08/08/2022
I’ve been waiting to update everyone when we found out Ryleighs surgery date to get her port out, but it’s taking a bit to get that set. Ryleigh is doing well and her final scans were all clear. 🙌 She chose to go back to school and is very excited about it. I decided to share some photos from the last year you may or may not have already seen. FB will only let me load 80, so I’ll make another post with the rest.
The past few years have been the biggest rollercoaster ride of our lives. Ryleigh has fought a fight I never imagined I would see my child go through. Moving forward scares me because now every complaint alarms me. Ryleigh has been left with some issues in her feet and hands, but I am confident with time it will get better. Deep down I know chemo can leave long term effects and I can’t help but worry.
We’re extremely grateful for everyone that has supported us over the last couple of years. While, a lot of you know Ryleighs story you all may not know a year before Ryleigh was diagnosed her dad went through a double transplant surgery. I guess what I’m trying to say is we have endured a massive amount of love from so many people for quite a few years now. I cannot even begin to say how thankful we are. Sometimes I just sit there and think how did we do this and I know we couldn’t have without y’all and the Lord above.
Dawn, Granny, Holly, and Ben thank you all for being there from the very beginning to take Mitch in as your own at a drop of a dime when Ryleigh was first diagnosed. Y’all not only took him in and loved him, but y’all homeschooled him through the entire Covid mess.
Thank you Jen and Jim for providing your home, feeding us, helping us move and doing so many sweet things to make Ryleigh and Mitch feel loved. We made great memories with y’all and we will cherish them forever!
Thank you Nicole and Ricky for putting up with us the past couple years crashing your house and your tiny home. For feeding us, including us on family outings, following us to Crestview and Jacksonville and loving us even when we were distant and just trying to make it from one day to another. It’s hard to be friends with busy lives much less from so far away and with all that has been going on.
I want to thank our old baseball community again and the kids old school, Redeemer Christian School. Thank you to the entire Ocala community because every single one of you loved us even when you didn’t know us very well. Sent pictures, things for Ryleigh to do, and even donated when times were hard for everyone.
I want to thank you Jessica Spaulding and her family and friends for supporting Ryleigh and Mitchell at Christmas last year. The kids had the best Christmas because of y’all! The gas and food gift cards got us through the next few months traveling back and forth.
Thank you to their MiMi for being there for us from a distance as well and listening to me even after going weeks without talking. I tend to close up when I’m stressed and I’m so thankful that I do have people in my life that don’t take that personally and love me anyways. Thank you to her Sunday school class for all of the sweet cards and donations that also helped so much. So many sweet sweet cards that made Ryleigh feel very loved!
Thank you Larry for always being a steady in Ryleighs life she looked forward to your cards every few weeks. Especially with her being home so much getting a little something in the mail always gave her something to look forward to.
Thank you more than ever grandma for being here with Ryleigh, so we could work when we were able to. Thank you for staying with Mitch during treatment weeks and unexpected hospital visits. We will miss you.
Big thank you to our jobs and coworkers for being supportive the past year throughout all of this!
Ryleigh just got back from a fundraising event in Jacksonville. It was sort of bittersweet as we spent a few weeks there exactly a year ago for Ryleighs radiation therapy. It’s such a beautiful community there and considering the circumstances we really enjoyed ourselves on the good days getting to explore the history in that very large town. So many great free things to go and explore as a family. The Ronald McDonald house there is probably the best one to even exist. We couldn’t even stay at the Gainesville one because of Covid rules. We felt at home even though were so far away.
The fundraising event left me speechless to be honest. It was totally not expected at all and we’re so grateful to have been apart of the Live like Larry/Hobbs Strong community. It was great to see Ryleigh brush off her little bit of shyness and totally embrace the entire day and have fun. It was a true celebration of life for Larry and felt like a true celebration of end of chemo for Ryleigh. Everyone at sliders was so awesome, the entire community, volunteers, Cathy, the singing, everyone, and everything was just awesome. Special thank you to Pam for letting my loud kids crash your place and mentioning Ryleigh as a child to be sponsored.
We have had communities from Ocala to the panhandle to Bama and right back to Jacksonville love and support Ryleigh. It’s completely unimaginable.
If I didn’t mention you please do not take offense there has been more people there for us than I can really even mention. There really is no way I can even thank you all. I do thank you all though since the very very beginning. We never expected this to happen once much less twice and all we can ask for is that Ryleigh keeps getting stronger every single day and we have clear scans for the rest of her life.
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🧡🎗
