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, December 29, 2006
A Really Good Day
What a day it has been!! We got a very early start this morning. Fortunately, with the Holiday break, traffic was smooth headed down to Scottish Rite. Ryan's CT scan was pretty uneventful. We got his labs drawn while he had his IV in, and he was able to go without another needle prick at the clinic. Our friend, Kellie, met us for lunch, and we made it back just in time for our appt. with Dr. George. He gave us the good news on Ryan's CT and normal bloodwork. We have been celebrating ever since. We met our Lighthouse friends, the Howards, at Jillian's for dinner and LOTS of games. It has been a wonderful day. The only exception to our wonderful day was word we received at the clinic of our little friend, Catie. Her scan yesterday showed progression of her brain tumor. They are starting a new chemo today. Please pray that this drug will be just what she needs and that she will be able to tolerate the side effects. Thank you so much for your prayers for Ryan. He will be back at the clinic in 3 months with scans again in six. We are going to be enjoying our very normal lives and thanking God everyday for our blessings. Love, Les, Missy, Heidi, Will, and SuperRyan
Friday, December 22, 2006
Another Scantastic
Ryan's mibg scan on Wednesday went very well, even the extra hour wait worked well for Ryan, more time in the gift shop! Dr. Anderson just called and confirmed that all is OK with the results. He still shows a little uptake in his liver but that has remained consistent on all of his previous scans. So his next appointment is the 29th for a CT scan and a check up. Have a Merry Christmas as I know we will after the good news. Thanks for hanging in with Ryan and the rest of us ! Love Les, Missy, Heidi, Will and SuperRyan
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Gearing Up
Finally! a picture!! Sorry it has taken so long. We have just been so busy. A good busy. Ryan received his purple belt in karate last Wednesday. Heidi is playing both school and rec basketball, and Will is playing basketball, too. Ryan went back to the allergist last week. His immunities to allergies were all in the normal range, with one being on the lower end, but the doc really didn't find it significant. He did add another nasal spray to try and help with his runny nose. I can't understand why the experts can't figure out why Ryan and all his BMT buddies have a constant runny nose. The stress of next week's scans has definitely set in- weeks ago, really. We know all too well just how quickly we can be thrown back into the cancer world- a world of chemo, surgery, tubes, needles, and desperation. A world that children should not have to live in, but one that is full of beautiful, bright, little faces. Please pray that Ryan's scans will be definitively clear, and that the days will go smoothly with minimal stresses (if at all possible). He will start the SSKI (daily iodine) tomorrow, have his isotope injection on Tuesday, and the scan on Wednesday. The kids get out of school for the holiday on Wednesday. It will be nice for us all to be at home and for things to slow down a bit. We will update as soon as we hear results of the scan. He won't see the docs until the 29th, but we won't wait that long for results. Thank you so much for checking in on Ryan and for keeping us all in your prayers. Love, Les, Missy, Heidi, Will, and SuperRyan
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
"tis the season...to give
I have been wanting to update Ryan's site with some photos for a few weeks, but we have been so busy, and have had some technical difficulties, too. Actually, I lost the battery to my camera Thanksgiving Day, but I found it!! Ryan is back at Karate, and loving it. He is crazy about his instructor, Mr. Pattillo. He makes it a lot of fun for all the kids. Will was really busy last week with soccer, again. They put together an all-star team at the last minute for a tournament in Augusta. We drove him down last Friday after Heidi's basketball game for an 8:30 game. They lost and we drove home, that simple. Heidi is playing basketball for her school and for the rec (lots more fun!) so she is pretty busy. We saw a lot of our Lighthouse friends on Sunday at the Lighthouse Christmas party. The kids got to talk to Santa, and we ate way too many sweets! We will get to visit with many of our Camp Sunshine friends this Sunday at their Christmas party. Tonight is the Christmas parade in Winder. Ryan's friend, Jena, will be leading the parade, and we can't wait to see her. She is the 2007 Miss Teen Georgia USA. Unfortunately, we have not seen much difference in Ryan's nose. We went to the allergist/immunologist last week and did the skin tests on both forearms and the tops of both legs (not fun!!), and they determined that he is allergic to one species of dust mite. I really don't find that too significant. They did do an immune deficiency test (blood-test), and we go back next week to get the results of that. Surely, that will show something. He got a good check-up from the dentist and went today to get sealants on his 6 year molars. His MIBG is scheduled for the 20th with the injection the day before. He will have to start taking the SSKI (double yucch) on the 18th and fortunately finish up just before Christmas. His CT is on the 29th in the morning with a Dr.'s visit that afternoon to get all the results. It will definitely be a stressful time so please, please keep us all in your prayers.
Be sure to watch the local ABC station, WSB-TV, Channel 2 next Monday at 8:30 pm.
They will broadcast a 30-minute special about Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
Focusing on three patient families, the special will share their stories and highlight information about the services offered at Children's. As well, the special will focus on the leadership role our physicians play in cardiac and cancer (blood disorders) research. As you may remember from last year, we supported Lunch for Life which raises money for Neuroblastoma research. We are doing the same again this year. You can click on the Lunch for Life link on the left side of Ryan's page and it will direct you to their site. Then you scroll down and you will find all the kids' names. You can click on Ryan's name to donate $5 per ornament for his Christmas tree. This is a special group for us as it benefits only NB. We have a few friends in need of prayer right now. Please keep Maddie, Nathan, Dustin, Patrick, and Catie in your prayers. I will try and update again soon with some pictures. Thanks so much for checking in on us and for your prayers for Ryan and our family. Love, Les, Missy, Heidi, Will, and SuperRyan
