About Me
- 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.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Monthly check-up, looking good.
Ryan's counts were all good as well as the markers in his urine that signal the presence of NB. He got to go to work with Dad this morning and be the "boss". He played a little golf, watched some cartoons, played darts, raided the candy machine, drank a Yoo-hoo, a coke and a Dr. Pepper, played Frogger, and drove a gas powered remote control dirt buggy. All the usual stuff at the office. He will get CT and MIBG scans again in mid-July. I can't believe it's time for them already. He did so good with his blood-draw today. Most times he can get just a finger prick, but every once in a while they need too much blood for that, and it requires a stick in his arm, like today. He has gotten pretty good at tolerating the finger prick, but he was proud to tell me that he laughed when she stuck him in the arm today. What a great nurse! He didn't even want a bandage. He finally weighs 40 pounds. Our vacations helped get us over that hurdle, at last. He also grew 3/4 of an inch.
We adopted two adorable little puppies this afternoon. We haven't completely decided on their names, but the kids are having fun playing with them. We figured if we got two, they could spend their extra energy playing with each other.
Jena and Will came and swam with the kids tonight. They had such a great time. Her group, Has-Been Beauty Queens, won the Cosmo-Girl contest. They will receive $10,000 for their next project, another pageant at The Hole In The Wall Camp for kids with Cancer. I think it is in Connecticut. Their pictures, and Ryan's is in this month's edition of Cosmo-Girl. We had a little autograph signing party!!
Please say a prayer tonight for our friend, Ethan, and his family.
