Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month, Day 22: On January 7, 2011, against all odds, Ryan celebrated her 9th birthday. She received more presents than ever! Our greatest gift was her life. 5 months after treatment, Ryans scans continued to reveal no evidence of disease. She remained on an intense oral chemo drug called mitotane in an attempt to prevent new tumor growth. Mitotane contains ingredients used in pesticides, but we gave between 2-4 pills to Ryan 4 times daily. Parents with healthy children would be mortified by the chemicals Ryan ingested, but to us, it was all in the name of a cure. The picture of Ryan at the bottom of the stairs, with arms outstretched, shows our celebration of Ryans very last cancer free scans. Victory! We have been so touched by the recent story of Devon Still, and the generosity and compassion the Cincinnati Bengals showed in keeping him on their practice squad in order to assist him with the insurance needed to treat his young daughters neuroblastoma (cincinnati/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2014/09/01/cincinnati-bengals-devon-still-cant-give-football-100-percent/14937035/). We wish our experiences were the same, but sports are a business. Just months after being told that Jeff was not welcome to play on a league minimum contract in Missouri, so that our family could have insurance, we suffered a similar fate in Mississippi. Jeffs former coach was terminated as head coach, and the first order of business of the new coach was to waive Jeff - via text message. Ryans condition was tenuous, at best, and we longed to remain in Mississippi for follow-up care at St. Jude. Staying in Mississippi meant no health insurance or housing for our family, however, and we could not make it work. I was taking on freelance legal work as it was. We were therefore overjoyed when the expansion Evansville Icemen claimed Jeff off of waivers and brought him in for the conclusion of the season and his career. It meant another move, and I would assist Ryan with online school for the remainder of 3rd grade, but it was an appropriate finish to Jeffs career, and the community embraced our family from the start. A 9 year old Ryan enjoyed her hamster, Emily, her Disney Channel, and of course, her arts and crafts. She felt better and better as each day passed, but terrible news was just around the corner. Thank you, friends, for your support of our cause this month. Your donations are greatly appreciated. We also appreciate all who have shared our story, because only through awareness will pediatric cancer receive the funding it deserves. If you have the means, please consider a donation at teamryanfoundation.org. Please also give us a like on our facebook page, Team Ryan Charitable Foundation for Pediatric Cancer Research.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 23:39:27 +0000
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