Update from Ryan below:

Hi All,

Well, after the update last week where I was a bit under the weather, things changed pretty dramatically. I was able to help both of the kids with their basketball teams on Saturday, but by Sunday, something was clearly wrong.

Brooke had planned a nice Super Bowl feast, but I was so exhausted I didn't get out of bed most of the day. Luckily we didn't have school on Monday, and I was feeling a bit better. I went to work on Tuesday but was still feeling pretty crummy. Mostly, I had bad congestion and had developed a really harsh cough. I had an appointment with my integrative oncologist, and she suggested I take a COVID test which ended up being positive. Brooke and I were kind of in shock as we haven't heard of people in the area being positive lately. The integrative oncologist gave us several things to help with symptom management and we are so grateful for that! I'm also grateful that the COVID didn't affect my lungs or breathing. COVID and my chemo regimen together brought out symptoms such as mouth sores and swollen feet, ankles, and legs. The mouth sores made it painful to swallow and eat anything besides liquid.

I had a really rotten night on Tuesday night at home and was up most of the night. By Wednesday morning I had enough and Brooke took me to the ER. The ER drew labs and did a Chest X-Ray. I was severely neutropenic with a white count of 0.5 (supposed to be 3.7 to 10) and a neutrophil count of 168 (supposed to be 2,188 to 7,800). These numbers are the building blocks of my immune system, and with them so low, it makes it hard for my body to fight off any infection. However, I didn't have a fever, so they gave me a few more medications to help manage symptoms and sent me home.

I was able to sleep at home, but when I woke up, I had developed a fever of over 101. We called and were able to get a hold of a nurse at the cancer center and they said to get back to the ER and be prepared for admission. Again, given my extremely low immune system, they said sepsis or another infection can set in really quickly and I needed to get antibiotics ASAP. I was admitted on 2/14 (what a way to spend Valentine's Day) and got several rounds of IV antibiotics over the past few days.

Luckily, my body (and my counts) started rebounding on their own really well, and along with the help of the antibiotics, I was able to come home today!! Being in your own bed has never felt so good. Brooke and I are both exhausted, but grateful for good healthcare and my body still fighting as well as it does. ❤️

I'll probably be taking a few weeks off chemo while my body continues to heal, but Brooke and I are still looking into potential clinical trials. We haven't heard back officially from Memorial Sloan Kettering on the clinical trial, but we have received information that is showing that I may not qualify. Please say some prayers that I continue to heal while at home and that we can find a good maintenance option that will keep my cancer at bay. We are continuously grateful for your support!!!

Ryan & Brooke