Going Home...

Here is a rundown of the past week and a half:

Ryan went into the hospital on the 31st and they immediately gave him a blood transfusion because he was a little low in that department.

Once the blood was in, he rested a day and then it was time to start the "fun" stuff:

I still cannot get over the TOXICITY of the stuff- so toxic that they need the special gloves and gown...

BUT... he handled all the chemo like a TROOPER and only had a couple of bad days.

Because the chemo wipes OUT the white blood cells, he gets a shot to help bring the white blood count back up.

Getting a shot of Neulasta

Yes... it DID sting a little!

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During his hospital stay, he was able to send of this little one with a Father's Blessing before her first day of school on Tuesday the 4th:

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On Weds night, Ryan had another spinal to suck out some fluid and to put in some chemo. One hit blood vessel, two hit nerves and a grand total of four pokes, Ryan was officially "DONE" with this round of chemo. Let's just say he really ended it with a bang!

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On Thursday the 6th, he was discharged for a few hours so he could attend the transplant meeting at the UMC Cancer Center

We had a 2 hour meeting with Dr. Yeager and there was A LOT of info to take in!

I know a LOT of you are interested in knowing what went on...so here are some of the details:

Before transplant, the cancer has to be under control so

*Ryan is scheduled to get another Bone Marrow BIOPSY on the 24th and a PET Scan on the 25th. Based on the results, he may have more chemo to help beat down the cancer and get it under control.

Once under control, the transplant process takes place:

*Ryan's brother(Mitchell) and Ryan will go through a number of tests to get ready.

*Once he is admitted, Ryan will begin 7 days of INTENSE and HIGH dose chemotherapy. He will have ONE day off and then the transplantation begins.

*He will spend 4-6 weeks in the hospital :(

*Once released he will continue to see the Dr DAILY for the next month or so.

*It will be a year long recovery period. During this time, he will be on strong immunosuppressants and will be at a high risk of getting ANY type of sickness. Unfortunately, this also means that Ryan won't be able to work for about a year.

Here are the Transplant STATS:

Chance of going into remission: 35-50%

Chance of the cancer coming back: 25-30%

Chance of not making it out of transplant: 20-25%

Ryan's a fighter... he CAN do this!

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After the meeting, it was BACK to "Hotel Northwest" because Ryan had been running a fever :(

But a visit from this little chubster SURE cheered him up:

Jessica and Kenley(Ryan's lil' sis & niece)

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Well, the fevers DID stop MUCH MUCH faster this time and GUESS WHAT THAT MEANT?!?!?!?

It was time to GO home!

Adios Room 375!
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How does he ALWAYS have this much stuff... his stay was ONLY one week!

Ryan was SO excited to leave, he insisted on walking out himself ... and yes, even pushing his own stuff out, too!

Bye Med/Onc floor!

Bye again to his FAVORITE nurse... Billi Jo!

-AND-

Bye again to Northwest (his 2nd home)

Then the next day was a sad goodbye to his parents

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We feel VERY grateful and fortunate to be able to have both our families travel from out of state to help. They have been taking shifts, and SO far there has ALWAYS been someone here to help out. You would never believe how much help you need when you are driving to the hospital or to Dr's appointments on a daily basis and gone for HOURS at a time. Our kids have handled everything well and are doing good. Ryan and I have our moments, but overall, we are doing good too. We know it is truly blessings from a LOVING Heavenly Father who is giving us the strength to get through this.

Thank you to EVERYONE for all the well wishes, thoughts and most importantly, prayers!

Big HUG to ALL!

***GO TEAM RYAN***

P.S.- Since being discharged on Friday, Ryan has been feeling GREAT. This last round of chemo was a good one.

It's so nice to have him back HOME!