Running for Ray

Thank you everyone for your support with Ray. People I don't even know have sent prayers and well wishes to him. We are so grateful.

Two weeks ago Ray was throwing up and had severe belly pain. I took him to the ER late Monday night and on Tuesday, May 25th a pediatric surgeon told me that my sweet boy has cancer. He had surgery that evening and they removed a grapefruit size mass from his belly. He started chemotherapy four days ago. They let us come home finally, for the weekend, and then we will be back to the hospital for more chemo. Each time he has a chemo treatment he has to stay in the hospital for a week or more, but there are only 5 total treatments...if all goes well. The biggest risk between treatments is keeping him healthy and dealing with the side effects, which I was terrified to learn range from as "simple" as mouth sores and bleeding gums to blood transfusions, stroke, and heart attack. It is really scary and sad to hear those things about your own child.

As you can imagine it has been a huge shock for all of us and I hate that this is happening to my sweet little boy. There have been many tears and questions, but honestly there have been many miracles as well.

Officially Ray has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Burkitts B-Cell Lymphoma. Stage 3 usually involves cancer in other parts of the body, but so far they can only find masses in his belly. We are so thankful for that and pray that the chemo will kill the cancer before it reaches anywhere else. Ray is recovering from major surgery, having side effects from chemo, and accepting that he has cancer...and yet...he is doing surprisingly well. He goes up and down. It is hard to watch your child suffer and be scared and always the fear of death is hovering. But he is handling it well...the loads of toys and treats from family and friends have helped distract him I think!:)

No one can take away Ray's cancer, or the fear and grief we feel, but everyone has done something in their own way to show their support. Together it adds up and Joe and I are overwhelmed by the support and love that keeps us from completely giving in to our fears and has given us hope. Thank you everyone for the things you are doing and please keep praying. We believe in prayer. We believe that Ray can be healed through the excellent doctors and medicines available and through the power of faith and prayer.

*How can you help??*

My dear friend Somer has set up a donation site for Ray. She is running the Ragnar Relay Race on June 18th with a team of 12 runners that cover 182 miles in 28 hours. They like to run for a cause and this year they have chosen to Run for Ray! It makes me cry just to think about it. Somer asked Ray to chose a name for their team and he chose to call them Team Kitchy. Kitchy is the name of his favorite little stuffed dog. Here is the link to the team site where you can donate towards Ray's treatment. I won't ever see who donates or how much is donated, Somer's teams handles all of that. We just get to see the final total, cry, and be grateful. Every little bit helps. Thanks again for all you are doing and hopefully we can get through this together.

Love

Shannan

Team Kitchy Donation Site