A straight “A” student, a three-sport athlete, and an all-conference selection in soccer, Ryan was living the high school dream until March of 2015. While in Madison for the state basketball tournament, Ryan started having extreme pain in his left hip area. After seeing several doctors and numerous tests, Ryan found out that the pain was being caused by a tumor in his sacrum that was pressing on a nerve bundle. After several weeks of agonizing waiting and hoping, Ryan and his family received the news on April 23rd that no family ever wants to hear… Ryan had cancer. Specifically, Ryan was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer that mainly affects children and adolescents and is only diagnosed in about 200 people per year. After another week of continuous tests, Ryan found out that his cancer was localized and immediately began his first round of chemotherapy. Ryan has a long road ahead of him that includes 6 rounds of chemotherapy followed by radiation followed by 11 more rounds of chemotherapy. The entire course of treatment will take 9-12 months and each time he receives chemotherapy, he’s in the hospital for 2-5 days. Despite the daunting challenge in front of him, Ryan and his family remain positive and are determined to beat this! Ryan, along with his parents, Derek and Becky, and his brother, Evan would like to thank the entire community for the prayers, support, and outpouring of love that Ryan has received. Ryan was declared NED on 2/23/16 and continues to amaze us every day. Now, over 5 years NED, Ryan has graduated college and is living life to the fullest thanks to the many prayers and support of those who follow this page.
