Ed went on Conrad's dad's boat downtown Friday night with Coach and Conrad's dad, and Ryland . . . whose real name is RYAN . . . I just cannot have you praying for a kid by the wrong name. I'm old fashioned that way, I guess.
So, when the results came in about
Ryan's tumor in his brain we were in Michigan. The results were
inconclusive and they needed a second opinion and there was talk about doing
another brain surgery. Instead I think they consulted someone else.
I am getting all of this second hand from a college kid, so consider
that. Ryan told the guys he was expecting a call Wednesday night, then
not till Thursday night. What's with the night calls?
Friday on the boat Ryan told them
that he is going to need treatment. Chemo and radiation. He would
not use the 'c' word: cancer. Ed and Conrad kept asking him BUT
WHAT IS IT? Finally, Ryan told them that it is cancer. He is very
optimistic, but as Ed points out he is optimistic naturally so he cannot tell
if this is just his perspective or if this is the doctor's opinion. At
any rate, it is a blow.
He will have 12 weeks of treatment,
a week on and a week off. Then he expects to be good to go. It is a
germ-cell cancer. I have not even googled that to see if I can learn more
from google. Ry thinks he is going back to college 2nd semester. My
fear is that with covid, he will not be able to go anywhere until there is a
vaccine. Assuming he is a cancer survivor at that point, he is going to
be immune compromised. I guess.
Ed is so sad. And
scared. And shocked. One week they are hanging out and Ryan says he
has headaches, and then boom. College will not be the same without him
there, but like Ryan says: great semester to miss. Good
point.
Ed: I don't get it.
There are ass holes out in the world. Ryan is the greatest kid.
This makes no sense. He doesn't even want to tell the college guys in the
group chat because he doesn't want anyone to worry.
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No explanation necessary. |
Ed left our grad party and went to
hang out with Ryan and friends at Ryan's house Saturday night. He took
whatever cookies I made that were left over to Ryan. I asked if Ryan he
hared the cookies with the guys hanging out, or if he tucked them away for
himself for later. Um, he is the tucking type, and I say amen to
that. Ryan is a lover of my baked goods and when all we've got is pumpkin
bread, blueberry oat bread, cookies, and prayers, I am thinking he is going to
get through this. He loved the card Curly made him, as he is a huge Curly
fan.
On the boat that night Ed said they
were talking about when they all turn 21 (they are currently 19), and Ed turned
to Ryan and said, "Wait, are you Dec. 29?"
Ryan: No,
December 19th.
Um, that is Curly's birthday.
So Curly and Ryan are birthday buddies.
I hope and pray that the 21st
birthday celebrations happen and that this health issue is a mere memory by
then. Ed leaves on Thursday and I imagine that will be hard for
Ryan. Fortunately one of their other good high school buddies got himself
in academic trouble (OK, so NOT really good news), and he will be home and able
to keep Ryan company.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Reg and I ran to Costco last week. He needed to have his glasses adjusted and I needed to order a cake for the grad party. I bought these glasses as a replacement pair. He lost his original pair at school in January after 10 days. Yes, ten - as in less than 2 weeks. I ordered the second pair from Costco just as things were shutting down and then was told they were in, but they weren't. So, that was fun. They guessed that they were sent to the wrong store and there wasn't anyone there to correct it. So, they ordered them again.
When they finally came in, I ran to pick them up one night
just as the wait-in-line-around-the-building-fun had begun. I called from
the exit and told the woman at the eye-wear counter to turn and look
at the exit. "I am waving my arm at you like a crazy person who
doesn't want to wait in line to enter the store. Please don't make
me come in to pick them up. I was here yesterday and you called
to say they were in when I got home."
Kind lady marched them over to me
in the exit and we did a sort of baton hand off. They had already told me
that they couldn't adjust them to fit his face.
So, months later when he said his glasses were super loose - "these glasses cannot stay on my face." The woman working COULD NOT BELIEVE that this glasses were only purchased in early April.
"What do you do with
them? They are so beat up?" Reg gave her his infamous blank stare
as if he was not sure she was talking to him. What's that saying, you can
dress em up, but you can't make em talk in public?
And this is why he must wear disposable contact lenses.
His first appointment with contacts was in January. He struggled - not like me with the passing out, grossness of it all. He claimed his eyelashes were too long, um . . . on one eye. And, he just had really quick reflexes and struggled to control his blink.
After months of trying a sample set, losing sample set, going back to the doc to try again, he has figured it out. My vision of him wearing prescription sport googles (get it vision?) was that they would cost a fortune and he would hate them or lose them.
Problem solved. I will have to keep a spare pair of his contacts in my purse in case any defenders make it past his quick reflex eyelashes and poke him in the eye during a basketball game. If we even get to have a high school b-ball season.
Heads up, I have another post coming at you tomorrow. I still feel like no one wants to read on Fridays, so tell me if I'm wrong.
10 comments:
Oh poor Ryan, I will say prayers for him. I can't imagine how worried his family is for him during this.
Those cookies look so good and I imagine they are gluten-free. You should share the recipe! I wonder if I could make those with my migraines..gluten-free and migraine safe sometimes run together. I am adding in chocolate slowly again. SLOWLY.
The cookies look perfectly delicious. I haven't made any choc chip cookies in years, now that I think about it. An idea whose time has come again, I'd say.
I don't wear contact lenses anymore. Too much trouble. Of course I'm inclined to prefer eyeglasses so maybe they weren't for me to begin with.
Kari- Not gluten free. I do not bake things gluten free which means I don't eat baked goods. A bummer but that helps my waist line.
Yes, the Ryan situation is tough. Ed leaves tomorrow at 7 am. He has invited Conrad and Ryan over for breakfast. Claims he is making breakfast. Guess who will be involved in that process?
Ally- my choc chip cookies are well known in these parts. My kids complain because I make them for events or to thank someone. That means my kids have limited access to them. I am trying to make an effort to supply them with enough inventory to make them happy while still having enough in the freezer to whip some out as needed.
Oh, I hope and pray that Ryan will be a cancer survivor. So tragic for someone so young.
Glad you got the glasses adjusted! Finally!
Sending up prayers in Ryan's name; hopefully this will be just a blip in his life and a soon-to-be-memory.
The cookies LOOK AMAZING!!
Who the hell would keep glasses that don't belong to them? So.very.weird.
I hope he can keep his contacts and glasses in good shape and possibly sell some eyelashes? People pay good money for those long giraffe type. LOL!!!
I read on Friday. Or Thursday, as long as I'm at home and have wifi. :)
Oh poor Ryan and what a time to get it, right before college and in a pandemic. Will pray for him and his family. I have to agree with the other commenters, those cookies look amazing! I’ll read on a Friday!
Add me to the list of those praying for Ryan. This whole thing breaks my heart.
I loved wearing contacts...up until recently when old age introduced the era of readers/cheaters. So I've gone off them mostly...and usually just wear my glasses on a day to day basis.
I'm guessing the gym has a lost and found and you already looked there for the lost glasses?
I read blogs every day - but I do notice that most bloggers don't seem to blog very much from Thursday through Sunday.
Nicole - yes, I hope to celebrate his cancer survivor status soon. Ed just told me that Ryan met with docs today and they firmed up his treatment. Going to be a bit more aggressive than originally planned, but that they say it has a high success rate. They also named it something else which scares me. We made a video for him last night wishing him luck. A friend put a bunch of clips together. Even if the glasses had been adjusted, this kid would have destroyed them.
Suz - Yeah, I probably didn't need to change his name for my blog- old habits. I know he appreciates the prayers. Happy to bake a big batch of cookies when we do a blogger -get-together, bottles of wine - check . . . my cookies - check, what else do we need? The person who kept the glasses might be the same person who kept the ONE boot that Reggie lost a few winters ago at school. He left it in the hall in front of his locker because it wouldn't fit. They were brand new - Sperry's. Gone. Part of me wonders if the janitors swept the glasses up off the stage and didn't notice. I would have him sell his eyelashes if they were THAT awesome, but they are just normal lashes, which is why his claim was so laughable.
Charlie - Ryan is such a great kid. Love him to pieces. Thanks for remembering him. It is all so surreal. His parents are great people, too. Thanks for thinking of them. This has been very stressful for them, of course. I'm telling you, I see a blogger meet-up in our future . . . I do turn 50 in December. This dang pandemic better end in a hurry.
Gigi - I listen to a rosary meditation while I walk, and today was so fitting. It was about how God only expects us to focus on the present. To do what we can now 'our daily bread', not to be concerned with the future but to trust Him. That is NOT my strong suit. I was glad to hear Ed say today that the doctors say that the treatment has a good success rate. The lost and found was checked - it was the gym at school. No luck.
I will continue to pray for Ryan.
Beth - thanks, appreciate it. Ed wants his friend better and misses his presence at school so much.
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