March 20: This Will Be a Very Good Week

Ryan’s big brother, Blaise arrived in Paris this morning!  Blaise is a Junior at Valley Forge Military Academy in our hometown of Wayne, Pennsylvania.  He boards at VFMA and visits us frequently.  In fact, he's quite the expert traveler these days.  I find it pretty incredible that he flies back and forth - solo - between France and the USA as often as he does, and of course, Ryan is super appreciative to have his brother here this week.

Blaise arrived in Paris at 6:30 this morning, looking dapper and excited to see Ryan!

Last week was tough for Ryan.  He had a full day of chemo on Monday and suffered joint, bone, and muscle pain every day until Friday night.  He wanted to go to school and be around his friends, but no amount of pills could take away the pain.  Fortunately, Ryan is a goal-oriented kid and is motivated to keep his grades up and stay current with his assignments and classwork.  This gives him something important to accomplish, and he’s doing really well.  It has also taught me that I could brush up on trigonometry, but I’m a darn good English teacher!  Having said that, Ryan did make it to school on Monday morning, and on Friday afternoon, and by our calculations, that’s one full day.  His friends were so happy to see him!  He was really glad he was able to attend, even for such a brief time.

This week will be a very good week!  Not only will Ryan enjoy the company of his brother, but also, it’s the 4th week of his second chemo cycle, which means zero IV drips.  He started feeling really good on Saturday morning and we’re looking forward to a pain-free week with no yucky side effects.

More importantly, this 4th week of the second cycle is a big milestone.  This is the week during which we determine just how many of the little Hodge buggers we’ve managed to beat down while systematically poisoning Ryan.  He’s scheduled for a cardiac ultrasound tomorrow to verify that his heart is still beating, and then CT and PET scans on Wednesday to prove that Ryan’s medical team is Cancer’s Worst Nightmare.  We’ll meet with his Top Doc on Wednesday night to map out Ryan’s next four months.

In the mean time, I expect Ryan will be back at school every chance that he can this week.  With the exception of Monday morning and all day Wednesday, I know he’ll want to be at Marymount enjoying his friends and getting caught up on his schoolwork.  And when he comes home from school, he gets to hang out with Blaise!

Ryan, Me and Blaise at Dan and Kait's Wedding, July 2015

Even better, my brother Dan and his wife Kait arrive in Paris on Saturday morning.  They’ll spend a long Easter weekend with us, so our fingers are crossed for warm, sunny weather and short lines for the Eiffel Tower.  OK, maybe not, but it will be great to see them anyway!

I want to send more shout-outs to our many friends here in Paris and at home in America who do so much to help every day.  The Marymount Moms have organized a Meal Train, and believe me on this one, when we arrive home after a long day at the hospital, or when Ryan has been down and out with chemo side effects, and we get a home-cooked meal delivered to our door by our humble and generous friends, it can be a lifesaver.  So thank you.

This week’s Special Delivery Kudos go to the Drozd Family in America, who sent sketching supplies and several boxes of TastyKakes.  Ryan really digs the art kit, thanks… but you nailed it with the Krimpets, Drozdes!

Krimpets? Yes, Please.

Goodbye Heparin, Goodbye Fashion Week (Don’t Let the Door Hit You in the Booty)

Ryan finished a Big Week of chemotherapy last Friday, followed by a dose of The Vinc this past Monday afternoon, and is gobbling down his home meds in the comfort of his Malakoff Man Cave until this Monday, when he goes back to Institut Curie for another Big Day chemo cocktail.  Sound confusing?  I can’t put together a logical sentence these days, thanks to the beautiful (le cough) French language.  Réfléchi pronoms avec negative passé composé?  My head hurts.

For those who want to understand Ryan’s chemo regimen better, here’s the drip schedule:

Week 1 Big Week

Monday through Friday - 5 days of IV drip at Institut Curie, lasting anywhere from 4 - 7 hours per drip

(Monday is a Big Day, 7 hours)

Week 2

Monday only - Injection of Vincristine aka The Vinc, total hospital time under 3 hours

Week 3

Monday only - Big Day, 7 hours

Week 4

Rest

Ryan will have 6 consecutive cycles of chemotherapy.  Each cycle also includes daily steroids and antibiotics, which are self administered pills.  His blood is tested every Monday and Thursday.

He will have another PET scan and CT scan at the end of this cycle (He’s now in Cycle 2) to evaluate the efficacy of the regimen.  We expect these results to be on fleek, and he’ll continue the regimen for another 4 months.  Then the tests will be given again.  We expect Ryan will be in remission at the end of these 6 months.  If he isn’t in remission yet, radiation therapy follows.  That’s a long time from now, and since we’re expecting only the best outcome, this is the last time I’ll spell that out, so bookmark it or whatever.  We’re moving on.

Here’s the really awesome news.  Ryan had an ultrasound last Tuesday that confirmed the blood clot near his catheter is now gone!  That means he no longer stabs himself with Heparin every day, and the black-n-blue marks on his thighs are fast disappearing.

Thank you, friends, for your emails and text messages.  Everyone is wondering how Ryan feels.  Well, during our medical consultation on Monday morning, I actually heard myself ask Ryan’s oncology team if they were giving him placebos.  Aside from intermittent joint pain, occasional acid reflux, and bothersome stomach cramps, he’s laughing in the face of side effects.  We’re fortunate to have doctors who know exactly how to manage Ryan’s pain, and while that means he takes a whole buncha pills, it also means he feels generally awesome.

Having said that, I don’t want to minimize it.  When Ryan does experience pain, it’s excruciating.  The worst time for Ryan is immediately after he wakes up in the morning, when he feels like he was hit by a train while sleeping.  As a result, he missed school two days this week.  On the flip side, he hung out with his buddy Ethan on Sunday afternoon, went to school on Monday before chemo (He was so happy to see his friends!), and is responsibly keeping up with his homework and projects.

One thing Ryan loves is interactive gaming.  Not only is it a distraction, but it also allows him to stay in contact with his classmates, even when he can’t see them every day.  He is able to talk live (while gaming) with his buds in Paris, the USA, and all around the world - current, old, and new friends included and simultaneously.  Currently, his favorite games are Agario (online) and FIFA 16 for the Xbox One.

Friday is my last morning of French classes for at least a few months, and we’re happily awaiting the arrival of Blaise, Uncle Dan, and Aunt Kait for Easter Break.  Hopefully, all of this will correspond with nicer weather in Paris (Let’s admit it, rain is depressing).  Ryan is really looking forward to seeing his two favorite fishing partners.  Maybe, with Uncle Dan’s help, we will finally catch something in La Seine!

Again, I want to give major shout-outs to our many friends - here in Paris and afar in the USA - who are supporting Ryan in extraordinary ways.  Ryan’s favorite surprise last week was a package from America containing an official Little League World Series baseball autographed by every kid on the Central Pennsylvania Championship Team.  That was super cool and unexpected!  Thank you to my Sorority Little Sister.  I'm awfully glad you became a teacher ;)  Our Paris friends continue to help us with meals and transportation, and we feel the love coming from every corner of the earth… Merci Beaucoup!