Light the Night

Light the Night took place all over the country and we had people walking in Ryan's honor all over the country. Such an awesome way to show support! I am truly thankful. With Ryan beginning this new phase of treatment she needed an Echo cardiogram (ultrasound of the heart). She needed this because one of the medications she will be on could cause damage to her heart. Through talking to her doctors they say the risk is now much lower now because they have discovered giving the medication over a 45-60 min period verses giving it as a "push" (1-2 minutes) has had less of an effect on the heart. This type of information is made possible due to studies being done. Studies made possible by The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

The Illuminators
Tacoma, WA September 28th

This is where Sarah and her crew the Illuminators walked.
She said they could not have asked for a more perfect evening!!

The Valle family...our friends from Redlands
Riverside, CA October 3rd

Team Ryan
Royal Oak, MI October 3rd

They said it was freezing, but they had a blast!!!

My beautiful cousins!

Dad, Kim and Aunt Diane

Mark----GO Team Ryan!!

Thank you again to all those who walked and to those who donated!! We appreciate it, Ryan appreciates it, and children/people all over the world appreciate it!

Long time no blog!!!

Hello everyone! We are doing well and have officially moved into our new house!! I love it!!! We love it!!! It is the perfect amount of space for us and all of our stuff. It has been one heck of a move but it is all over now, and just in time for Ryan to begin Delayed Intensification, the next phase of treatment.

Ryan wearing her Halloween hat she got from the folks at UCLA.

We went down to UCLA this past Tuesday....the 14th. She was delayed a week from starting (she was supposed to start on the 7th) due to her counts not being high enough. Everything went well. She had an IV push medication and her lumbar puncture treatment. She did start a new IV medication that is supposed to really wipe her out and drop her counts. We are also expecting her to lose all of her hair within a week or two. So, we will be having the "head shaving party" sooner than later. She also is taking the steroids again. Only for seven days, but she may get back the hunger cravings again. They also gave her a Flu shot. Thankfully they were able to do that while she was out for her procedure. She had an Echo Cardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) because one of the new medications she is taking could have an effect on her heart. That is a little scary to think about. Other than that, everything went fine and we will be going back down next Tuesday!!

Aunt Julie and the Kiddos

We also had a quick visit from Grams and Aunt Julie. They got to be here for Light the Night and also my mom got to come down to UCLA with us. She now has a visual of what goes on down there. It was nice to have them here! It was the coldest it has been this year so they left with colds and we all got colds....yuck!

Everything is going okay and I will try to blog more now that we will be going down there every week and there will be more to report. Thank you so much for being patient with me. Also thank you again for the continued love and support!! Love to ALL!!!

Reality check

Hello all! Well, Monday they came to draw Ryan's blood. By the afternoon I received a phone call informing me that her "counts" are low. No contact with anyone sick....watch for fevers....no crowded places....good hand washing. I don't know why but, it all hit me like a ton of bricks. I have my days, but they usually are very few. Mostly because life has been so "normal" around here. So, now I am trying to keep it together, while packing and dealing with all the other day-to-day stuff. The tricky part is......Ryan is doing fine. She looks fine, she feels fine (which is great!!!) so, that makes it hard to tell her she can't go to Logan's gymnastics or other activities. It is all for her own good though and that's what I keep telling her and myself=)!

Everything else has been going well around here. We are getting excited about moving. We will have a lot more space and a huge back yard for the kids to play in. We will not have a pool like we do now, but I am excited....trampoline here we come (with a net around it of course).

Kyle has been doing great in football. They have not been as successful as they were their first game, but they are certainly putting it all out there!!! He also got the lead roll in the school play "Scrooge". We are so proud! Rehearsals start soon for that, and we can't wait to see his performance.

Logan is doing well in school. Her soccer team is full of team spirit, but unfortunately I think they are all more into cheering for their team than they are into playing for their team. Last game they were doing cartwheels out on the field while the ball was in play...lol. Play hard...Have fun...right??!!

Ryan is doing well with her preschool work. WOW is it ever hard to teach your own kid stuff. It is one thing to go through a book, or teach them how to write letters, but when you have to teach them based on actual things they have to do...it is harder. I am not sure if that made any sense??

Adam is just ADAM! The little man I call him. He is doing a lot better at playing with his sisters, not just destroying all their games and activities. That is neat to see them playing so good together. All he talks about is playing football just like Kyle. He does have a lot of pride in his Daddy's line of work. He frequently tells people "My daddy drives a Fire truck" strangers, friends, anyone!! It is really cute!

We maybe offline for a few while all is being switched over, so I will try to squeeze another entry in before then. In the meantime I hope all is well with everyone, and Thank again for the continued support!!! Love to All!!!

Pictures from Tuesday

Ry and her Daddy!!
He fell asleep on the gurney when we were waiting for her to go back (he was up all night on duty). I tried to ask them if they could wheel him back there then wake him up but they would not go for it. I thought that would have been hilarious!!!

Ry being a little goofy

Well she was back to her old self....asking for food the second she woke up.

Mommy and Ryan!!!

Another Break...Yeah!!!

Ryan Paige the BEAUTIFUL princess!!!

My girlies playing peekaboo!!

Well, Hello everyone. Again, we are here and everything is going very well. We went down to UCLA yesterday for a lumbar chemo treatment and an IV chemo treatment and everything went well. Her counts look great and she is doing very good/normal for this phase of treatment. Everything that they are seeing in her lab results is exactly what they expect. We did get news that we again have a couple week break. YEAH!!!! We do not have to go back until Oct. 7th. Again that will be the start of the next phase.....Yuck! I am having a hard time thinking about that especially since it has been sooo normal around here. But I know when the time comes we will just face it, and deal with it as best as we can.

We are also in the process of moving. It is a much bigger house and it is right around the corner. So that will be nice. We wanted to be able to move in and get settled before Ryan began this next phase and it looks like we are going to be able to do that. Not gonna lie, I was stressin' just a little about our housing situation.....so, thank you Lord!!!

Kyle after his first game Sat.
They were victorious 14-0!
GO FALCONS!

All my boys!! (I love this picture)Logan before her first soccer game!!!
GO LIGHTNING STRIKERS!!!!

We have had football games, soccer games, practices, gymnastics, and all kinds of other activities to keep us busy. I apologize for the delay in blog entries and I know that there will be a lot more to report come October. I know we have a lot of folks out there that check often for updates!!!
Again Thank you for all the love, support, thoughts, and prayers. Love to all!!!

More Supporters

Hello Everyone! All is well here. We were able to take Ryan to preschool orientation. We had a little hesitation from the doctor because her counts were not great. I just reassured him that we would get out of there as soon as we were done and use lots of hand sanitizer. I really wanted her to have the experience of going in and meeting her teachers, seeing where her cubby is and seeing her spot. She loved it, and sat right down and started coloring her papers. It turned out that Logan was out of school that day, so she got to come too. She had gotten a paper cut on her eyeball, and the doctor ordered her to stay out of school. Ryan's teachers were Logan's teachers when she went there so it was nice for her to get to see them.

Afterward we did make a quick stop at the gym. We were regulars at our local gym here before Ryan started getting sick. When we started not showing up the ladies at the Kids Club called to see what was going on, and the whole staff has continued to be so supportive. They asked that we bring Ryan in cause they had something for her, and I had no idea!!!

Ryan with one of the Managers- Frank

A majority of the staff had on their Team Ryan T-shirts
Thank you all for being a part of Team Ryan!!

They not only had on the T-shirts, they had a box full of gifts for Ryan!

Thank you all so much!!!

T-Shirts

This is the Gonsman Family. The wonderful family behind the T-shirts. They have made the idea that Lindsay had come to life and we appreciate them for it. Terry has worked very hard and for many hours, and the shirts are AWESOME! I want to Thank them for all they have done for our family. They truly are a huge part of Team Ryan!

This is Ryan's Great Aunt Wendie who is obviously a beautiful Team Ryan supporter!!!

This is Noah, Ryan's cousin. Noah just had a birthday party where the colors were Green and Orange and his party favors were Team Ryan T-shirts. They brought up Ryan's page at the party so all could see what/who they were wearing them for. Such a great idea! We hear they had a great time I just wish we could have been there with them to celebrate his birthday.
Happy Birthday Noah!

Here are the party favors from Noah's party!!!


Noah and his Mom, my cousin Angie ;)
Thank you Angie!!

All of the kiddos from Noah's party sportin' their new Team Ryan T-shirts.
So cute!! Thank you all for being a part of Team Ryan!

Any one who purchases or has purchased a T-shirt please E-mail me a picture so that I can post it. It is so touching to see pictures of people out there supporting our Ryan. I have Ryan come to the computer and look and she absolutely loves it!! If you are interested in getting a T-shirt, just go to the join Ryan's race page http://joinryansrace.blogspot.com/ (or click the link to the right) and you can order from there.

P.S. I apologize...for some reason I can not get the two pictures at the top any larger. I have tried everything I know how to do for now, but I am still working on it. I might need the "Blogging for Dummies" manual.

First Day of School

Kyle looking handsome.....of course!!!

Beautiful Logan

The girls

Logan ready to work hard this year!

Kyle at jersey issue

Adam and Ry at the football BBQ

As of August 18th, school is in session!!! Between soccer for Logan, and football for Kyle, it feels as though we are starting to get a little routine going. Logan loves her teacher (I hear she is great), and Kyle is ecstatic to be back at school and see all his friends. Ryan was supposed to start preschool this year and we are going to be able to take her to the orientation. She will get to meet her teachers (who were Logan's teachers), see her cubby, and meet some of the kids that will be in her class. The staff there are incredible and are being flexible and accommodating to Ryan's situation. I also have a great friend who's son will be in the same class as Ryan, so they will send home all of her work so that she can stay along with the class and be ready to join them when the time comes, probably in January.

We did not fall off the edge of the Earth....I swear!!

Princess Ryan

Adam ready to play football

The little ones

I am so sorry!!! We are here, and all doing very well. It has been so chaotic around here, and the blog is one of my many "to do's" that has been being moved down on the priority list. On our visit on the 12th we got some exciting news.....an "expected cure date" (I guess you would call it that). August 12, 2010, she will be done with all treatment. A light at the end of the tunnel!!!! I foresee a pretty big bash on that day, so mark your calenders.

Ryan is doing very well. She has lost a lot of the "moon face" look. She did not lose all of her hair, it just got very thin. In fact, I can see new hairs growing back, and they are a lot darker. She has had a little swelling in her left eye and they say that is a side effect of one of her chemo meds. They say it will go away over time. We have actually had a couple week break from traveling to UCLA. She is still taking oral meds daily but does not need to be evaluated weekly. So, our next visit will be on the 9th of Sept., and after that visit we expect to have another three week break. Then, beginning Oct 7 she will start the hardest course of treatment to date. We again will have to travel down there weekly, she will lose all of her hair, and that is the time when they expect her to be feeling and sick and have potential hospital visits. That phase of treatment will last 56 days. But, I have faith that she will handle it well!

Grandma Gabe with the kiddos

Grandma Gabe and Adam
Swimming
Daddy and his RyAdam playing in the waterfall

We had a visit from Grandma Gabe. She brought Logan home from MI with her on Tuesday the 12th. It was so good to have Logan home. We/I missed her sooo much. I think the two weeks was too much for me but just fine for her. She had a great time and got spoiled, but deserved every minute of it! Thanks to everyone in MI who contributed to her having such a great time. She had a Blast!!! Grandma Gabe stayed for a week, and with in that time we had to get school shopping done and everyone ready for school. Some vacation, huh??? No, we did get to hang out in the pool and had some good meals so I think she had a good time, and we loved having her!!

Easy

Well, yesterday went very smoothly.....again. We actually got out of there at a pretty decent time. We were home by 2:30, and able to enjoy the rest of the day. Next week we begin the next phase of treatment called interim maintenance #1. This phase will last 56 days/2 months, and will be a pretty easy part of her treatment plan. Next Tuesday also is the two year start day. Meaning she will be completely done exactly two years from next Tuesday. I could not help but cry when he told us that. I think on one hand I realized that we still have two years to go and was a little overwhelmed, yet on the other hand we have only two years to go (not more) because she has done such a great job and responded so well to treatment. That I am truly thankful for! After that phase we start the tough road, delayed intensification which lasts 56 days as well. I think they are doing a pretty good job of preparing us. All we keep hearing is how though that phase will be.

So far Ryan has not only had great spirits, but has also responded so well to treatment. Her bone marrow has recovered so quickly that she has been able to live a fairly normal life. She now is able to swim around in the pool because the incisions from the port have healed. She has been able to go to a birthday celebration and to the store. I truly feel blessed and so fortunate!
I know this is all due to the prayers, thoughts, love, and support that she has from all those around her. Amazing what a beautiful world we live in when it comes to family, friends, and even strangers pulling together to be there for our little angel Ryan! Thank you again!

Love to all!!!!