The Life of Ryan...

So me madre had, what is hopefully, her FINAL surgery last thursday and I have to say it was the most nerve racking seven hours of my life! She was moved to the University of Utah's hospital earlier last week to be operated on by only the best surgeons.  There was a look in all of my family members eyes the day of the surgery that expressed our worry. There wasn't much talking between us and the mood was pretty solemn.  Sometimes my mother would just look at one of us with half a smirk and she would do her best to hold back from crying.  Nobody really wanted to talk like we were going to lose her and I think it's because we had faith in Heavenly Father to keep her around us for a little longer.  When she went in for operation, I couldn't stand being in the hospital, so I left to Temple Square and Gateway mall.  What's wrong with a little spiritual boost and window shopping right?  I then went back to the hotel and slept off the afternoon.  About five hours after she went in I went back to the hospital to join my family only to find out she was already done! My family was just waiting to hear from the doctor.  So in comes Dr. Glasgow and he tells us that the surgery couldn't have gone any more perfect! He had to admit, he was a little worried about this operation but my mother passed with flying colors.  Crazy part of her surgery was the removal of both her spleen and stomach. Yep. No spleen.  No stomach.  They attached her small intestine to her esophagus and... thats pretty much the way the cookie was going to crumble. The small intestine adapts and takes over the digestion that the stomach would normally do.  Other then three to four small meals a day... mom is going to live a normal life. No more feeding tubes coming out of her abdomen, no more bed rest, no more worry.  She'll have a tough recovery of course,  but I believe in my mother just like all of you did. Which brings about my thanks to all of you who supported us and prayed for us.  The world of medicine truly has its miracles and I'm so glad my mom is going to be around to show off her GINORMOUS scar...

Hi everyone.  How's the new year coming along? Good? Sorry im slacking in the blog department but I DID fill out this fact sheet for Facebook that I thought I could post for everyone to see.  There isn't a whole lot of news that I feel the need to write about right now, but soon enough my fans... soon enough. So here are some facts. Family, correct me if I'm wrong on anything.

so the two don't really go hand in hand but this is to update everyone on two things... Okay... Go!

So Mom is ALIVE! Yeah! good news right? The good Lord didn't want her just yet so she's stuck with us. She had a rough three weeks in the hospital though and she is safe and sound in her home. She has a long, tough recovery ahead though. She has nurses come out twice a day and she is still hooked up to a few gadgets and gizmos so she's not out of the Matrix yet. Her second surgery is in a few weeks so keep praying for her. Thank you to all those who reached out to our family in our time of need. Words cant express how thankful we are for all of you.

Christmas Party!!! This year we hosted our second annual Christmas sweater party and it was a huge hit. Word got around about last years party and everyone and their dog showed up. We tuned into our inner Martha Stewarts and decorated the place up and we were able to hand out over $140 in gift cards as prizes to the best sweaters! (Thanks to Marty) Around midnight we got busted by the cops and being the responsible one that I am I talked to them and convinced them not to ticket us... or throw anyone in the house in jail... because that would just be awful to experience that ... again. It's not a party unless you get busted right?! Here are some pics.

The boys in front of our house.

some "friends."

More Friends.

I couldn't move.

Things got a little crazy.

Judging the sweaters.

Our picture room.


The boys once again.

So I had the hardest time deciding if I wanted to do this or not but it just doesn't feel right not to. I know anyone who reads this is family and friends and I thought I would use this as a way to reach out to all of you. Some of you may know, my mother was hospitalized last week on Thursday, Nov 6th. Long story short, she had stomach problems that led her to the hospital that evening. After doctors took a Cat Scan they found that gas had built up and blew a hole in her stomach. The procedure was to go in with a scope and a stapler that would require an hour and half long surgery. After doctors went in they found that the upper part of her stomach and lower part of her esophagus was completely eroded and dead. They then had to open her up to see the extent of the damage. Due to complications during the surgery and the complexity of her condition she became very unstable and lost a lot of blood. After the doctors were through seven hours later they were honest to my family and told us she was a "disaster" and would need to be in ICU for many days and hospitalized for at least three weeks. The doctors then told us the worst news and said she could pass at any time and her chances for survival are 50/50. As of now, three days later, things are still the same but with a few signs of improvement. She has been sedated since her surgery and none of us have talked to her yet but hope to do so soon. I would just like to ask those who stumble upon this blog to please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. My family and I would greatly appreciate it. My mother is and always be the most amazing girl in my life and she is too young to leave me and the rest of my family behind. It's very hard for me to write this but every prayer counts right now. Thank you to those who have reached out to us already and keep spreading the word so we can get her better. She is in the Lord's hands now and it would mean so much to us if he could hear your support. :)

Happy Halloween! Oh how I love this wonderful fall festivity where I can really show my true colors. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, right next to Christmas of course, and I love to put on a good costume and be someone/ something else for the night. Every year at Utah State we have The Howl. Its a huge event that brings young drunk people from all around to good ol' Logan. The event usually has bands, dancing, movies, hypnotists and about 10,000 half naked people lookin to get lucky. Well I have been to The Howl twice and me and my friends decided we were going to pass on it this year. Soon people started asking me if our house ( The Cube ) would be hosting any Halloween extravaganzas this year. Well we hadn't really planned on one so I told people no. Earlier this week I got asked that question several times a day and it made me think if we should really throw a last minute party for people who aren't going to The Howl. From what I understood, no one else was holding any parties so... maybe it was time for me to step up to the plate. So I did. Wednesday night I sent out invites via Facebook and sent a few text messages here and there. We had a USU basketball game last night, so the party was planned shortly after that. I thought we'd get a few of our good friends over and just have some good ol' dancing and fun. I forgot how popular I am at school I guess, because that was not the case. My house was packed. People came dressed up and those who weren't had their fun pants on. It turned out to be pretty huge, and I couldn't have been happier. By the way, I was merely joking about the popular thing. ;) So another successful shin dig at The Cube. Hopefully us boys gave everyone a good Hallows Eve.

Yours truly as David Beckham!

Dancin the Night away.

I know... I'm a show off.

Costume Winners.

Party Committee

Yeah... its true. So here's the scoop. Last night I went to open the balcony window in my room to get a nice breeze in. Well ever since we hosted our foam party and used my window to transport foam, it has not been able to stay up. The springs either won't stay in place or I'm not Mr. Handy man like I'd like to believe. So as I'm fiddling with the window last night it slips out of my left hand and crashed down on my right hands index finger. I didn't swear! Can you believe that?! I just let out a very long grunt and bit my lip. When I looked at my finger the only thing I noticed was the skin pulled back a little off my finger....no biggie. The pain started to make it's way into my finger but it was nothing traumatic. I ended up playing games with my roommate Kenny for a few hours after that and thought nothing of it. Well Come 4 oclock this morning I was in pain. I was awoken to the feeling that my heart had somehow made its way down to the end of my finger and was pulsating like a raged chihuahua. So I took some ibuprofen and went back to sleep. Well at 7 oclock this morning, the same problem woke me up. So I made my way to the student wellness center, and was escorted by a rather attractive looking assistant. I Told a CNA my story. Had an x-ray and was read my final results. Broken. Hairline. In the tip. Or in proper terms, in my Distal Phalange. Good news though. No cast or wrap can cure this monstrosity. I just have to take pills that take away the pain and make my face numb and wait about 6 weeks for it to be fully healed. So really its not that big of a deal. I just thought it was blog worthy.

Well after a seriously long drought, my family decided it would be nice to visit their ONLY son at school! My dearest mother and grandmother came down from Idaho this week and we spent some real quality time together! This was my mothers FIRST, again I say FIRST time to Logan (welcome momma) so I had to give her the grand tour. The first day we went out to eat and I was their wildlife guide through the wild and dangerous Logan canyon. We faced many a danger as we came across testosterone-filled cattle drivers and the looming fear that a deer could pop out at any moment had our adrenaline running!!! Heart pumping, let me tell you. Of course I filled their noggins with the city of Logans history and gave them a pop quiz at the end. The next day we headed down to Salt lake and ate at the Cheesecake Factory... Mmmm... and then shot our way to Park City. I had the pleasure of seeing the look on my moms face as I dragged her up and down main street. She was reminded of a three year old version of me pulling her along at the toy store during Christmas. All in all, it was great to see them and I was so glad they came down so I could show them the fruits of Utah. Maybe we could do it again before I go off on that Spiritual Journey or something? Have your people call my people and we'll work it out.

Showing mom my Fire-by-Friction skills.

My Fire-By-Friction skills sucked... so I took it out on mom.


Park City!


What the H is this?! We were appalled!