Rambling about Ryder: home ♥

Monday, November 28, 2011

home ♥

We have officially raised enough money!! Our grand total is $13,280!!! We are just so grateful to everyone who has helped us get to this point. We now have enough money for camp, HBOT, our travel and food expenses while we are there!!! I am so blown away with everyone's generosity. THANK YOU!!

Ryder and I are home from our three and a half week long trip and we seem to be having a very hard time adjusting back to "life". It's always hardest coming back and losing those four hours even if technically it's only three, as we spent the last week in Alberta.(it's still hard!!) We had a really good trip and it was so nice to be able to spend so much time with family and friends. I got to meet and snuggle my brand new nephew and we are honored that the payed tribute to Wyatt with his middle name. As fun as it was, it's always good to get back home. Ryder missed his daddy so much and now whenever Ty tries to leave the room he cries out for him. A little sad that we are only here for another month before we take off again for five weeks to go to camp. I am however getting really excited about the possibilities camp may bring. I can't wait to get there and get started then of course get home to Daddy :)

Ryder made such huge progress while we were away. It amazes me how much that walker helped his legs. After a few days of using it his tight muscles had relaxed so much. When I would stretch his legs he would giggle instead of scream and his feet were as flat as can be. Since not using it for a week and a bit his legs have started to seize up again and it's really hard for him to go flat foot. The worst is trying to do his stretches, we are back to the screaming in pain again :( We have ordered him a walker of his own and I am really hoping it gets here sometime this week. I guess the saying " if you don't use it, you lose it" is very relevant to Ryder's little legs.

Ryder turned two while we were on our last flight home. We really pushed the "infants up to two years old travel free" rule to the limit. We spent his Birthday searching for the perfect big boy bed but failed to find anything low enough for him. For now we just have his new mattress on the floor and he couldn't be happier :) I can't believe he's already two!!! It's so hard not to envision our life the way it should be with Wyatt here, especially on days so special. We sent our Birthday balloons up to heaven for our sweet angel. As soon as they were out of sight, I knew he had got them . It was heart wrenching and perfectly beautiful at the same time.

We love and miss you so much sweet boy. Happy 2nd Birthday Wyatt & Ryder! xoxoxo

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Ryder's Story

Ryder and Wyatt are our identical twin boys that were born 12 weeks premature. They suffered from a "rare" disease called Twin to twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). TTTS affects 10-15% of identical multiples sharing a single placenta. Basically what happens is there are crossed vessels in the placenta forcing one baby to have way too much blood, nutrients & oxygen and the other not enough. Left untreated this heartbreaking disease has a astonishing mortality rate of 90%. Unfortunately I was not diagnosed until I had already gone into labor at 24 weeks gestation so not much could be done. Thankfully the doctors were able to stop my labor and we all made it to 28 weeks. The boys entered their nicu fight together but sadly on their 24 day of life we had to say our goodbyes to sweet Wyatt. Our hearts broke in a million pieces but somehow we picked up a few and continued our fight for Ryder. Ryder stayed in the nicu for 67 long days and was finally able to come home 2 weeks before their anticipated due date. It was a bittersweet day for many. We were told by every doctor that Ryder was just a "normal" baby and not to worry. I never felt right about this and knew there was something more to come. When he was 11 months old he was diagnosed with Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy. Our hearts broke once again and we were left to wonder what his future would hold. When we started this blog Ryder was 19 months old and still could not sit, crawl or walk unassisted. Since then he has made tremendous leaps but he still has a long way to go. He see's his physio therapist and occupational therapist twice a month and speech pathologist once a month. This is what our government will offer and we don't feel it's enough. He has so much determination and we know given the proper tools and therapy nothing will stop him. With your help we sent Ryder to Ability camp in January 2012 and there are many other treatments and alternative therapies we want to give him the opportunity to try. Thank you for supporting Ryder and following his journey!