Back to His Old Self

Ryan is feeling much better these past couple of days. I made him get up and do some things on Saturday and Sunday and he seems to be feeling a little better.

He had a doctor's appointment today, he was a little low on potassium and so had to get yet another prescription, but otherwise, things are going well.

He is supposed to have another lumbar puncture on Wednesday, please keep him in your prayers.

Nice to Be Home

Ryan so much prefers being home to being in the hospital, even with such great nurses! After about half a day at home, his spirits were headed back to the right direction. I think because he has the freedom to go tinker with something and then lay down for a while before finding something else to do makes him feel a little like normal.

My dad finished our shelving in the bathroom upstairs today, one step closer to completion. Ryan tinkered with his old festiva today - he's ready to sell it!

Thanks for the continued prayers, we continue to appreciate them.

-A

Home Once Again

Ryan is home, he will have a lumbar puncture sometime next week, but otherwise done with round 6. Two more to go.

Please pray for us - I think Ryan is getting a bit down about this whole situation. He is truly ready for this to be over and gets a little irritable on his last day at the hospital. I think he would have been extremely upset with Dr. Marinella if he didn't let him out today, his methetrexate level was still a little high this morning.

I don't know what to do to help Ryan because I truly don't know how he feels. I just continue to pray and ask that you all do too.

-A

Time to Sleep

Ryan has been very tired today, he slept most of the day, and actually much of the time that I've been here. He hasn't felt much like eating since breakfast. He did want to go on a walk when I got here, and we took a pretty long one, but once we got back he was ready to lay down and sleep again. His nurse said he hadn't been up all day until I got here. He is getting his second unit of blood for the day. His hemoglobin wasn't overly low, but since he was so tired his doctor decided to go ahead and give him the blood.

Ryan should get to come home tomorrow, as long as the level of methetrexate in his blood drops like it is supposed to. He will get his last dose of chemo for this round at around 8:00 tomorrow morning and it lasts about two hours. After that they just wait for his levels and when they are low enough, the doctor said he gets to head home.

Please pray that the blood he's getting is helpful in taking care of his tiredness. He said his knees are feeling better, but he obviously hasn't been doing nearly as much in the hospital as he does at home.

Thanks for all the positive thoughts and prayers.

-A

Day 2

Ryan seems to be doing well today. He has eaten a good amount of food today, waiting on his supper to come tonight. He luckily never got sick last night, what a blessing. Please continue to pray that he doesn't get sick. He had a lumbar puncture today, he said it went very smoothly. He's been laying on his back for close to 2 hours and now is ready for his supper. Aubrey enjoyed seeing Daddy, but her houri is up and she's getting grumpy. Better head home!

-A

Day 1 is Here

Ryan has started his sixth round of chemo. He went to get blood drawn at about 7:15 this morning and then to the doctor's office at 8. Doctor said things looked good and he was ready so they sent him on down here to Miami Valley. He napped and watched TV this afternoon and got started with the first bag of chemo a little after 6. He is eating his supper right now. I think he has a psychological reaction to starting chemo. He got his supper right after she hung the bag and took the lid off and then didn't feel like eating. He took some nausea medicine and then felt well enough to eat. He is eating a BLT sandwich, fries, and yogurt. It smells good.

He said his knees felt a little better today, but they are still sore. Please continue to pray that that pain will go away so that he can sleep well.

-A

Getting Ready for Another Round

Well, we successfully celebrated Ryan's first father's day! With a dinner at the Texas Roadhouse last night and lunch with my parents and supper with Ryan's family this evening. We have been busy this weekend and Ryan is tired.

Thank you so much to everyone who helped at the benefit - thank you especially to Dena Wuebker for organizing it. It was so great to stand in the drive through line and say hi and thank you to everyone who drove through to get meals. And the food was wonderful!!!

Ryan has to get blood drawn early tomorrow morning and then has a doctor's appointment at 8:00. He will most likely be headed from there down to Miami Valley for the beginning of round 6. His knees are still really bothering him so please continue to pray for that.

Aubrey and I are praying that all goes well with this round and we have daddy back home before the end of the week.

Thank you everyone so much for your continued support and prayers for our family, we truly cannot say how blessed we are - not only to have families and friends like we do, but to serve a LORD who is a wonderful father to us all.

Now, I've got to go start the first load of dishes in my new dishwasher!

-A