Rob's Fight to Survivorship

There is no ordinary cancer. I think this is the only way to summarize the past few weeks for Rob Ryan.

Exhaustion coupled with increased aches and pains brought Rob (and his very worried wife, Lori) to Urgent Care just two weeks ago. After a few tests doctors insisted that he head to the Emergency Room immediately. Rob and Lori did just that. Hours went by, test after test was run with no answers found. The only thing doctors could tell them was that things were unusual with his blood counts. Finally they told Rob he would be admitted as they needed to get to the bottom of what was going on. Merely days later Rob would be told he has Precursor B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. For Rob, his wife, his two daughters and his two grandchildren this news would shatter their world.

For those of you, who don’t know, let me tell you a little about Rob. He is a Husband, a Father, a Grandfather and a man of Faith. He loves his church family, motorcycles, fishing, golfing and spending time with his family (especially his two grandkids!). He runs a program through his church that feeds local children who may not have access to food at home. Each week he collects food from the community, gathers a group of people and together they pack 200+ “lunches” for children to take home with them. To help fund this program he put together the Feet for Food 5K Run/ Walk. Every single year he pounds the pavement getting donations, selling tickets, raising awareness and is a voice for these children.

Now its Rob’s turn, he needs our help. His cancer is curable; his minds made up that he will survive this… and survive he will! Because you can’t keep Rob down! It’s going to be a long road, as one doctor put it “This will be a marathon, not a sprint”. He has now started a weekly regimen of chemo along with other treatments and will be inpatient for at least a month, but probably longer. His care team has told him that he will be off work for about a year but again it could be longer as we just don’t know much right now. Rob’s daughters want to ask for help on their parent’s behalf. Any contribution would be greatly appreciated. The treatments Rob needs are not only expensive but needed on a  daily and weekly basis. I'm sure you can imagine how quicky these costs can grow.

Rob's hospital is an hour and a half from his home and travel expenses are becoming heavy for his family to be with him through his difficult treatments. Additionally, his wife is trying to keep up with the expenses at home such as bills, utilities, car payments, etc... while Rob is away and while he is off work for this upcoming year.
Our family would be extremely grateful for any kind of relief as we navigate the unknown and not only support him in the fight for his life, but support Rob to his Survivorship!
Thank you.