Rally around Ryan

My name is Rachel and I am starting this fundraiser for my big brother Ryan Sanford. To know Ryan is to love him. He's calm and quiet, yet hilarious and full of life. He is loyal, hard-working and so very loved.

 

On May 1st, Ryan started having headaches which was abnormal for him. He went to urgent care, they gave him migraine meds and sent him home. Over the next 5 days, the headaches continued along with light sensitivity, nausea and vomiting. Our dad brought him to the ER on Friday, May 6th. They did a CT scan which revealed a mass in his brain, followed by an MRI which further revealed that Ryan had a large brain tumor. He was taken by ambulance to Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, MN,

 

On Monday, May 9th, Ryan underwent nearly 5 hours of brain surgery to remove this large brain tumor located in the left frontal lobe of his brain. The surgery successfully removed the tumor, and our family is so grateful to his surgeon. But when we got the pathology results, the diagnosis was one that we feared. The tumor is malignant.

 

Ryan has been diagnosed with grade 4 brain cancer at the age of 35. There simply are no words when given this news.

 

It is recommended that Ryan undergo 6 weeks of radiation, in combination with chemotherapy. We are actively exploring his options at Abbott, the University of Minnesota and Mayo, Rochester. If they can treat him at Mayo, Ryan would need to stay in Rochester for 6 weeks, along with many long drives back and forth. As you can imagine, this will be quite expensive. Regardless of where he chooses, he will not be able to work or drive again for several months. This very sudden lack of work income combined with the cost of all the upcoming medical care is what prompted me to start this fundraiser.

 

Ryan has always been independent and strong, but right now he needs all the love and support he can get. As his sister, I wish I could take away even an ounce of what he is going through. If I can bring together all of our wonderful, kind and amazing family and friends to rally around him during the hardest days of his life, it could lift his spirits and lighten his load even just a little bit.

With his family by his side, our mom as his guardian Angel and all of you rallying around him- we will tackle this cancer and what lies ahead.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Whether you contribute financially, with prayers, or otherwise. My family, including Ryan will be forever grateful.