Ryan had to learn to walk again, which was a problem because he of the
steroids he took with the chemo, and these made him gain weight. But
when he wasn't taking steroids, he'd lose weight. His cast would come off
and on because it had to keep being resized. But Ryan didn't mind. "I love
casts. Casts are cool."
Usually, Avonia and Ryan would drive to Little Rock on Wednesday,
spend the night, then after chemo on Thursday, drive back home.
Sometimes he had to stay a few days in the hospital.
"I don't think I was scared until maybe in late kindergarten when I
realized I was sick. 'Hey, I'm not going to school every day. I'm skipping
some days. This seems a little odd.' And over the days I was like, 'Ahh-
oooh, I'm sick!' But I didn't let it bother me because I made sure I tried
to do my work as a first grader as much as possible. I had all As. I did
schoolwork in the hospital."
His mom said the chemo made him hyper. "He bounced off the walls."
AND HE ATE! He ate Chick Fil-A every day for those three-and-a-half
years—including for breakfast! "It's great. The best food ever. Chick Fil-A
was all I needed then," he grinned.
Off icialKidsMag.com • JUNE 2019 • 15
