Beginning in about June of 2020 we noticed Ryhan had stopped eating and was losing weight rapidly. However, we thought this was due to him hitting his puberty stage of height growth. He went from being about 5’4″ to about 5’9″ in less than about 4 months. But because of the weight loss he shortly later started to complain of stomach pains and started puking after certain meals. He grew super tired very easily every day. He was always complaining of a headache, and thirstier than anything we had ever seen. He could drink an entire 5-gallon jug of water within 3 hours of waking up. So the doctor ran a panel and called us to come in. He informed us that his thyroid had stopped working and he was going to need his gallbladder tested. He was placed on special meds for both. In February 2021 we had to remove the gallbladder. It stopped a few of the issues but brought out others. He started getting blurry vision randomly and started complaining he couldn’t see except in front of him. So we called the eye doctor and were told we would have to wait for 2 months to get in. So the days he woke up complaining couldn’t see he would not get to drive his truck to school.
He finally got in to see the eye doctor after he had an accident in his truck. We got down there and he wanted to scan the optic nerve. Ryan wanted to go back with his brother and wanted me to wait in the lobby. So I waited until the doctor came out and got me telling me something was wrong. He had found a huge mass that was crushing his optic nerve. That was Sept 10. On Sept 13th we were admitted to Children’s Oncology floor in Oklahoma City. We had his 1st surgery on Sept 21st and found out the results on Sept 26th.
He went through 6 surgeries, chemotherapy for 6 months straight, and radiation for 4 months. He is forever on special medications for his thyroid, diabetes insipidus, and testosterone for the rest of his life.
Going through this has made us all stronger. It has made us learn to love more, give more, and help more! He missed an entire 2 years of life basically and school and spite that is still current with his class! He is graduating this year! He is our Senior!
Hope session by Photos by Keisha | Facebook | Instagram