...update on ronan...

it's been over two months since i introduced you to my little buddy, ronan. i mentioned then that i was going to keep up with his journey, and his family has graciously allowed me to do so. unfortunately, ronan has had a tough few months which have included two small surgeries, and the continuing of his almost-weekly platelet transfusions.

my first two days spent with ronan happened to be hospital stays. the first was for a scan of his kidney's and the second was after a small surgery necessary in prepping him for transplant, once that time comes around.

in my first post about ronan i mentioned that he has aplastic anemia, which he does, but it was after my next visit with his family that i learned more. ronan actually has a very rare genetic disorder called Dyskeratosis Congenita. the aplastic anemia he has is a result of the DC. considering DC is so rare (one in apparently 300 cases in the world), doctors and geneticists are still learning about it. my time shooting at the hospital has been hindered a bit by photo policies, so you won't see any staff or "procedures" in any of the images. that's been a disappointment on some level, but instead i'm attempting to give an idea of what ronan's time there is like...

i have always believed that something good comes out of something difficult. and in the midst of this unfortunate situation, i have watched rachel and nick perform this beautiful dance of...family. there is love beneath the frustration. patience beneath the chaos. strength beneath the fear.

oh, and did i mention that amid all the chaos with ronan's medical condition, they also recently welcomed a new baby boy? yep...baby callum arrived on a saturday, march 26th (three weeks early), and ronan now enters a new adventure of being an older brother, which he has taken on very well. "bring me my baby callum!" he says...

the great thing about ronan is that although his physical body is going through quite a bit of trauma, you can still find him running around, freely and full of life, as if the past few months haven't even happened.