ANSWERED PRAYER!

After 55 days in the hospital, Ryland is finally HOME!!!! Shane said that they are doing well, but are a bit exhausted! Ryland is doing just fine, although he's still a little bit weak. (He does laugh, though, when his legs start to shake. :) ) He still doesn't quite understand that he can't get up and run around like he was used to.

Keep the Reese's in your prayers as they continue to re cooperate! Praise God for His miracle- working power in Ryland's body!

We'll let you know how Ryland is doing every so often!

IT'S A. . . .

GIRL!!!!!!

We are so excited!!! Finally we know for sure! I can't wait to buy dresses & bows! (Mike's already talking shot guns on her first date.:) )Granny, you were right all along! Those of you who voted "girl" on the poll, great guessing!!

More importantly, the doctor said everything looks wonderful!! The baby is forming perfectly & everything looks normal!! She has two hands and feet, a healthy heart, & other organs look great! I told the sonographer that it always helps to have both hands & feet. She looked at me weird. I don't think she thought that was too funny! Anyways, We have a healthy girl!!!

If you look closely, she's waving "hello".

We'll See. . . .

Tomorrow is the big day! We'll finally get to see if we're having a boy or a girl!!! From the poll, most of you think that I'm having a girl, but it's only by a small margin! It has been a lot of fun hearing everyone's guesses and why they think they're right. It's kind of wierd too, though. When everyone stares to guess, it makes me feel like they're sizing me up or something. Mike & I are both really, really excited, and we don't care either way what it is. We just want a healthy, happy baby. We'll let you know!!!

Also, here's my first belly pic! My mom took it a few days ago. I think it just looks like I had one too many Twinkies. I still haven't worn any maternity clothes. Although, I don't think it will be too much longer. I don't have too many clothes that still fit comfortably. :) I do have this really great button extender that I'll probably start trying out. I hear it's better than the rubber band trick. (Thanks Brooke!)

Doing Great!!!!

It's day 52 at BSA, and Ryland is doing so well!! He is now in a normal room, doing speech & physical therapy, and they just removed his feeding tube! The doctors are really surprised at how fast he has been recovering. Tomorrow night they will be conducting a sleep apnea study on him to see if he still struggles with it. So far, he's gone 3 nights without any trouble. They're guessing that he might be able to go home sometime next week!!!

Keep praying that he'll continue to progress as fast as he has been, and that he'll be allowed to go home next week. Pray for Shane & Shana as they start to prepare things at home. Pray that they have all the help that they need, as well as some down time to relax. Also, pray that they will be able to minister to people at the hospital and bring others hope that are in the same situation. May God receive all the glory for this miracle!!

Prayer Request!

Please pray for my husband, Mike, today & tomorrow! This afternoon at 1:00 p.m. he takes is first round of medical board exams! Tomorrow he'll finish it up. We've been preparing for a while now, but can still use all the prayer we can get!!! Pray that he would have confidence knowing that he's done all he can do to prepare, and remember that if he's done his part, God will do the rest! We should find out how he did towards the end of April/beginning of May!!! He's one step further to becoming "Dr. Vennell" :)!!! I'm so proud of him!!!!

We Prayed. . . He Breathed! (on his own!!!!)

Ryland is officially ventilator free!!! This morning, just before eleven, the ventilator was take out of his mouth and rolled out of the room! He has had a little bit of trouble with some congestion still, but he is finally breathing completely on his own. Thank you all for joining with us to pray for him. He still isn't completely out of the "woods" yet, so keep praying that his body continues to heal and get stronger. Also, keep Shane and Shana in your prayers. They still have a long road of recovery ahead. Pray that they will continue to feel the love & peace of God all around them and that they would be able to be rested for the days ahead.



James 5:16 - "Pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

Still Improving!!!

Yesterday was day #35 in PICU for Ryland, and he had some great news! All of the results from the cultures that they took from his lungs came back negative!!!! These results let doctors know that he isn't getting any more of those nasty infections. He was also moved down to level 10 on the ventilator, which is getting closer and closer to being completely weaned off of it. In fact, doctors told Shane & Shana that they would be taking the ventilator out of the room on Monday or Tuesday!!!! Ryland was also taken off of another antibiotic yesterday. So, now he is only taking pain medication and one anti fungal med. They hope to take him off of the anti fungal in a day or two.

Ryland has been sitting up in bed a little bit every day, but is still very weak. So, keep praying that his muscles would strengthen and gain back some endurance. Continue to pray that his lungs would keep getting stronger and start breathing entirely on their own. Pray for Shane & Shana to keep on enduring this long process of healing, and to continue being a strong fortress for Ryland. Also, keep Shane's job in your prayers. Since his absence, due to Ryland's situation, he has been running into some issues.

Overall, everything is looking great! We expect it to only get better and better from here! Keep on praying!!! If you haven't noticed from this situation, there is power in prayer, and power when God's people join together in prayer!!

Baby Update!

I'm now at 18 weeks and Baby Vennell is the size of a sweet potato!

Last week I had a doctors appointment, and everything seems to be going wonderfully! The doctor told me that I am one of the healthiest pregnant women she's ever seen, and that the baby is completely healthy too! The baby's heart rate was at 140, so that's right on the line of the old wives tale of whether or not it's a boy or a girl. I guess we'll just have to wait and see! I go in for an ultra sound on March 25th, so I have 23 days until we find out!!! Mike and I are really, really excited!! We're taking a poll on what everyone thinks we're having, so go vote!!!

Ryland had a great weekend!!!

Ryland has had a great last few days! His lungs are slowly getting stronger, and he is able to be awake for longer periods of time. They have taken his breaths per minute from 24 to 16 over the past few days, and are hoping to take him to 14 breaths per minute tomorrow! The goal for Ryland is to reach 6 breaths per minute and then take him off of the ventilator. Once that happens, he will have an over the face mask to wear that is hooked up to a machine that will sense if he stops breathing and will force air into his lungs.

Ryland has been a little bit congested yesterday and today, so continue to pray that his lungs clear up and the congestion will go away completely. Keep on praying for the Reese family. They are doing much better, but still have such a long way to go!