Happy Anniversary!!!!

Happy 31st Anniversary Mom & Dad!! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful example of how marriage can & should work! Thank you for loving each other so much! We hope that your day is wonderful and that you both feel extra special today!! We love you!!!

Ryland's Improving!

Yesterday, Ryland made some big improvements! His fever finally broke and the new x-rays came back looking a little bit better. As you can tell from the picture, his swelling has come way down! Doctors also decided to take him off of the paralytic meds, so he was able to see his mom and dad and start moving around a little bit. He's almost back where he was before this last episode!

The doctors have warned Shane and Shana, though, that when Ryland starts to come down off of the paralytic he'll probably start being mad, confused, and in some pain. They will keep him on some pain medication, but will also start to wean him off it as well. It will be a really slow process because the doctors do not want him to go through really bad withdrawals.

So, keep Ryland in your prayers. Pray that he continues to heal, and that he won't experience bad withdrawals or pain from coming off of the paralytic and the morphine. Pray for Shane and Shana, that they will be able to help keep Ryland as calm as possible and remain strong for him. Let's keep on praying until Ryland has a total recovery!

Ryland's Website

Ryland's website is up & running!

Please stop by and check out Ryland's updated site. A lot of new things have been added since the end of last week. You can read Ryland's story, look at photos, read his patient journal for updates on his progress, and leave encouraging messages for Ryland and his parents in the guestbook. There is also a section of links through the CDC where you can look up specific diseases or conditions. So, you can study up on what all Ryland is dealing with. As always you can donate towards Ryland's cause.

**For those of you who have a blog, there is a downloadable logo that you can add to your pages. It looks like this:






Go to caringbridge.org and click on the 'How to Help' button. Under 'Other ways to help' there is a link for bloggers. Click on it, and then click on 'Logos for Display'. When you copy & paste the html code into your blogger format, you can add in Ryland's address.
Ex: "http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/rylandreese" (I added it to the first caringbridge address. There are 4 caring bridge addresses in the code.) This should allow the logo to take you straight to Ryland's page.

The more awareness we can create on Ryland's condition, the more people we can recruit to pray with us for his healing. There's power in prayer! The more people praying, the more power!
Here's the latest from Ryland's journal:

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2009 04:53 PM, CST
"Ryland has been running a fever for about 24 hours. They took and sent off a bunch of cultures, and so far nothing has grown from them. It could take up to 3 days to see lab results and to find out what might be causing his fever. Ryland is getting a tiny bit better each day, and x-rays seem to be improving. His immune system is so compromised and weak, that just one of us going into the room or someone visiting could introduce a new infection or cold. When we get home eventually, we will be seeing an immunologist in Lubbock to help ryland with his immune deficiency. We have taken steps forward the last 4 days, but it seems to be a roller coaster ride in here sometimes. We hope that he can get off of his paralytic soon, so he can start moving around again. He muscles are very weak, and it will take a long time of therapy to regain that strength back. Thank you for visiting our web page on Ryland, and were hoping he will get better soon. Please continue the prayers. Love The Reese's"

Let's continue to lift up the whole Reese family in prayer. Pray that he will continue to improve and strengthen. Pray for his immune system to build back up, and allow for both of his parents to be in the room with him. For Shane & Shana, pray that they will continue to have hope & remain positive as Ryland's recovery continues. Be Blessed everyone!

Pics & a Website

For those of you who have been praying, here is a face to go along with his name. This is sweet, little seven year old Ryland Reese.

This is Ryland befor he got sick and put in the pediatric ICU on January 31st.
The picture below is Ryland in the ICU at the BSA hospital in Amarillo, TX.

Ryland has been in ICU since Saturday, January 31, 2009. That is 21 days of being in critical care, and having to lay still. In order to give the Reese family support during Ryland's critical illness and monsterous expenses of being in the hospital for that long, they have set up a website for Ryland through a charitable organization call Caring Bridge.

On his website you can leave encouraging messages, look at the patient care journal for updates, donate money to help the family cope with hospital bills, make financial tributes, look at uploaded pictures, and read Ryland's story.

His website was just set up in the last day or two, so there isn't much on there yet. But, here is the link if you wish to stop by and have a peek, leave a message, or give a financial gift.

www.caringbridge.org/visit/rylandreese or click on the Caring Bridge logo to the right

Some News. . . .

Sorry I haven't been able to update the last 2 days! We didn't hear anything until this morning. So we figured 'no news is good news'.

Shana and Shane said that the doctors think Ryland has a combination of the fungus, strep, and a viral infection. They will continue to test for all of those. So for now, his doctors have diagnosed him with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

The good news. . . Ryland is in critical condition still, but is stable. His oxygen has been brought down from 100% to 40%, which is amazing!!!! Especially considering how critical things were just 2 days ago!

The not so good news. . . Ryland is having to take blood pressure meds to keep his bp level down. He might also have to be kept in the hospital for up to 2 months for the steroid treatment, and to wean him off the ventilator. He might also have to do daily breathing treatments for up to 2 years.

The AMAZING NEWS!!!!. . . . Ryland's lungs have a 100% percent chance of healing in time! It's amazing to me how God created our bodies to heal themselves! Psalms 139:13 & 14 says, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are WONDERFUL, I know that full well." How wonderful are our bodies?!

I thank the Lord right now for Ryland that his body is fearfully and wonderfully made. That, through time, his lungs will heal because that is how God created bodies, to heal themselves. Let's all continue to pray that Ryland's body reacts well with the steroid treatments, and with the help of doctors and medicine that his body will begin and continue to heal. Pray for the critical care team that is overseeing his treatment. They need wisdom to figure out what is causing the problem, and how to treat it efficiently. Pray for Shane and Shana. They are worn out and tired from being up at the hospital with all of the ups and downs. Pray that they are continually filled with peace, and continue to lean on the Lord for their source of strength.

Not Much Change

Mike just got off the phone with Shane this morning, and there has not been much change in Ryland's condition. Doctors have told them that the fungus actually looks a little bit worse. Shane said that the antibiotics that they gave him aren't really doing much. They are going to give him a steroid shot this morning and see if that helps his body fight off the fungus. If nothing else helps, they are talking about flying Ryland to Dallas where he can hopefully receive better care. Keep praying!!! I'll update more hopefully sometime this afternoon.

***Urgent***

Please pray! Ryland has had a major set back today. Doctors have found a fungus growing in both of his lungs. The fungus is from all of the antibiotics that he had to take. They said that both lungs look very bad, and that the only thing they could do is give him the strongest antibiotic that they have available and see if it can kill the fungus. They gave him the meds this evening. Doctors have told Shane and Shana that if the medication does not work, they can't do anything else.

Let's all agree together in prayer that God will once again intervene and heal Ryland's body. Pray that his immune system would be able to handle the round of harsh meds that they are having to give him, and that doctors would have the wisdom and knowledge needed during this challenging time. Pray for Shane and Shana to have strength of mind and to remember that God is still in control. May they keep in mind that God didn't give them a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. May a spirit of peace engulf them tonight as they wait and pray for the fungus to leave Ryland's body.

Thank you for all joining in prayer with us! We know that there is power in prayer, and power when two or more gather and agree together in the name of Jesus! We'll update as soon as we hear something!