UPDATE 3/31 12:36 PM

Hi all! Wow! What a weekend! The Benefit at the Elks Saturday night was phenomenal! It was so wonderful to see all of our friends come out to support Ryan! The final tally is not in but it was VERY successful! Thanks can never be said enough to those who spent so much time putting this together, those who donated items to be auctioned and those who attended and purchased auction items! We love you all so much! Ryan's story can be seen at http://www.krdo.com/Global/category.asp?C=102472&nav=menu552_3_1 under sports and local sports video. It is an amazing piece. Ryan is doing so well! He is truly a "wonderboy!" Sandra

UPDATE 3/17 9:26 AM

Good Morning! Saturday, March 15, Race For Ryan was held under cold but clear skies! The Dubbs' had almost 200 runners/walkers turn out for this event, along with a tremendous bake sale. Ryan was able to "run" race in a vehicle and it was wonderful for him to be able to attend! Shawn Dubbs won with a time of 19 minutes and 7 seconds! The combined event totaled almost $3000.00 for the Bowman family's medical expenses! What a difference a community can make! Thank you so much Linda, Shawn and Dale and CK for the race and to Lorraine Holt and Kathleen Grenfell for hosting the bake sale! And everyone who came out and braved the cold to join us! We love you all! Sandra

UPDATE 3/12 11:34 AM

Hello All!! Just wanted to pass on some information regarding upcoming fundraisers! On Saturday, March 15th, Race For Ryan will take place. Registration begins for this 5K Run/Walk at 8am at the high school. The entry fee is $5.00 and there are also numerous raffle items to be given away. Raffle tickets are $1.00 each. There will also be a HUGE bake sale at the school. Race time is 10am! Hope to see you there!! There will also be a benefit auction held on March 29 at the Cripple Creek Elks Lodge starting at 6pm. Both a silent auction and a live auction will occur. Auction items include a night's stay in Breckenridge, 5 loads of gravel, numerous guns, gift baskets, artwork, jewelry. Admission is free and there will also be numerous door prizes! Come out and dance to local bands! Thanks can never be said enough for the people who have spent so much time organizing these events! Sandra

UPDATE 3/11 3:24 PM

3/11/08 Hooray! Ryan is free from his PICC line now. He is so excited to be more independent. He’s doing so well, the neurologist and cardiologist won’t see him again until 4/4/08.

UPDATE 3/10 7:37 AM

Good Morning everybody!
Yesterdays visit with the neurologist went very well. The doctor thinks that a nerve in Ryan’s arm may have been irritated when they pulled out the PICC line on 2/26. The muscle spasms he has had occasionally will go away on its own. We also did another EEG and CT and everything looks really good. I will be talking to the doctor on Monday to see if he can reduce some of his meds and on Tuesday he gets the new PICC line taken out as he will be finished with the IV antibiotics…. Yeah!

Ryan played hand and foot with Bryce and me last night, it was fun!

He’s looking really good! I’m so proud of him! His will is so strong! He has always amazed me, but it’s so very apparent right now how special he really is. We continue to meet new and exciting people everywhere we go, and I think Ryan and his story has touched way more than a few dozen lives!

Thank you for your prayers, your love and your continuing support!

With love,
kathie

UPDATE 3/6 2:55 PM

Hi! Just heard from Bryce. The doctor thinks that when they removed the PICC line, they may have damaged a nerve and that is causing the tremors. This should go away in a week or so. But they are doing a CT Scan and an EEG just to be sure and to also see if he can come off from Kepra, which is the anti-seizure medicine. That would be wonderful as this medicine makes him drowsy. Will let you know more when I know! Thanks again for all that you have done! Sandra

UPDATE 3/6 12:11 PM

Hello! We are still riding our roller coaster! Michael, Ryan's cousin, got a phone call last night from Ryan and actually talked to him for quite some time. Ryan's conversation was mostly answering questions from Michael but Michael was so excited to hear from him! Today, Ryan is going back to Denver to the neuroligist however because of tremors on his right side. They are not sure what is causing these so he will be checked out this afternoon. I will update you all as soon as I know more. Sandra

UPDATE 3/4 1:26 PM

Well, we are home, finally. Ryan is on IV antibiotics until 3/11/08. After we get his PICC line taken out, we will be more receptive to some visitors. Thank you all for your understanding about this. We just cannot afford for him to catch anything, no matter how slight. Of course we will be busy with out-patient therapies every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and I’m sure they will be exhausting for Ryan, as well as the driver (Todd, Bryce, or me!). We will also be gone a lot for doctor visits. I don’t know how to thank you all, you know who you are and what you have done and been for us! It is so amazing to see the love and support in this community once again. I just never thought I’d be on this side of that fence. Your caring and support is overwhelming and we will forever appreciate your love and prayers. We love you all so much! And we will be seeing you soon! Kathie, Todd, Tyler, Bryce, Ryan and Jared

UPDATE 3/4 11:02 AM

Good Morning! Ryan is finally home and doing well. He will be doing therapy Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He is on the IV and Kathie and Bryce have been trained to administer it so Home Health will come once in a while instead of daily. He should only have to be on it until Monday (yea!). We still need to be cautious with infectious diseases (cold, flu, etc.) even after he is off antibiotic. He still has some swelling on the brain that could remain for up to 3 months. Once that is reduced, we could see improvement in his cognitive skills and speech. So, it is still unclear how much will return but this is Ryan we are talking about. I honestly don't know a more determined and dedicated young man once he gets his mind set! So, I won't be posting daily now but promise to let you know when there are changes or updates! Please come out and support the fundraising efforts aroung the community. Thank you so much for what you have done so far-it is truly humbling! Sandra

UPDATE 3/3 10:53 AM

RYAN'S COMING HOME!! Yes, that is right! Ryan has been discharged (finally) and will be on his way shortly! However, he is coming home with an IV for antibiotics. Because of this, Todd has said he going to be a jerk (his words!) and ask (demand) that no one with even a hint of cold/flu/illness come and see Ryan until he is absolutely out of the woods. Even if you are healthy, please make sure to wash your hands and use hand sanitizer just to be safe. I would ask that he not be overwhelmed with visits-maybe call ahead and schedule with Bryce. Just coming home is going to be an adjustment now and he still indicates he is not ready to see people. Part of that is the communication and part is memory issues. Thank you for your understanding! Sandra

UPDATE 3/1 8:29 AM

Hi All! Sorry for no update yesterday but I was not near a computer. Ryan is still at Swedish and will remain there until the blood culture comes back negative for bacteria. They are continuing to give him antiboitics for the infection and have narrowed down the cause. He got the infection from the pick line to his heart during the surgery. It is still unclear if it has infected the heart or the device for the closure. We will know more in the following days. We are still hopeful for Ryan to be able to come home soon but he continues to work on his speech daily. He will probably be mad at me for telling you all this but he was able to say Mom on Thursday! Needless to say, it made Kathie's day! Fundraising updates are as follows: There will be a Run for Ryan on March 15 at 10am. This will be a 5K run/walk event with the start line at the school. Thank you to the Dubbs' family for organizing this and know that you are also in our prayers. There will also be a benefit at the Cripple Creek Elks Lodge on March 29. There will be both a silent auction and live auction with numerous items already being donated. If you wish to make a donation of an auction item, you may drop it off at Ralf's. Thanks to this great community we live in! You are truly a blessing to our family! Sandra

UPDATE 2/28 10:02 AM

Hello to all! Ryan is still fighting an infection. Still not sure when he will be released but when he comes home will likely be on an iv antibiotic. He is now restricted to his floor-no more walks to the cafeteria :-( So he is quite bummed. No news on what the infection is yet but they are culturing his blood every four hours to watch the infection. Will keep you all posted. Sandra

UPDATE 2/27 11:22 AM

Sandra called and Ryan has developed an infection. The doctors are treating with antibiotics and will keep him for at least another 48 hours. Visitation is strictly limited. We will keep you posted. Thank you for prayers. Jean

UPDATE 2/26 2:00 PM

Hi everyone- Sandra called and said Ryan is out of surgery and everything went very well. They are seriously thinking about releasing him tomorrow to go HOME if everything goes well. Hugs and Kisses to all of you for all the prayers and thoughts for Ryan. Rhonda

UPDATE 2/25 2:47 PM

Hi All! Just got a call and Ryan's surgery will occur at 11am tomorrow. He got an uplifting visit from the Denver Nuggets organization today! He received a Nuggets flag signed by all of the team, a beanie and an Anthony jersey! I was told he grinned the whole time! Please say a little prayer at 11am tomorrow-I will try to let you all know how it goes. Again, I can't thank everyone enough for your prayers and well wishes! Ryan's room is filled with cards, balloons and stuffed animals and he gets up and reads them all the time! Thank you!! Sandra

UPDATE 2/25 8:56 AM

Hello! Tomorrow is the big day! Ryan will have his closure procedure on his heart. They tell us that this is a relatively simple procedure but we will still take all the prayers we can get! After the surgery, Ryan should be transferred to Memorial within a couple days. yea! One step closer to home! He got out of his room yesterday and was able to go outside for a while also-sunshine! He loved that! He is able to wear his clothes now so no hospital gown! I will try to get online tomorrow when I know how he is doing. Sandra

UPDATE 2/23 10:15 AM

Hello! Ryan continues to make progress physically. He was moved to the 6th floor to Rehabilitation on Thursday. Friday morning he had visitors from the Colorado Crush. He was thrilled! They have invited him to a game when he is released and able so that was wonderful for him! He "escaped" his room on Saturday morning to the cafeteria with Bryce for breakfast. (yes, the nurses knew!). He loves his new mobility and not being contained to his room. He played a game of Scrabble also on Friday. One word at a time is easier for him than complete sentences so this was great! Still no speech which frustrates him but I think his brain needs to heal a little more so when he does talk he will not be so frustrated in trying to find the right words. God is doing wonderful things here and we continue to pray for healing. Surgery is Tuesday for his heart so please continue to keep him in your thoughts! We love you all! Sandra

UPDATE 2/21 1:41 PM

Well, here we are one week later and life has changed. It looks as though Ryan will have his heart surgery on Tuesday. He was in pretty good spirits today and really wants to start doing some rehab work. He is tired of sitting around with all of us. He likes his time to himself right now and quite time lets his brain rest a little. When there is more than one conversation he gets confused. Therefore I have to reiterate that although the family knows that people want to visit, it would be best to wait until he is ready. Once his heart is repaired, he may move to Memorial in Colorado Springs so he will be closer and maybe ready to see more people. Thanks again for all of your well wishes and watch for more posts later! Sandra

UPDATE 2/20 2:02 PM

Hello from Denver!! Just a quick update on Ryan-he looks great! He actually wrote that he wanted cold stone ice cream vanilla to his Aunt Brenda and told me that he wanted chipotle! He still is not talking but can understand if you don't talk too fast. He writes preety well but takes a little time to think about what he is trying to say. He was able to eat his birthday cake from student council today also!! yeah!! He may be moved to Colorado Springs soon but still waiting on decision on when heart surgery will occur. Baby steps but huge leaps at the same time!! All wishes have been given to him and he just grins! He is not yet ready to see his friends now. Please know that this may take some time for him to adjust. Thanks still for all the prayers!! Will update again tomorrow! Sandra

UPDATE 2/19 7:38 AM

Good Morning! Ryan will be moved to his own room today! He is in another CT scan and then will go to room 9119. The address there is:

Swedish Medical Center
501 E Hampden Ave
Englewood, CO 80113

I will be going up tomorrow for anyone who wants to send a card with me. He can now recieve cards, flowers, mylar balloons, etc. Thanks for all your prayers!!

Sandra

UPDATE 2/18 2:18 PM

They have Ryan walking around! He has made two laps already!!

UPDATE 2/18 9:28 AM

Just wanted to let you know more about Ryan. He ripped his feeding tube out this morning and took of his oxygen! Talk about a fighter!! His cat scan showed no more swelling but they will keep him in Critical Care at least one more day to make sure it has peaked. He should be in a regular room by the end of the week. I am at work today and tomorrow so if you would like to send well wishes to Ryan and his family, I will return to Denver on Wednesday. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers! I will try to keep you informed of his progress as much as possible!! Sandra

UPDATE 2/17 11:17 AM

On February 14, 2008 at about 11:10am, Ryan Bowman suffered a stroke. He was transported by ambulance to Memorial Hospital where they determined he had some swelling on his brain. Due to the seriousness of this, they immediately transported him to Swedish Medical Center in Denver where he underwent brain surgery to remove a clot. It was later determined that this was caused by a hole in Ryan’s heart that was probably there since birth.

Ryan is now under the best care in the nation. He will remain in Swedish for quite some time. He suffered damage to 30% of the left side of his brain. His prognosis for mobility remains unclear and he has not regained speech. Ryan recognizes those around him and responds to questions by nodding his head. He still has some swelling on the brain but it should have peaked today (2-17) and should now be decreasing. Ryan will need to undergo heart surgery to repair the hole and that looks like it will be a very successful procedure.

As far as needs for Ryan’s family, prayers top the list. Although this was very tragic, we are thankful to have Ryan alive and with us and we know that prayers have been answered already. A fund for the family has been set up at Community Banks of Colorado in Ryan’s name. Donations would be very helpful and much appreciated. Please watch this website for information regarding upcoming fundraiser. The family has medical insurance but will need help with day to day expenses. Thank you.

UPDATE!!  Ryan today (2-17) has been moved out of his bed and is now sitting up in a chair. Later today, they will work on getting him to walk! Hopefully in a few days he will be moved out of critical care and into a regular room. At this time, visitors are restricted to immediate family and only two persons at a time. Please know that we have conveyed all of your well wishes to Ryan and he knows that you are thinking of him.