haircuts, play dates, transfusions, and the arrival of life-altering news. the roller coaster of life. i honestly don't know how parents keep it together when experiencing something like this. but i guess you just grip onto the lap bar and try to enjoy the parts of the ride that aren't scary. you smile at the wind in your face and keep laughter in your belly rather than focusing on the fact that you're traveling at high speeds while suspended hundreds of feet above ground.
ronan's family recently learned that a perfect bone marrow match has been found. this is wonderful news for ronan's healing, but it also means that some very difficult months are approaching. just this past monday he had another small surgery (the third since i met him almost three months ago) to replace his previous port with a hickman port, which he will need during transplant.
shortly after hearing the news of the found match, and after an education on what ronan will experience in the coming months (chemo, radiation, months spent staying in bed with few visitors), rachel decided to let ronan have another play date with his friend jared (and mother, cheryl). such days filled with laughter and running around will be nonexistent for ronan until late in the year.
ronan will be admitted to city of hope in mid-june. the first nine days or so will be spent prepping his body for transplant, and the following 8-10 weeks after will be spent waiting for his body to adjust to the new marrow. this would be difficult for any person who has the kind of energy and passion for life that ronan has. but when i think about him being just three years old...well, bring on the lap bar.
3 comments:
Beautiful pictures, Mi. Such a touching story. Is this being published in the paper?
thank you, leigh ann.
a short story was published back in early march, which is when i first met ronan. i was assigned to create a portrait of him for that story and have been following his story ever since. it's unlikely the paper will do a follow up story, and they don't really do photo essays anymore, which is unfortunate. it's my hope that someone pics it up down the line.
wow micah! Amazing work! We are so happy for them now with the match but we all pray as we can't even imagine what it will be like....
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