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.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
St. Baldrick's is Coming!
Ryan had a good check-up with Dr. George today. His counts are ok. His platelets are actually over 50k! He got his infusion of Zometa and a new script for Accutane. The two weeks he's off goes by so fast. He's been back to school for over a week. I haven't gotten used to it yet. I worry about him getting sick, but he just needed to go back. I'm glad we're there together! Heidi and Will are both busy with soccer. Will was surprised when Heidi came home from practice on Friday with a note from the boy's JV coach. Will gave him a call and he invited him to join the team. He's only practiced two days with the team, but so far he loves it.
We're joining forces with one of the best nurses you'll ever meet, well, actually her brother, Derek. He is shaving his head for St. Baldrick's in Ryan's honor! Dawn has the best family! Below is Derek's note. Feel free to copy and send to anyone who might offer their support. Thanks for checking in on us and for your love and support. Please pray for a cure for all cancers. Love, Les, Missy, Heidi, Will, and SuperRyan
My name is Derek Carver and I am going to be participating in an event called St. Baldrick’s this year on March 13th at Fado’s Irish Pub in Buckhead..St. Baldrick’s is the world's largest volunteer-driven fundraising event for childhood cancer research! I have decided to join the army of volunteers and donate my head to be shaved to help raise money in the attempt to helping children and teens fighting cancer. A child is diagnosed every 3 ½ minutes, and each one is a very special life we can help save. In 2008 alone, over $15 million raised by St. Baldrick's volunteers has been committed to finding new cures and help fund childhood cancer research.
You may be asking yourself, “Why is Derek shaving his noggin?” Well, not only is it a tremendous cause, my sister, Dawn, has been a pediatric oncology nurse for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta since 1995. That’s about 14 years for you non-math majors. Ha Ha! She asked me last year to attend one of these events and I was overwhelmed with the people who volunteer to get their heads shaved. Some do it every year but this happens to be my first. My sister has been involved with numerous benefits and activities, like St. Baldrick's, to not only give care for these special children, but to raise funds for cancer research. Also, my mother, Betty, is a Breast Cancer Survivor. So I have been affected personally by Cancer and I am sure you have had a loved one or just know someone who has been affected in some way by this dreadful disease. So what I am asking is for you to open your hearts and your wallets to donate to help fight childhood Cancer. You can go to my webpage at: www.stbaldricks.org/participants/shavee_info.php?ParticipantKey=2009-60461
I will also be honoring one of Dawn’s many favorite patients, Ryan “Super Ryan” Morgan. Ryan is a very cool 10 year old who was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma in 2004. He went through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, surgery, radiation and 2 stem cell transplants to treat his disease. He unfortunately relapsed in April of 2007. Since then he has continued to undergo more chemo, surgery and radiation to fight his tumor. You can read more about Ryan on the website that his parents Les and Missy have set up at: http://superryan.blogspot.com/
As we face these tough economic times, I appreciate your recognition that childhood cancer is even tougher. Thank you for joining me to help these kids who need our help now. Please feel free to forward this email to anyone that you know that may be interested in helping out this tremendous cause.
Sincerely,
Derek Carver
We're joining forces with one of the best nurses you'll ever meet, well, actually her brother, Derek. He is shaving his head for St. Baldrick's in Ryan's honor! Dawn has the best family! Below is Derek's note. Feel free to copy and send to anyone who might offer their support. Thanks for checking in on us and for your love and support. Please pray for a cure for all cancers. Love, Les, Missy, Heidi, Will, and SuperRyan
My name is Derek Carver and I am going to be participating in an event called St. Baldrick’s this year on March 13th at Fado’s Irish Pub in Buckhead..St. Baldrick’s is the world's largest volunteer-driven fundraising event for childhood cancer research! I have decided to join the army of volunteers and donate my head to be shaved to help raise money in the attempt to helping children and teens fighting cancer. A child is diagnosed every 3 ½ minutes, and each one is a very special life we can help save. In 2008 alone, over $15 million raised by St. Baldrick's volunteers has been committed to finding new cures and help fund childhood cancer research.
You may be asking yourself, “Why is Derek shaving his noggin?” Well, not only is it a tremendous cause, my sister, Dawn, has been a pediatric oncology nurse for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta since 1995. That’s about 14 years for you non-math majors. Ha Ha! She asked me last year to attend one of these events and I was overwhelmed with the people who volunteer to get their heads shaved. Some do it every year but this happens to be my first. My sister has been involved with numerous benefits and activities, like St. Baldrick's, to not only give care for these special children, but to raise funds for cancer research. Also, my mother, Betty, is a Breast Cancer Survivor. So I have been affected personally by Cancer and I am sure you have had a loved one or just know someone who has been affected in some way by this dreadful disease. So what I am asking is for you to open your hearts and your wallets to donate to help fight childhood Cancer. You can go to my webpage at: www.stbaldricks.org/participants/shavee_info.php?ParticipantKey=2009-60461
I will also be honoring one of Dawn’s many favorite patients, Ryan “Super Ryan” Morgan. Ryan is a very cool 10 year old who was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma in 2004. He went through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, surgery, radiation and 2 stem cell transplants to treat his disease. He unfortunately relapsed in April of 2007. Since then he has continued to undergo more chemo, surgery and radiation to fight his tumor. You can read more about Ryan on the website that his parents Les and Missy have set up at: http://superryan.blogspot.com/
As we face these tough economic times, I appreciate your recognition that childhood cancer is even tougher. Thank you for joining me to help these kids who need our help now. Please feel free to forward this email to anyone that you know that may be interested in helping out this tremendous cause.
Sincerely,
Derek Carver
