June 19th Update

The FFA Alumni has added a raffle to the festivities of June 19th. They have a 300 lb live weight hog to be raffled off with butchering to the winner's preference. The hog was donated by Mike Oliver and the butchering by Carl Hunt butchering of Greenville. Tickets are $1 for 1, $5 for 6 and $10 for 12. I have tickets as well as FFA Alumni members.

Ryan is doing well. We are planning to go to some graduation parties for his seniors today and tomorrow. He also wants to go to his final Wright State class on Monday night. He is scheduled to have surgery to replace his port on Tuesday at 1:00 and then he will be admitted for his 5th round of chemo. I'm going to try to get him roped into helping me put down mulch here in a few minutes, so I better get one that!

-A

Another Answered Prayer

Ryan went to get his red blood cells today. His hemoglobin count was actually up a little from yesterday, but still low enough that it would be beneficial to get the blood. His white count was up to 5.7 today and his platelets were up to 22, so he won't need a platelet transfusion. One less day he has to spend sitting in the hospital. We thank the LORD for that!

Getting the blood went fairly well today, better than last week when he had to get it.

He, his brother and his dad are keeping Aubrey tomorrow morning, I can imagine that they might be an ornery bunch!

-A

Answered Prayer

We truly do serve an amazingly good God. Ryan's white count was finally up today, from .1 on Monday to 1.7 today. The doctor expects that to continue to rise quickly in the next couple of days and has him scheduled to return to the hospital on Tuesday. They will hopefully (they don't have it scheduled yet) put his port in sometime Tuesday and then start chemo either Tuesday night or Wednesday.

Ryan had his bone marrow biopsy today. They won't have the results of that until next Tuesday or Wednesday as well.

Ryan's platelets and hemoglobin are not recovering as quickly as they have in the past and he has to go to Wayne Hospital tomorrow and get 2 more units of red blood. If his platelets don't come up before Friday, he may have to get some platelets on Friday.

Hopefully he'll be set for the weekend then, we've got several graduation parties for his students to attend!

Pray for rest for us all and that Ryan isn't in too much pain from the procedure today.

-A

Low Counts

Ryan's white count is struggling to come up this time. He's been about 4 days with .1 white blood cells. We are hoping that today's count will show a little growth. His platelets were down to 7 yesterday so he had to get an infusion of platelets after lunch yesterday afternoon. It didn't take nearly as long as the red blood cells did the other day. We were only in the hospital for about 3 1/2 hours.

Ryan rested a lot yesterday and feels pretty good today. He had to go get blood drawn again this morning and we're waiting to hear what his counts are. Hopefully we'll see some change for the good today.

We're still trying to decide whether we should stay home today or go find something to do.

Happy Memorial Day
-A

Too Busy!

I think I've successfully worn him out.

Thursday we went to graduation and he announced all his graduating seniors names and they all hugged him as they went across the stage. He really enjoyed having the chance to be there and watch the students of his first "full-term" class finish their high school graduation. It was a late night when we got home, but he stayed awake for me on the drive home because I wasn't feeling too well and was pretty wiped out.

Friday was a very busy day. He had to get blood drawn and pick up some beans and we had a trip to Lowe's and Wal-Mart planned. We also had dinner with some good friends planned and by the time we finished with all that, I still had food to put together for today. Ryan was such a good sport, staying up and helping me brown hamburger and even folding some of the laundry I was trying to get done.

Today we had another work day at our house. THANK YOU to everyone who came to help. We are very close to being ready to put Aubrey's crib together and decorate her room. There are still several little things that need to be done, but Ryan keeps telling me everything takes time. I'm ready for those rooms to be finished, but I guess I just have to practice my patience a little more :)

Ryan's platelets are pretty low today and they may have to infuse some tomorrow. Please pray that he has a restful night's sleep and that his body makes some white cells before his blood draw tomorrow. He should be about ready to start working back up. He is in bed now, tired from a long day, although he did take a little nap today. I'm about ready to give up and crawl in beside him. I'm tired too. I ask for prayers for myself as well. I've been feeling a little down this week and not being as patient with Ryan as I should.

-A

A Long Afternoon

Whew, it has been a long afternoon and unfortunately it isn't over yet. Ryan had a scheduled lumbar puncture today. Although the doctor was running about an hour late, everything went fine with that. When the doctor got Ryan's counts back, he felt that he needed to get some red blood cells because his hemoglobin was low, so he sent him to Wayne Hospital from his office.

We arrived at Wayne around 5:15. They got him into a room around 5:30 and then had to draw blood to type him for the transfusion. That came back pretty quick, but it is 9:15 and they still haven't started the blood transfusion yet. He is supposed to come home directly after the infusion, but it will take at least 4 hours once they get started, he won't be done until early tomorrow morning!

Ryan is planning on attending graduation tomorrow night. I pray that all goes well with the transfusion of 2 units and that he feels well enough tomorrow to attend.

-A

Ornery As Ever

Ryan had a doctor's appointment yesterday morning, just to check in and make sure all was still going well. While the doctor was checking him out, he jokingly asked if it would be ok to help out with baling hay. Dr. Marinella thought he was quite serious and gave him a talk about why it was not healthy to be around the hay or in the barn with hay. I know Ryan is going crazy because he can't even drive wagons from one farm to the other, keep him in your prayers.

Ryan goes tomorrow for his second lumbar puncture of this round and then he'll be halfway done. We are excited about the prospect of being on the downside of the hill.

Pray that tomorrow's lumbar puncture goes well and that Ryan doesn't get a headache or feel sick after this one. He did really well after the last two. He really wants to go to graduation Thursday evening and wouldn't feel up to it if he develops a headache.

-A

Date Correction

I made a mistake on the date when I last posted information about the benefit dinner. It is to be held on Friday, June 19th at the Versailles High School parking lot. Not on the 16th as I said.

-A

Home Again

Ryan was doing so well in the hospital, or being such a pest :), that they let him come home yesterday instead of today as they originally planned. I was excited to get his phone call a little before lunch yesterday. The doctor had just been in and told him everything looked good and that he could go home if he wanted. Of course he wanted, he called me and he got to leave around 1:30.

Today we ran some errands and then he worked a little on Aubrey's room upstairs. Then we got to have supper with an aunt and uncle of ours at our favorite Mexican place. We enjoyed the visit and Aubrey enjoyed the few bites of refried beans that she had.

Ryan says he feels really good after this round, better than he's felt after any of the others. He has a doctor's appointment on Monday and the doctor is going to set up another bone marrow biopsy to check and see what his marrow and cells are looking like. The doctor shared that he expects to get good results from the tests.

We are truly enjoying having Ryan home again. Please continue to pray that he keeps feeling good and the side effects are little or none.

-A

Cancer Walk

If you are interested in walking in the June 6 cancer walk in honor of Ryan, please let me know so I can get you a registration and pledge form. The walk begins with registration at 9:30 and actually starts at 10:00. It is held at the Greenville Park. The cancer survivor's lap will be at 11:00, Ryan will hopefully walk in that (as long as he's not in the hospital). They have box lunches that you can purchase and all that information is on the registration sheet that I can get to anyone interested.

Ryan has finished his first drug for this round and is halfway through the doses of the second drug. As long as his methotrexate levels drop to the desired level, he will get to come home Saturday.

He is supposed to be getting a lumbar puncture today. He was a little sleepy this morning after a visit from his Wright State professor. She must have been working his brain pretty hard! :)

I've been thinking about developing a comedy sitcom, I think that the writer wouldn't have to do much, except film our lives. I thought last night before dropping into bed that I should set the alarm on my cell phone because it was pretty windy and the power could go out. I didn't set it. I woke up at 4, the whole house was dark! By 5:30, still no power so I had to call on Ryan's parents to use their bathroom to get ready this morning. Aubrey had a rude awakening at 5:45 and then a trip outside in the wind and pouring rain. She was sleepy again by 7:00 when we left for the baby-sitter's.

The power is back on and the day has gone much better, I'm really sorry that Ryan had to miss that excitement at our house this morning :)

Thanks for the continued support, thoughts, and prayers. God is certainly Good.

-A

Day 1

Ryan has finally started his fourth round of chemo. He had surgery today to take out his port, his doctor felt it was better to be safe by removing it before the chemo started so as not to chance it possibly causing more infection after his chemo got started. He went to surgery around 11 today and was back in his room around 2:30, everything went fine. They started his chemo around 5:30 tonight. The first drug he gets this round is a 24 hour drug and then on days 2 and 3 he gets a different drug. This is the round that he also gets a rescue drug to get the methotrexate out of his system. He will get to come home when that level is down - Friday or Saturday.

More info on June 16 - pork loin dinners, including green beans, au gratin potatoes, and peach or apple crisp will be served from 3-8 and the tickets are 6.50. I have tickets. The dinners are for carry-out only and can be picked up in the south parking lot of Versailles High School on that day. There will also be a mobile blood unit there for donating blood from 12-4.

Things seem to be going well, Ryan didn't get to eat any breakfast and had a late lunch so he's just now getting some supper, but he feels good and is ready to eat.

We ask that you continue to pray for things to go well and that Ryan can continue to sleep well at night. We appreciate everything good thought and prayer that is coming our way. Thanks to our LORD for sustaining us through this and to all you who are holding us up.

-A

Another Bump in this Road

Well, they haven't started Ryan's chemo yet. It may be tomorrow or not until Wednesday. The doctor believes that the infection might be coming from Ryan's port and so they have scheduled surgery to take it out. They are going to begin chemo in an IV in his arm, but we aren't sure if they will start that before they take the port out or not. Ryan will have to get another port put in, but they probably will not do that until he comes for round 5.

On a positive note, Ryan feels really good, although he is stuck here in the hospital. He is keeping up well with his Wright State classes.

Pray that the chemo will get started as soon as it is safe to begin. Pray that our spirits stay up with this minor setback and that we get back on track with things real soon.

On another note, I received tickets for the benefit for Ryan, sponsored by the Versailles FFA Alumni. The tickets are $6.50, I forget what you get to eat . . . my mind is going elsewhere. They are also having a mobile blood drive that day. This will all take place in the Versailles High School parking lot.

-A

Blood Results

When the doctor was in today, he had the results of the cultures that they tried to grow from Friday. Both cultures are growing bacteria which means that Ryan has/had some sort of infection. He hasn't had a fever since yesterday afternoon, so they are pretty sure that the infection is gone. The plan is to begin his chemo tomorrow morning.

They are going to draw more blood later this evening to test for bacteria again to determine if the infection is gone. Ryan has had a good day, we went on a walk around the hospital this afternoon.

On the whole, not much happening today.

For anyone interested, please don't feel obligated because many of you have donated time and money already, but there are two events coming up in June for Ryan.

1 - The Versailles FFA Alumni is sponsoring a benefit for Ryan on June 19. They will be selling tickets for pork chop dinners, that's about all I know, but when I get more information I will pass it on. Let me know if you're interested.

2 - On June 6, the Cancer Association of Darke County is sponsoring a Cancer Survivor's run/walk. As long as Ryan is home, he will walk in the survivor's lap. There is an opportunity to walk/run (I'll have to walk) 3 miles and Aubrey and I will probably walk that, along with some other family members as well. They sent a paper to solicit pledges. If you would like to pledge any money, contact me. The money stays in Darke County for help from the Cancer Association, from which we get reimbursement for mileage and medical supplies.

-A

A Waiting Game

Today, Ryan got some fluids and antibiotics, but we don't really know anything more than we did yesterday. They have to wait until at least tomorrow, maybe Monday to see the cultures from the blood from yesterday and then they should be able to start chemo one of those days.

Ryan has been awake the whole time I've been here this afternoon. We watched a movie and lots of TV. He ordered supper and didn't even very much of it. He said that his stomach is still hurting a little and he wasn't that hungry. Pray that he keeps his appetite up so that he can keep his energy up.

Otherwise, things are going pretty well today. I pray for a good night's sleep for Ryan and a restful day tomorrow before they get his chemo started.

-A

A Bump in the Road, But No Flat Tire

Ryan's doctor's appointment started out really well today, but went a little down hill from there. When the doctor got there, a few minutes late because he had to get rerouted off of 75 on his way to the office. When he came in, he told Ryan that his blood counts looked good and he was ready to go back in for round 4. Dr. Marinella told us to stay in the room while he wrote the chemo orders and then we could head to Miami Valley.

Not two minutes after the doctor left the room, Ryan started shaking. He said he was shivering, so I gave it a few minutes. He didn't stop so I went for a blanket and then finally got the nurse. She came in with another blanket and then left to talk to the doctor. She came back to take his temperature and it had gone up 2.3 degrees since they took it when we first arrived. They are assuming that he has an infection of some sort and so they drew blood to check for that. We won't have results to know what it is for sure for a couple of days, but they started him on an antibiotic right away so that they could get his temperature down and get at the infection right way. His chemo will probably be delayed until Monday or Tuesday, so he will be in the hospital a little longer than we had planned. It is a good thing that this showed up now though because if they had started chemo already and his white cell count was down, he wouldn't be able to fight off the infection.

He is back in the bone marrow unit in room 5517. When I talked to him around 6:00, his temperature had dropped to 99.2 and his blood pressure had gone done. He was just getting settled into his room. I'm not sure what else they're doing tonight, but I'll update again tomorrow.

We celebrated Mother's Day last night after Aubrey's 9 month pictures. We ate supper at Red Lobster, my favorite place and Ryan got me a . . . dishwasher!!! He said that he hasn't been able to help out a lot lately and he wanted something that would make my days go smoother and create a little less work for me.

-A

AAA

I think today shall be a normal day, until I get almost to work. I was driving down 127, about 1 mile from where I work, I heard this hissing noise. It took a few seconds for me to figure out what it was, but as soon as I realized it was my tire, I pulled over. I called Ryan, he had to come to Greenville to get blood drawn, so he said he would come take care of it when he got the chance. I called my office and asked for someone to please come pick me up.

We are truly a blessed family. Dave and Carl (the guys that work in the curriculum department at the ESC) came in their dress clothes and pulled the spare tire from underneath my van, jacked the van up and would have had the spare tire on the van, except for the fact that the wheel was stuck to the brake. We then had to call my dad to bring a hammer to loosen everything up. Finally I got to work, all this excitement and it was only 8:45!

When Ryan came to town, I got to each lunch with him and then he took my van to have the tires rotated (that needed done anyway) and the flat fixed. What a day.

His counts looked good today and so it seems very likely that he will return to Miami Valley Friday.

His back pain has subsided and he had a good day today, except for the fact that he had to run around fixing my van.

We are celebrating Mother's Day tomorrow after work. I pray for a restful day for Ryan.

-A

Getting Blood

Ryan was so wiped out on Sunday because his hemoglobin was low. When he went for blood and to his doctor's appointment yesterday, his white count was down from Friday (I think someone made a mistake in telling us to stop the shot that helps him make white blood cells). He had to begin that shot again and he also spent the rest of the day at Wayne Hospital getting 2 units of blood. He seemed to feel a lot better this morning when I left, although his back his giving him some trouble and he tossed
and turned a lot last night. Hopefully he will sleep a little better today.

While he was at Wayne Hospital yesterday, he had a cat scan of his stomach and one of his lumbar region because he'd been having some stomach pain and developed back pain. Everything looks fine on the scans.

Please pray for Ryan that his back pain will go away. Please pray for me because I'm a little disappointed - Ryan is scheduled to go back to Miami Valley on Friday for round 4 which means he won't be home for my first mother's day. I know I'm being a little selfish, but I was really hoping he would be home.

As for the weeds in my flower bed - does the other hardware store in Greenville have a suggestion for me? I'll be in if you tell me something that will work!

-A

A Full Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend, but it sure wore Ryan out. We left Friday afternoon to head to Columbus to see some of his students receive awards at the State FFA Convention. Ryan attended the session Friday night to see one of his students receive 2nd place in his area. All three of us attended Saturday morning to see his state winning Outdoor Power Equipment team receive their first place award.





Once we got home Saturday morning, we had a wonderful group of family come to help us on our upstairs project and the outside of our house. Thanks to all who helped! I didn't take any pictures outside, but if you've been to our house in the last year, you have noticed piles of bricks and rubbish from the beginning of our remodeling project, the piles are gone and we can see the yard now! Also, I'm not very good about keeping up on weeds, but the weeds are gone from the beds around our back door, maybe I'll be able to keep them away this summer (if I get some weed spray at Lowe's!)

Here's Aubrey's (almost finished) nursery.