Support the Nolan and Rachel Byman Family

Goal:

 USD $20,000

Raised:

 USD $22,125

Campaign created by Ruthanne Anderson

Campaign funds will be received by Nolan Byman

Support the Nolan and Rachel Byman Family

This GiveSendGo is being set up to help support Rachel and Nolan Byman and their family, as many have requested a way to assist them as they navigate a new and unknown path with Rachel’s recent health diagnosis.

In the fall of 2024 Rachel began experiencing right-side facial numbness. It started out mild and she wondered if it was from stress, since she’d had a rough time around the one-year anniversary of their stillborn baby. She also thought it could be pregnancy related, since a new baby was due soon. The numbness was addressed with her doctor, who recommended a CT scan after baby’s birth.

The scan on November 13 revealed two tumors, likely meningiomas, which are typically benign. One tumor is behind her right ear at the base of her skull. The other is in the back of her head. Following was an anxious time of waiting, along with many phone calls inquiring on referrals and appointments. An MRI was ordered to learn more. From the MRI, the neurosurgeon suspected the lower tumor to be an acoustic neuroma, which would pose higher risks and ordered an audiogram to confirm. It also seemed the second tumor was in a difficult location to surgically remove, being close to the sagittal sinus vein. Rachel and Nolan left the appointment feeling like there were no good options.

A week later, they were given the opportunity for a second opinion at the University of Washington Medical Center. They feel that God guided them here and that Rachel will be in good hands. This surgeon, who specializes in skull-base tumors, believes that the lower tumor is a meningioma in the cerebellopontine angle, that is growing into her internal auditory canal. He assured them that he deals with these types of tumors all the time and has the resources and training to successfully remove them. He recommended surgery before the already large tumor causes irreversible damage to the many nerves and arteries in that area of her head. Surgery has been scheduled for January 24 at the UW Medical Center, in Seattle. The second tumor will be monitored with imaging and more than likely need surgery at some point.

Rachel and Nolan express gratefulness for the love and support they have received during this time. They ask for your continued prayers that God will care for them and their family as they go through this time of surgery and recovery ahead.

Recent Donations
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Anonymous Giver
$ 100.00 USD
10 days ago

Remember you and your family in love and prayers! Love and Gods peace

Anonymous Giver
$ 100.00 USD
11 days ago

Remembering all of you with love and prayers! Love and God’s Peace, R&K

Emily Pirness
$ 40.00 USD
11 days ago

Remembering you Rachel as well as Nolan and your whole family. May God hold you close as you recover. Love and God's peace Bryce, Emily and family

Anonymous Giver
$ 50.00 USD
13 days ago

Anonymous Giver
$ 100.00 USD
14 days ago

Remembering you, Rachel, Nolan and your whole family with love and prayers!

Anonymous Giver
$ 50.00 USD
15 days ago

Wishing you a full recovery!

Anonymous Giver
$ 50.00 USD
16 days ago

Rod and Elaine
$ 50.00 USD
17 days ago

Prayers for God’s love and care!

Anonymous Giver
$ 20.00 USD
19 days ago

I so appreciate you taking the time to give us updates. Rachel and your family are remembered in many prayers. May God bless this time of healing.

Mike and Sandra
$ 50.00 USD
19 days ago

Continuing to remember you all in love & prayer!

Anonymous Giver
$ 250.00 USD
20 days ago

Rachel & Nolan - we are remembering you as you go through this difficult trial. May God and the prayers of the believers and friends give you strength to continue day by day

Anonymous Giver
$ 30.00 USD
21 days ago

Your family is in our prayers!

Anonymous Giver
$ 25.00 USD
21 days ago

Anonymous Giver
$ 50.00 USD
21 days ago

We are remembering your family with love and prayers.

Anonymous Giver
$ 30.00 USD
22 days ago

Bear and Gloria
$ 200.00 USD
22 days ago

Remembering you Nolan and Rachel. Praying for a speedy and full recovery.

Anonymous Giver
$ 50.00 USD
22 days ago

Anonymous Giver
$ 50.00 USD
23 days ago

Remembering your family in our prayers!

Anonymous Giver
$ 50.00 USD
23 days ago

Anonymous Giver
$ 100.00 USD
23 days ago

Updates

Update #5

January 29th, 2025

Wednesday morning....from HOME!


As I made my way to the parking garage with thoughts worrying about the days ahead, I pulled from my wallet the parking ticket I had taken when we arrived at the hospital last Friday morning. For some reason I thought to check how long we had been there. My phone said 109 hours and 5 min. The days had flown by it seemed and we didn't yet feel confident in leaving the safety of the hospital where the push of a button brings qualified help to take care of any need we had. But as I thought more about 109 hours I wondered how far a person could drive in that amount of time. Although not practical because of necessary stops along the way, if someone with cold toes in Prudhoe Bay Alaska wanted to warm up in San Salvador El Salvador, they could drive there in 109 hours. When you look at the map and miles they would travel it is quite a distance. Somehow this made it easier to trust then, that we also have traveled a far enough distance on this first tumor journey for the experts to deem us ready to manage this on our own. As an electrician I feel highly unqualified to take care of her, but the neurosurgery team left us with a plan that seems manageable. If I can stay on top of the med list they gave we should hopefully be OK. But I had my doubts most of the day.....

Late Monday evening Rachel had broke out in a pretty itchy rash so she was given an antihistamine to counter the rash. This combined with the pain meds left her sleepy almost all day Tuesday. The Neurosurgery team doing rounds in the morning said we should be ready to go home, which caused my mind to swirl with all the worries that would bring. Rachel's pain didn't seem manageable at that point as new and different pains came and went with varying degrees of severity. One thing we've learned is that there is no way for them to prepare a patient for exactly what to expect post-surgery. There is a long list of possible side effects to choose from but not every patient experiences the same thing. So, several times when we brought up new worries of different symptoms we were reassured that it was normal and expected. Rachel spent most of the morning napping as she couldn't seem to shake the grogginess. Following a visit with a social worker who was working on a referral for in home therapy, she picked through her lunch and promptly fell back asleep. I wasn't sure if she'd be up for going home at all. The neurosurgery nurse practitioner stopped by again to explain some of the take home medications more clearly so we could understand best how to use them for her care. This was really helpful as we had gotten mixed messages from some of the nursing staff as to the best course of action with pain meds. Once the nurse practicioner explained what each medication does and how they work together, I felt more comfortable taking her home with a plan. At some point that afternoon we made a plan for when we would try to leave. Our time at UW in the care of those employed and educating there, has left an impression on us that neither of us wants to forget. Rachel wanted to stop by the gift shop to buy a shirt or something with the UW Medicine logo as a souvenir to remember the help we received there. The gift shop was open till 5 so we planned to leave the room by 430. But her exhaustion took over and we were nowhere near ready by then as I had a difficult time getting her awake enough to get going. We decided to scrap the gift shop plan till her 2 week post operation appointment and just worked on getting ready. A last minute new symptom brought more worry but the message again from the doctor was it's expected and OK. So, 109 hours after arriving there we left for home once she was comfortable and warm in the passenger seat. My thoughts on the quiet ride home reflected on this time and how we have been blessed even through this trial. For those that know Rachel well, you know how much she craves sunshine. The weather these past couple weeks prior to and during our surgery time have been bright and sunny, and she has commented many times how thankful she is for the nice weather even though she's been stuck inside. We believe God has helped even in this way. 

The other thought that came is one that I haven't shared with many because it's nagged at me these past few months. I can't say how long ago it started or how many times it happened, but a handful of times over the past several years, Rachel has squeezed her neck and poked her fingers in behind her ear while twisting her head around and said: "Hon, I swear I have a tumor in here." Being someone who probably wears rose colored glasses most of the time, I would say: yeah right..... I'm going to try do a better job of listening to her now....and would encourage any other married man to listen to your wife when she says something like that. This has gone as God has allowed, and we don't know that an earlier intervention would have had any different outcome, but it's been a reminder to me to pay attention to little things like that and at least ask a question about it. We are home now, she's sleeping comfortably in our bed and again I'm happy she's comfortable. We have to figure out some in-home physical therapy for her and work through the pain and eye issues but hopefully in a month or 2 she'll have some stamina back and see progress with the eye movement. I'm not sure now how often I'll update but maybe now we will have time to look through some pictures to see what she's comfortable sharing. Thank you all for the continued prayers. We still need to be remembered in this trial as her recovery will take some time. 


Nolan

Update #4

January 28th, 2025

Monday night/early Tuesday morning. Neurosurgery recovery floor. 

Sunday afternoon was a busy afternoon of company. Rachel's sister Ruthanne, who had been staying with our kids at home, came to visit with 4 of the "middle" kids. (Having Ruthanne at our home has been a huge help, allowing us to more or less forget about what's going on there and focus on Rachel's recovery.) So, we had 9 of our kids plus our daughter in-law with us at the hospital along with Rachel's parents and her sister. The eye doctor tried to stop by at some point but it was just too busy. We did get to bed a little earlier though as most of them were heading back to Longview that night. 

Monday has been a busy day. We were up a little early again as it seems the hospital comes to life early and it's hard to sleep in too late. The neurosurgery team makes early rounds to check in and those have been interesting and informative visits. A morning session with the physical therapist brought some challenges of walking without a walker and attempting stairs. All the while dealing with one eye that doesn't work properly and the balance struggles that come with that. The resident rehabilitation doctor then came in to check her progress to determine if she was a candidate for inpatient rehabilitation. Rachel was then finally able to shower for the first time post surgery. This long awaited yet scary shower (9.85 inch painful incision on her head!) was much needed and she felt a lot better...just in time for the surgeon to stop by. She hadn't yet met him face to face since our previous visits were on Zoom and over the phone. He has become a pretty special person in all of our lives and we are very grateful to have him caring for her. He will also operate on the second tumor if and when it needs to be removed. As ive said before, not only is he smart and talented, he's very easy to talk to and generous with his time. Rachel's parents and one of our sons then stopped by on their way back to Longview after checking out of the Airbnb they have had locally. A friend from the Seattle area who has also had surgery for a meningioma came by with lunch and we had a fun visit swapping stories about surgery. It's helpful to visit with others who have experienced this and we talked about making new friends in life who have shared experiences. There are blessings even in these trials. Rachel then had an eye exam to get a base line check for how limited her eye movement is. The ophthalmologist confirmed that the 6th cranial nerve which controls outward lateral eye movement was affected by the surgery. While the eye docs were finishing up, the lead rehabilitation doctor came in and patiently waited her turn. We had a nice visit about rehabilitation options and learned that Rachel has progressed enough that she likely won't qualify for inpatient rehab here and will need to do outpatient care back home. So, we will likely be going home in the next few days. We both took a decent afternoon nap and then spent the evening having dinner and taking another long walk around the halls here. Through all of this activity today, she has dealt with all the other side effects of brain surgery. Somewhere i read that day 2 or 3 after can be the most miserable for pain and discomfort. Aside from the eye and balance issues she's had, she has dealt with a clicking or pulsing in her head, ear pain and hearing loss, annoying hiccups, occasional intense throbbing headaches, exhaustion, and some difficulty swallowing. And other aches and pains from her angiogram puncture site and a painful incision in her belly where they removed some belly fat to use along with bees wax to seal up part of her skull when they were putting her back together. Interesting what they can do, but it comes with intense pain when she is getting in and out of bed using her stomach muscles. 


 So, while we miss our kids at home (especially our 3 month old baby), all of these difficulties she is dealing with here have us not in a big rush to leave. Hoping with more rest she will start to feel better tomorrow. It would be nice to start weaning off the pain meds but the pain (especially the head pressure and pain) has been too much to go without. It's getting late, and this is getting long, but she's sleeping comfortably and that makes me happy. We had hoped to look at some pictures together to post here but didnt get to it yet. Perhaps we will tomorrow. 

Goodnight. 

Nolan


Update #3

January 26th, 2025

Sunday early afternoon. 

Rachel is now resting in a new room on the neurosurgery recovery floor after being transferred out of ICU around noon. This morning the neurosurgery team making rounds stopped by for a visit and to check her neurological function. The nerve that controls her right eye had to be manipulated during surgery and will likely take the longest time to recover so her right eye currently doesn't track with her left eye completely which causes some frustrating double vision and dizziness. The doctors talked about having her stay longer than previously planned for some more intensive inpatient therapy to help that nerve recover faster. This would require us to be here an extra week or 2 depending on how it goes, but after some discussion about the pros and cons, it seems that it might be best to take advantage of it if insurance will cover. It feels safest to be near the team that operated on her, and have their group checking in on her daily as she works on stability/mobility issues. Although this is a frustrating situation, we are thankful that the other nerves that showed signs of stress during surgery are not as severe. The nerve that controls her swallowing and speech was one that could have been affected to where she would have a hard time swallowing or speaking above a raspy whisper, but so far that hasn't been a problem except for some weakness in swallowing.  

Also this morning she had a session with an occupational therapist who worked with her to start getting dressed on her own and feeding herself. With the sleepy medications and the vision issues she has, I have been helping her eat but now she has eaten breakfast on her own. She also made it out of her room for a long walk around the unit. Although she is battling with the vision issues it has been encouraging to see her making even small improvements. 

It has been really nice for us to have our parents and some of our older kids and siblings staying nearby. Together with others from the Seattle area who have stopped by they have been a much needed support and distraction. Thank you all for your continued prayers. 

Nolan



Update #2

January 25th, 2025

From ICU, Saturday morning.

Friday morning Rachel had an early check in for surgery.  After all the prep work and positioning, her procedure started around 945. I received updates every couple hours along the way. Around 230 I received a call from the surgeon and from the tone of his voice when he asked if it was me, I knew it had gone well. He explained the surgery and what he expected to see as side effects. I asked if we could meet so I could shake his hand as we hadn't yet been able to meet in person. He was gracious enough to come visit with all of us in the cafeteria to explain everything again and answer any questions. This was very beneficial and comforting for our parents and children to hear. We acknowledge God's gifts that the surgeon has been given to perform long and delicate operations on these complicated tumors. But also, he has a unique passion for this work and is extremely knowledgeable yet personable at the same time. The surgeon explained that tumors in the skull base don't get more complicated than hers as it was affecting many nerves in that area and he thought it had been growing for 20 years. He was able to remove 98% of the tumor and preserve function of everything as far as we can tell. She will have some transient side effects but he expects them to be gone within 6 months or so.  Following the procedure she spent some time in recovery trying to get her pain under control and then had a post-surgery CT scan and MRI.  I was finally able to see her when she came back from her MRI around 10pm. She is in ICU for now so they can check her neurological function every hour for the first night following surgery. At some point today she should get transferred to a different unit in the hospital. Continued thanks for the many prayers sent on our behalf.

Thank you. Nolan

Update #1

January 23rd, 2025

Update from the past 10 days:

On January 13th Rachel had her preoperative appointment at UW. A fine cut CT scan was done to help with mapping out the bone structure for surgery. The CT results also revealed a small third tumor that was previously missed on the MRI, and showed that the second tumor (the one not being removed yet) appears to have grown since the last scan. All of this will be further discussed once she has recovered from this upcoming surgery.  

This morning (Wednesday, Jan 22) we came to UW for pre-surgery labs and a cranial angiogram to map out the blood vessels in her head. The plan was to also perform an embolization, if viable. During the procedure, the doctor was able to embolize a large vessel supplying the tumor, which will help limit blood loss during surgery. Rachel is recovering now in ICU and will be discharged Thursday if all continues to go well. Her parents and some of our older children will be staying nearby the hospital, and we will join them for one night before coming back for surgery Friday morning.  

We humbly thank all who have supported us and remembered us in prayer during this time. We also ask for continued prayers in the days to come. We are confident in the surgeons abilities but acknowledge the risks involved and want to trust that God already knows what lies ahead and will give strength to endure. 

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