Day Fifteen

"For nothing is impossible with God."  Luke 1:37


The treatment plan that we are following was developed by CureSearch (www.curesearch.org).  From their webpage, "CureSearch unites the world's largest childhood cancer research organization, the Children's Oncology Group, and the National Childhood Cancer Foundation through our mission to cure childhood cancer. Research is the key to the cure."

There will be weekly doctor visits, several hospital stays, most likely several transfusions will be required, and possibly some emergency room visits based on other patients' experiences.  That doesn't sound great, but this path is significantly better than others that we might have traveled, thank God!


I have been reading everything that I can on this, so I took some general notes:

• Rhabdomyosarcoma is an aggressive soft tissue tumor that can arise virtually anywhere in the body. 
• About 3% of all childhood cancers are rhabdomyosarcomas
• About 350 new cases of rhabdomyosarcoma occur each year in the United States (Ryan will be buying a lotto ticket on Saturday)
• About 15% of rhabdomyocarcoma patients are in Group I
• Some of the tests to detect and diagnose that Ryan underwent are: MRI, bone marrow aspiration and biopsy, bone scan, CAT scan, and biopsy. 

I have also signed up for some support groups and mailing lists.   I've talked to the lifecare specialist and hopefully he can sit down with Davianna and Ryan soon and talk about what is going on.   We still have DVDs to watch with them and have some books, but they do this every day and are very good at it. 

They started Ryan's IV this morning at 6:00am to make sure he had enough fluids before the chemo started.  About 1:30pm, they gave him Ondansetron (Zofran) to help prevent nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy.   Soon after came Vincristine (Oncovin - destroys cancer cells by interfering with the cancer cell growth cycle),  Dactinomycin (Actinomycin-D, destroys the cancer cells by interfering with the cancer cell growth cycle), and then Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan - destroys the cancer cells by interfering with the cancer growth cycle).   After that was completed, Mesna was given to help prevent the bladder from being irritated by the cancer-fighting medicines.  

Nanna, Emma, and Mirjan came for a visit around 10:00am. I haven't seen Emma in two days and really missed her!  I look forward to seeing Davianna's smile too!  Ryan took them to the toy and game rooms, and they made valentine day cards for his classmates.  Mirjan brought Emma back to me in the room, because she was....well Emma...into EVERYTHING.  So, we had fun in the room.   That little girl can dance!     The members of the Assistance League of Austin came by and gave Ryan a book and a toy.   Then the Woody Pet Therapy folks came by with Duffy McFluffy.  Duffy is a Westie and his favorite dinner is hamburgers from Sonic.  Mirjan got us lunch at the cafeteria and then they left to go back home, pick up Davianna from school, and then will come back later.  Mirjan told me that I could not stay another night at the hospital....it was her turn.  

About 10 minutes after the chemo treatment started, Ryan started coughing, and said he didn't feel good.  The nurse checked everything and said to let her know if he kept coughing or was complaining.  About 5 minutes later, he was asking for sour candy and wanted to go to the playroom.  Thank you, Lord for providing him strength!  I captured a picture of the first chemo medicine that Ryan received.

The evening was pretty good.  Uncle Michael came and brought Ryan several bakugans.  Mirjan brought Davianna up to see her brother, and she treated him with so much love.  I talked to the guy from lifecare, and he was able to sit down with Ryan and Davianna and talk about Ryan's sickness, explained cancer (bump/boo boo on the inside), demonstrated the port-a-cath, etc.  He used dolls, talked about the procedures, and let them use the bandages, needles that will be used in Ryan's treatments, and so on.  He left them with a stuffed dog (for Davianna) and a cool looking cancer duck for Ryan. 

Later Merielk and Will brought us food, and Melinda and Lucy came by to see Ryan.  Ryan said he stomach hurt, which the doctor told me meant he was nauseous.  I talked to the nurse, and she gave him some more zofran.  Soon after, Ryan jumped off the bed and was heading to the bathroom (with all the connected tubes, etc.).  I stopped him and he vomited in the trash can.  He did this a couple of more times, and the nurse gave him some benadryl. He vomited one more time, and he sat on my lap for a while until he said he was cold.  We put him under the covers, and he quickly fell asleep.  Poor boy...my heart went out to him.  We prayed over Ryan and then I left to take Davianna home. 

Now we need to figure out the new normal.  I ask the Lord to help us with that because I'm sure that Mirjan and I will look at things a little differently, and we'll have to come together on this.  Mirjan will focus on maintaining normalcy and involvement for Ryan, which is why she is a wonderful wife and mother. She acts from the heart in all that she does and everyone can clearly see that. I will take all of the information literally and "follow the rules."  From her perspective, I will be overprotective and stringent.  However, I think the two styles can be complimentary and work in Ryan's best interest.  We'll just need some help getting there. 

Father, I ask that you keep Ryan healthy and in good spirits as he goes through treatments over the next 6 months.  I ask in Jesus' name that you heal that little boy, who professes his love for you every day, and will do great things in your name throughout his life.  I ask for strength and comfort for our family and help us grow stronger in our faith and love.  Please help me be strong and provide the support and love for Mirjan that she will need.  I thank you for your blessings over the past two weeks. You did amazing things and we are excited to see your miracles continue.