Whispers, A Funny, and a Little Bit of Normal.

Hey everyone! Boy have we ever been blessed with some BEAUTIFUL weather here in East Tenn. now if we could get rid of the pollen that would be excellent. I wanted to share a couple of our "surgery trip" stories with you, and then give you another update on Ty in this post.
Remember how I was talking about when you really feel like you can't make it another moment, God knows this and He will either flat out drop something in front of your face or He will whisper something to let you know that He is there? Well we had four little whispers while on this trip. One happened to me, and the rest of them happened to Andy, but since I consider us a team they trickled over to us both. I already said how we stayed in NJ this past time, and how we had to spend the night in the hospital after Ty's surgery. Well of course I had nothing with me because I never intended to stay there. So off my sweet hubby goes back to NJ to grab me a toothbrush, clothes, things for Ty, and my all important phone charger. My battery was just about dead. So I knew it would take him a couple of hours to get back, and I had told him I was gonna turn my phone off to save power. So in walks Ty's nurse. I love to educate the nurses about Port Wine Stains, Sturge-Weber Syndrome, and glaucoma. Most of them have NO clue. Neither did I though. Even being in this NYC hospital where there are quite a few cases of it, most of the nurses during Ty's hospital stay didn't know what was going on with him. We started talking about it and just general conversation led to the fact that she was from the exact same area that we were staying in NJ. She gave us very helpful information for future use about the buses. NYC transportation info to a southerner is like gold. Cabs can be expensive. So having info about bus routes, subway routes, etc. is great.
My whisper came in the form of Ty's nurse. I was kind of stressed about my phone dying and me not being able to contact Andy. Yet, I didn't like having it turned off to save the power either. My nurse happened to look down and see my phone. She said, "I just got that type of phone and I love it dont' you?" I said, "Yes, I do, but I forgot my charger and I have it turned off right now b/c the battery is dying" She then says, "I have mine with me and I am here until 11:30pm, I"ll let you use it to charge your phone". Wow! I was so excited. God provided something so small as a phone charger to let me know He was meeting our needs.
Andy's whispers happened while Andy was on his way back to NJ. He hopped in a cab, and it turns out that the cabbie had on Praise and worship music. NYC is very diverse and the chances of him catching a cab with a Christian driver are almost impossible. Nothing is impossible with God though because not only did Andy catch one cab with a Christian driver, he caught two cabs with Christian drivers. God whispered to Andy twice. Both cab trips brought forth talk about our trials with Ty and about God and trusting Him. It was a wonderful refresher for Andy and also a wonderful moment for God to show us that He will never leave us nor forsake us even in a NYC cab. The last whisper for Andy was when he drove down to catch the ferry. You have to pay to park your car and then you can catch the ferry. The attendent struck up a conversation with Andy, and when she found out what was going on she didn't charge him to park. I know these things sound little, but they certainly were our Whispers from God. Our encouragement during our trials. He amazes me! Did He have to do it? No, he didn't. Did He want to do it? Yes, because He loves us! Just remember those truths when you are facing trials of your own.
Now on to my funny! It is actually on Andy. I am sure he could find plenty on me, but since he doesn't write this blog- AH HA HA! I get to tell the funnies. Andy is the king of tickets in NYC when we drive there. You put a country boy in the big city, and I guess it just comes out. Most of ya'll that know Andy will agree with me when I say that he is always on the phone. Well guess what folks? Ya can't talk on the phone in NYC or NJ while driving. It is against the law! So Andy had a traffic cop pull him over. The cop asked Andy, " How do you all do it in Tn. with the cell phones when you drive" So Andy says, "Well, in Tn. we are coordinated and can talk and drive at the same time" The cop just laughs and says, "Well since you are in NJ now and it is against the law to talk and drive what are you gonna do" Andy says, "I am gonna hang up my phone and put on my seat belt and drive away" The cop says, "Then go on and get outta here". Whew! Andy was saved from another traffic ticket. We found out later that cell phone tickets are a pretty pricey ticket. We were so blessed that Andy had a cop with a sense of humor. Not everyone can appreciate Andy's humor at times! Another cool thing that happened. The lead singer of the group U2, Bono, was in the office at the same time Ty was. Dr. R was going to introduce us, but I told him Ty had no clue who he was. I am not a big U2 fan. I don't dislike them, but I just wouldn't run out and buy a CD. They did however say that Bono was extremely nice. So to all of you U2 fans out there, I thought that was kind of cool.

Ty is doing really well after his surgery. We had a post-op visit with his Knoxville doctor this past Monday, April 12. The pressure was at 28 that day, but Dr. M wasn't too concerned. He felt that it would come down. On Tuesday, I took Ty to school so that he could eat lunch with his buddies. He did just that, and then we went out to swing on the playground with his friends and then to library. He had so much fun, but he was exhausted afterwards. He has been sleeping around 2 hours each afternoon. His body needs the rest, and honestly it makes me feel less anxious when he and Evan are sleeping at the same time. Trying to keep those two from wrestling and playing is making me a nervous wreck. His little buddies at school were so excited to see him, and he was just as excited. He misses school. Hopefully by the last week of April he can go back for a bit each day. Andy and Ty made the trip up to NYC this time without me. I stayed home with Tristan and Evan. They left on Wed. and Ty's appt. was Thursday morning 4/15. We got awesome news! Each day Ty's sight has been improving. By Wed. he could slightly see the t.v. and by Thursday morning at the doctor his vision was 20/50. He can now watch t.v, play his nintendo, and see large numbers and letters. It should improve more and more as his swelling goes down and the healing continues. The best part of the news was that his pressure was down to 18!! The doctor would like it to come down to 15. We are getting closer. His doc also discontinued one of his glaucoma drops and the antibiotic drop that we were giving him. So now he is on 1 drop three times per day, 1 drop every three hours, 1 drop at bedtime, and liquid medicine 1 tsp 4 times a day. The hope is that we can discontinue all of these medications and still have low pressure. Dr. R wants to see Ty back up this coming Thursday on 4/22. This time I will go with Ty while Andy stays home to work. This will be my first solo trip to NYC. I am confident that it will be fine though. We are continuing to have good news and see Ty come back to being that mischeivious, rowdy little boy. God is so good! Thank you so much for all of your support and prayers. We could not go through this without the awesome support we have received. I will continue to keep everyone posted. Until next time.....