When I was 36 weeks pregnant a co-worker saw Rylan’s tumor in utero. Once he was born his pediatrician ordered an ultrasound to see if the tumor had gone away. Since it was still there and had gotten bigger they ordered a comparison 2 weeks later. The day before he turn 1 month old we took him for the comparison. On our way home we got a call that Rylan had to be admitted so they could run some more testing. There we spent a whole week of testing from MRI’s, CT’s, MIBG, bone marrow, bone scan & biopsies. We then got the worst news of our lives that our little boy had high risk neuroblastoma.

Rylan went through a full year of treatment. Started chemo at 1 1/2 months old. He had a port placement, 6 cycles of chemo, tumor resection at 5 months old which lead to having his left kidney removed, 1 stem cell transplant, 20 radiation treatments and 5 cycles of immunotherapy.

Our son’s diagnosis has effected us mentally and financially. It has shown us strength and faith that we thought we never had. It taught us how to appreciate everyday and be grateful for the little things in life. Tomorrow is never promised so live everyday like it’s your last and enjoy every moment with your family. He is a year and half off of treatment and going stronger then ever!