeps him positive is the RELEASE DATE he was given today! They are hoping to have him out of the hospital by DECEMBER 20th, if all goes well, though he will still need lots of therapy.

Update: 12/6/10

The last few days have been filled with good news and bad news all rolled into one. On Friday it was discovered that Ronnie had two blood clots in his lungs. While pulmonary embolisms are potentially life threatening, Ronnie is in stable condition and being treated with a therapeutic level of cumadin and heprin drips. So far, his symptoms have been decreasing though the clots could take a while to dissociate.

On Saturday, fluid was found in Ronnie's lungs though no one was sure if it was blood or not. They expected to need to take him into surgery early Monday and put in a chest tube and perhaps a filter for the blood clots. However, on Sunday the x-rays showed that the fluid was being absorbed on its own and that perhaps an invasive surgery was not necessary. Thanks God!

Through it all, Ronnie seems to be in high spirits and making continual progress. he has started walking again this past week and has been going to the Burn Unit gym to "work out" each day. He has also slowly been starting to eat more which is HUGE. Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Thank YOU.

So I just wanted to take another minute and say how AMAZING our god is. In steps of provision he has sent complete strangers and casual acquaintances into my life to grant me vehicles, gifts, housing, hugs, monetary donations, and most importantly prayers all purely out of love. In addition my school (IUPUI), teachers and advisers have helped me rearrange my schedule not only for this semester's homework, tests, and even finals, but also for next semester's classes and my acceptance into the Clinical Lab Science program in the fall. I'm amazed.

I do not for one second want to overlook the friends and family who have supported both Ronnie and I through this new challenge of life either. Without them, I would be lost.

So as I prepare for the next step in mine and Ronnie's life, I am more than encouraged that God is in EVERY detail.

Update: 11/30/10 Good news and bad news.

Today's update from his parents...

Today started out a little shaky for Ronnie. After his wound care the physical therapist put him on the moveo table. He did great, but was exhausted. Then Ron and I brought him some bbq brisket to eat for lunch. He really liked that and ate one piece. About an hour later they came to stretch his right side. He tends to lean to the right side so the new skin there is not stretched out... so they have to roll him on his left side and stretch his right arm above his head to stretch the skin on his side out. VERY PAINFUL!! Of course that was not much fun for him. When they sat him back up, he wanted a drink of boost and choked and subsequently threw up. This was pretty traumatic for him so they let him rest for awhile. About 4:30 they were able to get him up to walk and pivot into his chair! He did great with that.

The not so good news is that his skin grafts on his right palm and forearm did not take at all and will have to be regrafted soon.
How to pray for Ronnie:
*pray that he will be able to eat more food so that he can have his feeding tube removed.
*Pray that he will be able to understand the need to push himself through the pain of therapy.

Update: 11/29/10

An update posted by Ronnie's parents...

Yesterday (Monday) Ronnie made a few big strides in his progress! He has not been able to eat like they want him to eat. He has struggled with nausea and swallowing. They had me run to McDonalds to get him a cheeseburger tonight!! He ate al...l of the m...eat and cheese. As a reward they allowed him to drink a very small amount of water. (he told me he would just about kill for a drink of water!) He really needs to do better with his eating. Pray that he will be able to eat more calories than he has so far. For PT they had him get up in a Moveo tilt bed. It has platforms for his feet and allows him to do "squats" with his legs to build up his leg muscles. Then they sat him up in a real chair (for the first time) for about 5 hours. The best news was that he stood up and took a few shuffle steps from the chair to his bed today! Ronnie's first steps!! Needless to say he was exhausted by the end of the day and was ready to sleep for the night. Thanks for all your prayers! We couldn't make it without them!