- Name: Ryan
- Location: Athens, Ga, United States
Our son Ryan was diagnosed with stage 4 Neuroblastoma in 2004. In 2007, my wife Missy was diagnosed with stage 2 triple negative breast cancer. On July 8th, 2009, Missy lost her battle to this horrible disease. 2 days later, on July 10th, Ryan also lost his. Together forever, they both watch over our family now from the heavens above.
Below is our families journey through Ryan's treatments, along with the joy and laughter we tried to instill into our daily lives. Those days helped us all cope with the pain and suffering that comes with cancer and it's deadly treatments. Both Missy and Ryan endured high doses of chemo, radiation and surgeries. Over 150 nights spent in the hospital and many, many more days. More transfusions than I could count. Yet both Missy and Ryan took on each day with a positive attitude and warm smile for all their friends. We miss them terribly. They will always be a shining light in our lives.
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Thursday, June 16, 2005
An anniversary you'd like to forget
It was one year ago today we first began this journey. We had no idea on that day when we took Ryan to see his pediatrician, that we could find something so horrific. Who would have ever thought your child had cancer? We will never forget when our wonderful GI doc came in and told us there was a mass in Ryan's abdomen. We knew there was something wrong, but not that! I have always been a firm believer that no one knows your child like you do. Our pediatrician truly believed Ryan had a virus, and only sent us to a specialist at our request. We have heard countless stories of children who visited their pediatrician for months before being diagnosed, which, of course, allows the cancer to spread even more. We don't blame our pediatrician, we still see him. As crazy as it sounds, cancer is rare in children, especially Neuroblastoma. You wouldn't think so after all the kids we have seen and how busy the clinic and hospital floors are. So our message is this: if your child is sick, don't give up until you get real answers. As much as we hated to find what we did, we are very thankful to have found it when we did, and not months later. Ryan got very sick, very fast. So, we are thankful to all of you for your prayers and support over this past year. We have endured what hopefully turns out to be the most difficult year of our lives, and the key word is ENDURED. We have all endured and are stronger for it. We have learned so much, not just about cancer, blood counts, and human anatomy, but about life and how to TREASURE what you have been given. I could go on about that for a long time, but I think you know what I mean. There will be more days in the coming month where we look back to last year. The first weeks were the worst. The first chemo and the first surgery bring back nightmares. We are so thankful to be where we are, and we truly believe that God is listening to all our prayers. Please continue to pray for Ryan's cure on this earth and a cure to all cancers for people everywhere. Love, Les, Missy, Heidi, Will, and SuperRyan
# posted by Ryan @ 6/16/2005 03:09:00 PM
