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.
Friday, February 24, 2006
So long Todd
I can't believe our sweet girl is 13 already. We celebrated Heidi's birthday here at home on Wednesday with my parents, and tomorrow she will have a bunch of friends here for a party. Ryan is going to spend the night with his friend, Max, and Will is off to spend the night with one of his buddies. Ryan took a karate test on Wed. and was awarded his green belt. He got to break another board which he loves. My dad cut him a board to break at home. It makes him feel so strong!! He is going to take some time off from karate while he plays soccer this spring. We had to find a new home for one of our dogs. Todd has gone to live with a nice family with a fenced-in yard. He just won't stay home like Teddie. The first family to see him snapped him up. The kids really loved him. If we had more acreage he might have been able to stay. Heidi is pretty upset and we haven't told Ryan yet, he was very upset just thinking about losing him. We'll let him know tomorrow :( Les, Missy, Heidi, Will and SuperRyan
Friday, February 17, 2006
Oprah Challenge, you in?
I want to tell you about a mother of a child with neuroblastoma who is organizing an e-mail campaign this weekend to get Oprah to spotlight "Lunch for Life" (link at the side). You can check it out on their website: www.joeytubo.com . With more fundraising and greater awareness, we'll get the dollars required for research. The goal obviously is to bring the survival rate up from 30% (stage IV) to 100% for every child affected by this unforgiving disease. It's very simple and takes just a couple of minutes, (mom, maybe 10 for you :) Ryan has scans scheduled for March 7th, 8th and 9th. He's looking and feeling so well it's a little scary. I feel like I'm being lulled into a false sense of security. I guess I'll just never be at peace until a cure has been found. Their cousin, Nick, is spending the night. Then the boys will be spending tomorrow night at the farm while we take Heidi to her All-star Basketball tournament in Clarkesville, GA. So click on the link and make a plea for a worthy cause. Many thanks, Les, Missy, Heidi, Will and SuperRyan
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Camp Sunshine & Athens Church, Thank you!
We had a great time at the Big Apple Circus on Sunday. Ryan laughed and laughed. I think I may have watched him more than the circus! Thank you Camp Sunshine for a very fun day. Today was pajama day at school and their Valentine's party. We hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day. We got a special treat this evening. A group from Athens Church, which is affiliated with Northpoint Church and our friends at the Lighthouse, came and painted our bedroom and bathroom. They fixed a gutter on the front of the house and put some plywood up in the garage attic to give us more storage space. That is the thing about an 88 year old house-not much storage room. We are so thankful for their hard work. It seems silly to get excited about a fresh coat of paint, but I am. It looks awesome. Thank ya'll so much. One thing I look forward to when Ryan is much further out of treatment and healthy and strong is to be able to be back on the giving end. We are so thankful to everyone who has reached out to us and helped us get through the past almost two years. I wish we could reach out and give each of you a hug and a giant thank you personally. Please know that in our hearts we are so thankful and feel incredibly blessed. Please continue to pray for Ryan and his friends. Love, Les, Missy, Heidi, Will, and SuperRyan
Friday, February 10, 2006
2 arms, 1 leg, 5 shots, No Prob!!
Just another day for our SuperRyan. He was so brave going in, but was pretty upset when it was all over. Thank you, Stacy, for being so quick and so understanding. We go back in 2 months for another round, and then not again until next year. His arms and legs were pretty sore last night and today. He was excited to go to school, though. They were having an Olympic parade. We are in the process of scheduling his next set of scans for early March. Our little friend, Caroline, is having her repeat CT on the 28th. Please lift her up in prayer that whatever they saw on her scan last month isn't there. We are excited about going to the Circus on Sunday and are looking forward to seeing some of our friends. I will try and post some pictures. Tomorrow is a full day of basketball and end of season parties. Heidi's team participated in Coaching for the Cure, and we are very thankful to them for that. She will play basketball a bit longer for the All-Star team, and soccer is just around the corner. This will likely be Ryan's last season playing soccer for awhile. Our wonderful coach, Mark, is moving away, and Ryan will have to move up to play with 8 & 9 year olds. He is just too little for that. Besides, he loves Karate. Thank you for checking in on us, and for caring and praying for Ryan. Please don't stop now. Love, Les, Missy, Heidi, Will, and SuperRyan
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
wouldn't it be nice if there were a cancer immunization?
We are having a good week. Ryan enjoyed karate tonight and Monday night. He had to write a story about a goal or aspiration so he chose to write about becoming a black belt. That would be awesome!! He gets his first re-immunizations tomorrow. I don't know what he will get first, but I do know he isn't going to like it. I can't wait to see what he weighs. He seems to gain more weight at the Pediatrician's office than he does at the clinic. Crazy, I know, but it is so true!! I hope the immunizations don't make him feel bad. We are going to the Big Apple Circus with Camp Sunshine on Sunday. We didn't get to go last year as it was too soon after Ryan's transplant. We are all excited about going. Please pray for little Mary Evelyn as she will be getting her second batch of stem cells on Friday. She is pretty sick right now. Thanks so much for checking in on Ryan and for your continued prayers. We feel so blessed to have so many cheering and praying for him. Love, Les, Missy, Heidi, Will, and SuperRyan
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Thank you Cure and Atlanta Thrashers
Today was a day I have been looking forward to for a while. I got to flip my Aflac calendar to February and see Ryan's beautiful drawing of me and Les.
I will enjoy seeing it everyday, and I know many of ya'll will too. We are having a wonderful week. Ryan is feeling great with lots of energy. The kids had tons of fun today at Jillian's bowling and playing games with Cure and the Atlanta Thrashers. Thank ya'll so much. We took lots of pictures, but the wild lights at Jillian's totally freaked out my camera. All the kids got t-shirts and an Atlanta Thrasher autographed.jersey. Our boys will be wearing theirs to school tomorrow for sure. Thanks for checking in on us and please keep praying for Ryan and his little friends. Love, Les, Missy, Heidi, Will, and SuperRyan
I will enjoy seeing it everyday, and I know many of ya'll will too. We are having a wonderful week. Ryan is feeling great with lots of energy. The kids had tons of fun today at Jillian's bowling and playing games with Cure and the Atlanta Thrashers. Thank ya'll so much. We took lots of pictures, but the wild lights at Jillian's totally freaked out my camera. All the kids got t-shirts and an Atlanta Thrasher autographed.jersey. Our boys will be wearing theirs to school tomorrow for sure. Thanks for checking in on us and please keep praying for Ryan and his little friends. Love, Les, Missy, Heidi, Will, and SuperRyan