My nephew Ryan was born in 1995. Although his parents’ relationship had grown acrimonious and would soon come to an end, Ryan was a happy, alert baby. Gorgeous, too, with wispy ringlets, big dark eyes, and caramel-colored skin — although when he was born, his head came to a point, so that my brother and I exclaimed, on seeing him, “He looks like Spock!”
We should’ve known what he would become. My brother and I are geeks, with snarky senses of humor and a general irreverence towards the world. Ryan is our family’s happy warrior, a lifelong gamer and skateboarder with a passion for music; he plays guitar and has performed with friends publicly and in his congregation. (Thanks to his mom, he’s devoutly religious.) My mother adored him and encouraged his love of music, movies, and games. I always cooked him his favorite foods, as he loved food from the moment he could gum it. And he’s been my brother’s best friend as well as his beloved son. One of my brother’s favorite memories of him was taking him when he was 7 years old up to the Grand Canyon, and stopping at the Flintstone Village on the way.
I don’t know what has made my brother prouder of Ryan — that his son has grown into a good and happy man, or that Ryan has had so much fun and joy in his life. Considering that my brother and I have fought major depressive disorder most of our lives, and my brother has fought for sobriety as well, it’s amazing to see him so buoyant. He’s a beautiful, cheerful soul.
Anyway, a few years ago, Ryan moved to Henderson, NV, where he and his fiance Jenny got married two years ago. That’s their wedding picture above. (Beautiful couple, aren’t they?) The two of them live in Henderson, NV. Ryan worked for the Clark County School District, and Jenny is a teller with Credit Union 1. I say, Ryan worked, because in the last year, Ryan’s had pain in his right leg that interfered with his ability to work. He went to his doctor three times. Each time, he was told that the pain was due to a fracture, to wear a special brace for it, and go home. Finally his pastor intervened and told him that if he was still in pain after a year, it was time to see a specialist.
Now my brother traveled up from Phoenix to Nevada in August for a well-needed vacation; he’d been working non-stop for three months, and decided to take a break and see his boy. He got there after Ryan had seen a specialist and had an MRI done on his knee. And he was there when the specialist called Ryan and Jenny in for the news: the MRI revealed a mass in Ryan’s right tibia, below the knee. Horrified, my brother listened to the specialist explain that a biopsy needed to be done, but the initial diagnosis was osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer that tends to metastasize to the lungs and the brain. Once it migrates, the diagnosis is poor.
Just for the biopsy, the cost was $7,000.
Ryan broke down in tears. He and Jenny didn’t have the money. Jenny had just started her new job, and her insurance benefits started too late to cover his condition. Ryan was unable to work and his COBRA benefits hadn’t kicked in yet as well. He told the specialist that he couldn’t pay for the procedure, probably couldn’t cover the treatment if he had cancer, and didn’t know what he was going to do.
My brother took the specialist aside and put a down payment on the bill. That got Ryan his biopsy. We got the definitive news on September 12th, and this is what my brother texted me:
It's sarcoma cancer as we suspected
Still not sure if it has spread.
The soonest he can get a catscan is two weeks
Doctor doesn't want to wait that long before starting chemo
Doctor says this cancer likes the lungs so he wants to get a jump on it.
So Thursday Ryan will be admitted to the hospital to receive the first week of chemo followed by three weeks recovery
Then two more sessions.
After the 10th week they will evaluate the cancer
If it is dead, he will begin recovery so he can have the knee replacement surgery.
A whole lot is riding on this cancer staying put.
So Ryan began chemotherapy, and my brother started a GoFundMe page to cover anything insurance won’t take care of as well as Ryan and Jenny’s living expenses. We’re also looking into aid programs to help low-income cancer patients, and seeing if we can get Ryan onto the ACA instead of leaving him on the ultra-expensive COBRA program.
Ryan also made a video to show to his church to keep them aware of his condition as well as to affirm his intention to fight:
Ryan's First Chemo Treatment
But today, we got this news from my brother:
Jerry
I posted an update for Ryan on his go fund me account but i don't see it.
Ryan was released from the hospital on friday after finishing his first round of chemo.
it made him very sick and wrecked havoc on his system.
sunday Ryan began to develope a sore throat and was running a fever.
Monday Ryan went to his doctor's office, where they determined he had low white blood cell count , was dehydrated and had an infection.
the office rehydrated him, gave him two shots for the infection and chemo reaction and sent him home.
today he was readimitted to the hospital.
103 degree temperture severe bisters in his mouth and throat
severely low white blood cell count, infection and dehydrated.
the doctor says he'll be there for at least 3 days maybe a week.
say your prayers
Dad
So . . . yeah, we’re scared.
He’s only 23 years old.
If you want to donate to the fund to help Ryan and Jenny, you can click on either of these links:
Ryan and Jenny's GoFundMe Page
Jerry's Facebook Page: Help for Ryan