- 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.
View my complete profile
We have gotten all of Ryan's results from last week. The markers in his urine are all in the normal range. Hooray!! I had a long conversation with Dr. Anderson yesterday and feel like I can add another class towards my medical degree. I learned a good bit about the growth hormones. Ryan was tested for 2 markers that indicate the amounts of growth hormones his pituitary is producing. His numbers are slightly low, but they don't know why. Dr. Anderson said this is more common with brain tumor patients or patients who have had radiation to the pituitary. Ryan did not. So what to do about it? Nothing right now. There is just not enough evidence as to what growth hormones might do to someone who has had Neuroblastoma. We certainly don't want to make something grow that we don't want. We will wait another year and repeat the test and see if the numbers are coming up. According to the scan of his wrist, he has lots of growing left to do if his pituitary will just tell his body to grow. And, if he isn't terribly tall, that will be alright with me. So for now we will keep on keepin' on, loving our normal lives. We are looking forward to Fall Break in a few weeks and will be headed to Helen for a few days. I, personally, can not wait!! Thanks for checking in on us, and please keep Ryan in your prayers. Love, Les, Missy, Heidi, Will, and SuperRyan
# posted by Ryan @ 9/22/2006 02:14:00 PM
