- 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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Monday, September 12, 2005
Please pray for clear scans
Well, this is the week we've been waiting for. Ryan's CT scan is tomorrow afternoon with the injection for the MIBG right afterwards. The 2 hours of drinking the contrast isn't so bad since they let us bring Gatorade to mix it with. He handles that pretty well, but I do dread the IV. He begs them to "Go slow, go slow!!" when they push the contrast and the flush through. He can taste it if they go too fast or if he has to lie down. The actual MIBG scan will be Wed. morning. He has to start taking the iodine after school today. I so hate it for him. I am so tired of all he has to go through, and then again, so thankful that he is here to do it. It is just so unfair that he should have to endure so much. It seems like learning his math facts should be enough!! Please pray, pray, pray for nice clear scans. We want to see for certain that there is no cancer there. He seems to feel good. He is tolerating the accutane fairly well. It has started to do a number on his cuticles. One or two stay sore and red. He is excited about his soccer game tonight. Heidi's team won last night. It was an exciting game. I just hope he has fun. I enjoyed Saturday's Tribute to Quiet Heroes luncheon. It was nice to see all the other cancer mom's we have met along the way and to meet moms of kids whose websites we have followed. I don't know about the whole "hero" thing. Any mom or dad would do for their child what Les and I have done. It's what parents do. I will just be glad when our cure is found and no mom or dad has to do any of it. I was captivated by Liz Scott who talked about her daughter, Alex's courageous battle with Neuroblastoma and Alex's selfless work to raise money for children's cancer research. Linda Armstrong Kelly is sure an amazing woman. I am glad I read her book, and I could certainly relate to some of her struggles during Lance's cancer treatment. Heidi and Will wrote letters to Lance thanking them for raising awareness and so much money for research. Ryan drew him a picture. I thought he might have drawn a picture of him on his bike, but Ryan marches to a different tune. He drew him in the factory making yellow wrist bands. He is definitely an original. He is our original and he just has to be alright. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. I will post just as soon as I hear something from the scans. Love, Les, Missy, Heidi,Will, and SuperRyan
# posted by Ryan @ 9/12/2005 10:14:00 AM
