Author Archives: rkdenlinger

Right after midnight, in a quiet New England town, a baby boy was born. The only baby in the labor department. so his wail echoed in the hallways along with laughter of parents and doctor over the joyous occasion of a successful, healthy birth. Ryan Keith Denlinger had arrived. Our “little king,” would be theContinue reading “September 10”

Aug 15, 2024, was Matthew’s second graduation from Schreiber Rehab. What that includes is a round of applause from staff and a painted handprint and name permanently placed on wall. The ceremony was cut short yesterday because we (Joan and Matthew) were anxious to go to the hospital to be with Kari who was inContinue reading “Graduation”

“A person who lives in faith must proceed on incomplete evidence, trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse.” Philip Yancey Debarkation (completing the voyage) and Debriefing (upon completing the mission). Here is our “wrap-up” of the Denlinger 40th anniversary cruise. Where we crazy to take two very special needs kids and twoContinue reading “Debarkation”

“The process of getting on your ship.” Oh yes, I (Joan) am learning a whole new language these days. Our 40th anniversary trip is about to happen, and it has been a long and arduous journey to this point. Fighting for continued intimacy in our marriage, fighting for our kids’ health, fighting through the endlessContinue reading “Embarkation”

Today’s procedure to remove kidney stones was successful. We are so thankful for the urologist and the whole team at UPMC Osteopathic Harrisburg. They showed great interest and compassion and remembered us from round one (four weeks ago). And we are thankful for all of you who have been on our team for a long,Continue reading “Success”

I, Ron, was taking Matthew to the Bridlepath Equine Center for his therapeutic horsemanship session (worthy of a blog of its own someday). He was chilling after a full day of school and not as chatty as usual. My mind was mostly on my “Shoulder to Shoulder” (S2S) session that evening. S2S is a supportContinue reading “My Song”

Before I (Ron) share the what and why for the above rating, let me give a quick update on Kari. She keeps walking on the edge, which keeps us on our toes. For the last 48 hours we’ve been under a fever watch: “If her fever goes beyond a certain point, she needs to beContinue reading “5 Stars”

No fancy titles or pictures – just in survival mode here.  Kari is still here at home. She is walking a very fine line from being hospitalized. She has a tube to drain all her urine, she is on antibiotics, I (Joan) am taking her vital signs every 4 hours and pumping her full ofContinue reading “Survival Mode”

The last five days for Kari (and the rest of us therefore) have been tough. Kari has been in a lot of pain and figuring what helps more than harms has not been easy. Forty-eight hours ago we thought we were in a better place, but then she spiked a temp today. Long story short:Continue reading “Painful days for Kari”

The thing you expect to hear from the surgeon following a procdure is: “Everything went well.” Today we heard: “Results were mixed.” He was able to remove the bladder stones, but couldn’t get the camera up into the kidney in order to remove the troubling stone there (happens 10% of the time). He was ableContinue reading “Results were mixed”