Post 12:31am:

Server issues...
We know that there have been server issues and apologize for the site being down.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Surgery follow up...
Rodney met with Dr. Fann to follow up on the colostomy take down surgery that took place in December.  The doctor is very pleased and said that his work with Rodney is now finished.  Rodney is released to go back to Physical Therapy which he will start back up next week.  He losted 25 lbs with this last surgery and so he is excited to get back to working out to put back on good healthy weight.

Med board has started...
Rodney has begun the med board process which is the process of deciding how the military is going to have Rodney separate.  If he will be let go at the end of this contract, if he will get disability or if he will be medically retired.  He is going back through a review of all his medical conditions caused by this accident and before this accident.  Please keep this process in your prayers that God will guide and that everything that needs to be covered for the med board review is covered.  Timeline wise it could be 5 weeks to 8 months and we don't have any idea how long it will take.  More info to come as we know more...

Looking toward a new start in the civilian world...
Rodney is starting to look forward toward life after the med board is finished.  He is planning on going back to school since he has the GI bill to put toward school.  Right now he is planning on starting this coming summer.  We will know more as the med board moves forward if it will be summer or fall.

God is good and this last year was a really blessed one much in part to your prayers, encouragement and love.  We can never say thank you enough to each and every person who has walked through this journey with us.

With love,

Angela Spears - wife

Post 12:45pm

Post Surgery:

Sorry for the delay in information but the site was down for a couple weeks.  Rodney was in the hospital for 6 days and then came home to recover.  The following Tuesday his staples were taken out.  He was running a low grade fever even after he came home but that has gone away.  We were told that it is pretty normal for someone to run a low grade fever after a major surgery like this as their body adjusts and heals from the surgery.  A few days after the staples were pulled out Rodney had two areas that opened up and have been draining.  Again we were told that this is ok as long as the area is not red and there is no fever.  It took a couple weeks for Rodney's appetite to come back.  He lost 25 lbs with this surgery but he is doing well now.  I told him it is so not fair that he is now trying to gain weight over the holiday when everyone else is trying to keep from gaining.  Ah, such is life.  Rodney is now back up and about with a cane and well on his way to recovery.

Christmas:

This year we were blessed to have Rodney's mom Rebekah and brother Ryan come up for the surgery and be able to stay with us through the holidays.  His sister Reyna and her son Gregory were able to come down Christmas eve and stay until tomorrow and His sister Rowana and her husband Tommy were able to come arriving Christmas day and get to stay into this next week.  Wonderful having family here with us over the holiday.  Good food, good fellowship and good hang time.






Angela with Gregory and Roddy Christmas Day







Angela, Roddy and Rodney after Sunday Service

The end the year:

It is amazing that yet another year has gone by.  Rodney and I were talking just last night about how fast the time goes.  So much has happened this last year it feels like it has been a few years all in one. But it reminds us of how precious each moment is.  How we want to live each moment - enjoy, learn, grow, love, laugh, share, give...for before we know it those moments will be gone and cannot be brought back.

We want to thank each and every one of you for your continued love, support and prayers.  Blessings to you as 2009 ends and 2010 begins....

Sincerely,

Angela Spears - wife

Post 12:50am:

Rodney's Surgery Recovery:

The doctors are very pleased with how Rodney's recovery is going.  It is proceeding well.  It has been a very painful recovery though.  Having his abdominals stapled makes it hard to breath, roll over, get up, walk, use the bathroom...  He has also been fighting nausea and today lost his stomach.  They have since given him some meds to help with this and he seems to be doing better.  He has not eaten since last Tuesday and is feeling pretty weak.  They have to make sure that his stomach and colon can handle food before they allow him to have some.  The doctors said that they are hoping that tomorrow he will be able to have some food.

Thank you all for your prayers and please continue praying for him as he continues on this recovery...

Blessings,

Angela Spears - wife

Post 6:33pm:

Surgery went well.

Today we went in for Rodney's colostomy reversal surgery at 7:30am for prep.  The surgery started at 11am and was finished by about 1:40pm.  The surgeon's were actually surprised because they figured there would be more issues with scar tissue etc and it would take longer but they said it went really well.  Rodney was moved up to the 7th floor around 5pm and is in room 732 and will be there for the next 5-7 days.  He currently has an epidural for the pain and has come out from under the general anesthetic.  He says his pain level is about a 3 on a scale of 1-10 but then again this is the guy who "never hurts."  He has a feeding tube up through the nose, down the throat to the stomach and will have that for a couple days while his stomach wakes back up but they did not have to keep him on oxygen.  Tonight Rodney's mom, Rebekah, is staying with him tonight and the rest of us will be back in the morning.  So a good day, thank you all for your prayers and care and concern.  Rodney will be up for visitors and I am sure that having people come by will help him from going stir crazy while he is there in the hospital.

Blessings and love,

Angela Spears - wife

Post :12:22pm

Surgery Tomorrow:

Rodney will go in for surgery tomorrow at 7:30am.  He has been moved up to the 1st surgery of the day.  This surgery is for the colostomy reversal - they will get rid of the colostomy bag and reconnect his colon.   This surgery is pretty intensive since they will have to cut him open from sternum to pelvic bone...  Please keep him in your prayers as he goes in for the surgery and the 5-7 days he will spend at the hospital after.  I will post tomorrow after the surgery to let everyone know how it went.

Sincerely,

Angela Spears - wife