Our Visit with Dylan

We left for Boise Sunday morning and got there in time to go to Dennis' sister's sacrament meeting (she also goes to a Spanish branch) and then we sent the girls to go hang out with cousin Sharlene while Dennis and I went to the hospital for a while.

 

When we arrived he was awake but incoherent. He just stared off into the distance an wouldn't respond when I spoke to him... But that was all just an act. (so Dylan... Geesh!) It wasn't long before he laughed and gave up the pretense. 

 

And then I got out the camera and this is what follows...

Almost a smile...

Got it! Bwahahaha.... That's going on facebook.

It's always a good time when you get my siblings all together (just missing Tara... She had visited the previous day) ...Okay, maybe not a good time (Dylan wishes he were anywhere else but in a hospital bed) but I'm glad that we could get together and laugh and joke. We don't do somber very well.

He wanted to know more about stroke. He googled "define stroke..."

 

And the results.... "Stroke. NOUN. The act of hitting or striking someone or something; a blow."

And now mom showing him the real details about the type of stroke he had...

It's been a long couple of days with little sleep for mom & dad.

 

 ...And Nicole who hasn't hardy left his side.

Josh flew up from St. George.

 

After scans and MRI's and bubble tests and echo graphs and whatever else the conclusion is that his heart appears perfectly normal, no holes or defects. He's not a druggie. He has no high blood pressure or cholesterol. He is young. He is fit. There are no explanations why he had a stroke.

The physical therapist came by while we were visitng. He took him on an obstacle course around the ICU (yes, he was still in the ICU, but that was only because they didn't have any available rooms elsewhere). He walked normal, moved his arms and fingers normal... It's a miracle.

This was his last physical therapy session. That's it. No more. Truly amazing.

I think the theory is that since he is young his brain has been able to rewire itself better than a more aged brain would, and therefore he is improving at an unprecedentedly (is that a word? probably not) amazing rate.

Now he just wants to go home.

...And take his comfy sock slippers with him.

We love ya bud!

I felt a little irrevrent being in the ICU. This was a special cardio wing so we assume most of the other patients were there for heart attacks or stroke. They were all feeble old men, hardly moving, hardly conscious. I will particularily remember the image of this little old asian couple. The husband covered in blankets. Still. The little old lady, hardly taller than the raised hospital bed holding his hand. Such a quiet, somber place... And then Dylan's room, always with more than the allotted number of visitors laughing and joking and celebrating youth and a full life ahead. I remember the night before Dylan's stroke Dennis and I were watching an episode of Lark Rise to Candleford (a BBC tv show set in the late 1800s) and I remember telling Dennis through tears at the end of the show, "That was so sad and yet so beautiful." In the episode most of the children in the little town of Lark Rise are stricken with Measles, leading to the death of one of the young siblings. One of the men questions his faith and wonders why God lets children be born just to be subject to pain and suffering. The wife then tells him something very profound... "because it is worth it."

I have been thinking a lot about mortalitly lately. I actually often think about mortalitly, even before all of these events. I had an impression that those words from that silly TV drama would be a comfort in the near future, but I had no idea to what extent I would need them and dwell on them. That show also made me grateful for modern medicine. Something as simple as a vaccination or two has saved countless children's lives. We can see Dylan's brain without cutting him open. They can perform brain surgery and remove a marble-sized clot and the only incision he has is in his leg. I am so grateful for the life we have been given, no matter the duration. Heavenly Father has a plan and I hope I can be open to his direction and fulfill whatever mission he has planned for me.

We have been witnesses to so many miracles this weekend. Thank you everyone for your prayers! We know they have helped; we know Heavenly Father hears them. When Dylan was in the ER here in Twin he was given a priesthood blessing and Dennis said that he would have a speedy recovery. He had no idea exactly how miraculously that speedy recovery would be. Dylan's life has been preserved, as well as almost all full function on his right side. We know that Dylan has something important to do with his life!!!