My life...

So what has Ryan been up to the past 3 weeks?

He's been one BUSY guy.

Almost every day he visited his Dr's office for either a blood draw...

hydration(IV drip) and most times, both.

-AND-

when his red blood count got TOO low,

he decided to VAMP it up a little and get some BLOOD

(here he is getting prepped for the blood)

(He's had 3 transfusions in the past 2.5 weeks and is getting another one tonight)

Crazy that we use these kind of coolers for our food...

HUNGRY!?!

*****

Ryan went to the UMC Cancer Center

for a second opinion

He saw one of the BEST lymphoma specialists in Tucson. That Dr said that Ryan's oncologist is right on track with the treatment plan. It only reassured our feelings that Ryan is in good hands and getting the best care possible.

How great it is to live in an area that has all these Doctors and facilities close by. We do feel VERY blessed.

*

Then Ryan got a call telling him some WONDERFUL news...
Ryan's little brother Mitchell was a MATCH for the bone marrow transplant

(There he is, all 5 of him)

LOVE YOU MITCHELL!

Ryan will be going to UMC for the transplant. We meet with the transplant Doc this upcoming Thursday for an intensive meeting/info session.

This transplant could possibly be the treatment that can CURE Ryan's cancer!
***

Ryan was also able to celebrate a special little someones 6th birthday

and was even feeling well enough to go out to watch her get her ears pierced.

(despite the fact that the lady there called him Hallie's GRANDPA)

and even though he wasn't feeling great by this point... he still came out to eat

*****

Ryan's mom spent a LOT of time figuring out ways to sneak this:

into his meals.

This little guy packs 7 g of PROTEIN and 330 CALORIES!

Ryan needs to be at least around 3000 calories per day. He needs to have a reserve for when he goes into transplant.
*****

Then he got a call on Friday morning...

Only this time he was told that it was time to visit (as a friend put it)

"HOTEL NORTHWEST"

So Friday he came back to his old stomping grounds...

MED/ONC Room 375...

HERE I COME

*

He was actually quite happy to see all his old hospital friends...

and they were equally excited to see him.
His nurse even came in shortly after we arrived and said, "You are one popular guy...all the nurses are so excited to have you back again!"

*
Now that he is back in the hospital...

Back to those SWEET hospital gowns that he just couldn't get enough of during his last stay

...the DELISH hospital food

It was SO good, he ate it all and I had no picture to show for it.

...the nurses waiting on him

...techs bugging him for vitals

...Lots of hand washing

...and this:

He starts his chemo TODAY...

So I am hoping we will continue to see THIS:

FIGHT.FIGHT.FIGHT.RY
WE.LOVE.YOU

We are hoping for this to be his LAST round of chemo before he goes into transplant. Of course on Thursday we will find out much more as to what the transplant entails. But until then...

***GO TEAM RYAN***

Ball and Chain...

The past 2 weeks Ryan has been HOSPITAL FREE...

Unfortunately, that does not mean DR/APPT free.

(Since Ryan started his chemo on Monday and his surgery was scheduled for Tues, his oncologist and the neurosurgeon thought it would be best to wait until a later date to place the Ommaya catheter. No surgery for now... YAY!)

For this round of chemo, Ryan was able to go to the Dr's clinic to receive his infusions.

So we spent a few hours every day HERE:

-AND-

Ryan was LUCKY enough to come home with these two bad boys:

(IV pumps for his Chemo)

His new BFF's...they were inseparable:

***

So what do you do when you spend 4+ hours at the Dr's office just sitting there?

Text/play games, sleep... and READ READ READ

Here is a sneak peak at some of our reading material:

The recipes were DELISH- not a good thing to read when you are STARVING!

(Ryan is on a high protein/high cal diet. Any recipes to help him gain weight- SEND THEM OUR WAY!)

This reading was a LITTLE over my head:

... so I'm saving it for a later date!

(Right now we are waiting to see if one of Ryan's siblings are a match for the transplant)

Upon leaving each appt, Ryan was given LOTS of these:

So we have a little pharmacy going on at our house:

Here are some of the pills he takes each day before breakfast:

***

Then one day, they decided to give Ryan some cherry Kool-Aid via IV

ha ha... JUST KIDDING, its CHEMO!

And here is just one of the many side effects of chemo...

CANKLES

Getting some anti-nausea meds:

However, somewhere between the appts, cankles and everything else,

we see Ryan like this:

***

Then after 5 LONG days AND nights, Ryan was finally FREE from his

"BALL and CHAIN"

I think he was debating seeing how far he could chuck that thing...

Instead he just did this:

He was ONE happy guy!

Lets just hope the smiles continue during this next week as his counts drop and the side effects really KICK in!

~Hugs to all~

***GO TEAM RYAN HESS***

Goings Ons...

This week has been full of Dr's appointments, blood draws, cat scans and MORE Dr's appointments. You would think that when you leave the hospital you have some "time off," but really, it is never ending.

So whats the plan for this NEXT week?

a lil' bit of CHEMO

(starting bright and early Monday morn)

&

a lil' bit of SURGERY

(Ryan is scheduled to get the Ommaya Reservoir placed on Tuesday)

Ryan had a rough beginning of the week, but as the week progressed, he looked and felt GREAT.

He is in really good spirits and ready to start this next round.

***

Hugs to everyone for ALL the love and support.

***GO TEAM RYAN***

"Independence" day...

Ryan spent this past week trying to beat a fever that just didn't want to go away. The fever spiked to 104.7 and we started to think he was NEVER going to be able to leave.

During this past week Ryan slept a lot, but when he was awake and feeling good...

this is how he spent some of the time:

Shaving in the morning & getting ready for the day (Pre-shaved head)

Watching some car shows

(Does THIS surprise any of you?)

Enjoying the YUMMY hospital breakfast

(I ended up shaving Ryan's hair because it was coming out in clumps- the kids didn't seem to mind. When Max first saw Ryan with his new do, he said, "Papa... I get hair cut like YOU?")

***

Ryan LOVED sporting the hospital fashions:

-check out the SWEET hospital grippy socks-

Ryan not sure if he REALLY wanted to go for a walk with those cool socks on

***

Enjoyed time with the kids

Max wondering what that thing is on Ryan's wrist

Glove fun

Ryan was visited by another childhood friend.

Jason and Ryan had a fun night of PlayStation.

***
GETTING READY TO finally LEAVE...

It's crazy how much stuff you accumulate after spending 3 weeks in the hospital.

Ryan had a GREAT team of nurses. You really get to know them well when you spend so much time in the hospital.

Here he is with his FAVE, Billi Jo

Look at how HAPPY Ryan is getting into the car, he hadn't been outside for 3 weeks.

It was TRULY an "Independence Day" we will NEVER forget!

Ryan was feeling GREAT all day long. He felt SO good that we were able to get out to see some fireworks.

Good Bye Northwest...

Won't be seeing THESE:

for a while

***GO TEAM RYAN***