Archive for March, 2009
3/31 report
Ryan’s counts were good yesterday to the point that he doesn’t have to take shots until after the next round. Today we took some home-baked goodies to the nurses, and they were so happy to see Ryan. They couldn’t believe how good he looked, plus they liked getting the sweets. :D
Tomorrow Ryan and I are going to his school again so he can hear this week’s story. While he is doing that, I will be filling out paperwork for him to get on homebound. I did find out that his current teacher will be the one that will be his homebound teacher – which is great! She wanted to do it, and prayers have been answered.
Ryan is so full of energy that I can’t keep up with him at times. Like today, I told him that he was getting too big for his breeches. He proceeded to tell me that he was to skinny for his breeches – they were falling off him. How can you not laugh at that. It just shows you that he is getting back to his old self.
3/28 report
Yesterday Ryan wanted to surprise his teacher at school. So we surprised everyone at Flowood Elementary School. We saw all of the third grade classes as well as Dr. Martin. We went to see his first grade teacher and Bryce’s class. We were at the school almost 2 hours and everyone was glad to see Ryan.
After surprising the school, Ryan went to Bubba and Carol’s. Bubba took Ryan to Highland Bluff Elementary School to see his former principle, Dr. McCool, and some of his former teachers. Everyone was glad to see him there as well. After that he went fishing and spent the night with Bubba and Carol.
This morning Ryan got sick so I had to go and get him. After his Zofran and a nap, he is feeling better. Troy will be taking the kids to see a movie today while I stay home and get some things done around the house for next week.
On Monday Ryan will be going to the Cancer Clinic for counts, and Troy will be taking him for that. On Friday, Ryan will have a PET scan and a MRI. This will take all day on Friday, so I will be posting off and on all day. If everything is doing good, Ryan should be admitted back in the hospital on Sunday, April 5, for the next round of chemo. This round runs for 72 hours straight, and I’m not sure when we will come back home after that.
It’s been a long road, and we aren’t finished with it yet. I pray that I have the strength to finish strong for Ryan.
3/26 midday report
We will be here awhile today. Ryan needs a blood transfusion as well as his medication through his chem port. I know this would be a possibility, but it hurts to see Ryan so upset about getting a needle in his port. The blood transfusion will take 3 hours, so Ryan and I are at the Cancer Clinic until then. He seems to be feeling better now that the transfusion has started, but he would like to take 15 minutes or so for it to be done – which can’t happen. :D
3/26 morning report
Ryan and I are sitting at the Children’s Cancer Clinic waiting for the next step in this process. He is not happy about getting his port accessed this morning, but he knows it has to be done. They will check his numbers again to see how they are doing and let us know what all will be going on today.
Ryan has had lots and lots of energy this week. It has helped that his aunts, cousins and grandmother are down from Tennessee this week. He has been back to his old self, but he still doesn’t like getting his shots everyday from Mommy. Something that Ryan said to his grandmother stands out. He looked at his grandmother and said, “I want to be a cancer survivor.” This is coming from an eight-year-old wanting all of this to be over with and soon. Since I had he told her that, my hopes have been up as he is ready for this to be over.
Once I hear more from the doctor, I will post again.
3/24 Evening Update
It has been fairly quiet on the blogging front, but you can take that as a good thing. Ryan is home and is doing very well. He is full of energy and having a blast playing with his brother, sister, and some of my family that have come to visit this week. Ryan’s temperature is holding and we are making sure that everyone is washing, washing, washing their hands and after they wash, they wash again. Victoria is doing great. I am back at work and still trying to catch up from the short time I was out. I’m still not sleeping very much or very well and I can tell it in my attitude, sorry to everyone affected! 
Ryan’s cub scout leaders came by tonight and brought a picture of the entire pack that was signed by everyone. He was excited to get the picture, but I think even more excited to see Trey and Jackson! We are so thankful for this time and are trying to enjoy it as a family as much as possible. Ryan goes back to the cancer clinic on Thursday for a chemo treatment and probably a transfusion. It is scheduled to all be done over a couple of hours so no hospital admission for this one. We are looking at going back the first week or so of April for his next major round that will require a hospital stay.
We pray that we will confidently to lean on Christ, that we will have peace, that Ryan will have healing, and that we will trust in His Sovereignty.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. The Body of Christ has certainly been the reason for our surviving thus far.
3/23 report
I took Ryan to get his CBC done. All his counts were good, and the nurse was happy. Ryan’s next appointment is Thursday. He will get a bag of chemo and to have his CBC checked again. Ryan is feeling well; he and his brother and sister and Manaw will be going to the movies today.
God has been so good and to see Him work like He has has been wonderful!
3/22 update
This morning Troy was going to take Bryce and Deanna to church. However, he got up with a migraine. At the same time, Ryan was in the bathroom getting sick. Both of my guys have crawled back in the bed to rest. Please pray that both will be feeling better this afternoon. Troy’s mom, sisters, and their kids are coming down for the week to help out where they can. I would like both my guys to feel better and enjoy the visit today.
May God bless you on this Sunday and everyday.
3/21 morning report
Today there is a 5K being ran in Jackson, MS. Troy’s office, Bomgar, has a team in it, and they had shirts made up for the race. On the front, it has the Bomgar name, and on the back it has “Running for Ryan”. Everyone in the company got a shirt, and they gave everyone in our family one as well. Troy took all the kids this morning down to meet the runners and have their picture made with them. Thanks Bomgar for running the race, and I hope that all of you finished strong!
Jumping for joy
Because Ryan’s counts are so good and it seems that he has handled the chemo better this time, he is on his way home. I really wasn’t expecting him to get home so quick, but I’m so glad that he is. As I post this, Troy is packing up the room and loading everything up to bring Ryan home. I know that if Ryan starts running a fever, then we will have to call and take him back to the hospital, but at least he is getting to come home and be in his bed.
Please pray that Ryan doesn’t run a fever between round A and B so he can stay home and just be himself.
3/19 Evening Update
Just spoke with our doctor. She said that barring any major changes tonight with his blood tests or any physical symptoms, Ryan could go home tomorrow! Praise God! Next week he will have to come back to the cancer clinic for blood tests and one chemo treatment. His next hospital visit will be in a couple of weeks when he undergoes another hard round that spans several days. So again our goal will be to keep Ryan infection free at home for as long as possible.
This round, even though it is EXACTLY THE SAME as the last round is going so much better. It is still chemotherapy; it is still serious, but nothing compared to last month. We are thankful that the other factors that were involved before (surgery, dialysis, feeding tubes, etc.) have not been required as of yet and are prayerful that they will not be required at all.
Not much else to report, Victoria is right, his energy levels are dropping after having 9 different chemo administrations and two spinal taps over 4 days. He was ready for bed at 8:00, so I gave him a shower and sent him off to sleep. I’m exhausted myself and have been struggling to get more than a couple of hours of sleep a night. I’m heading to bed myself and pray for some rest. Good night!