Help Support Ryan's Medical Journey to Recovery

My name is Morgan, and I am writing this on behalf of my sister's family. They have had a long journey that is hopefully coming to a happy end.

My brother-in-law, Ryan (38 y/o), he was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor in the small intestines. Which, is typical found in individuals who are in their fifties or older. I am in admiration of Ryan for advocating for himself to find a diagnosis. The pain he has endured these past few years is unimaginable. We are so grateful for an early diagnosis, but that has come with a very long and stressful journey.

His journey began in May 2021, Ryan knew in his gut that something wasn’t right. He just started feeling unwell, and went to his primary care physician for help. He had multiple CT scans, tests done, and referrals to other specialist. All of those doctors didn’t take him seriously. His body finally let him know that there really was something wrong by sending him to the hospital for the first time in March 2022. They stated it was a bowel obstruction, but couldn’t explain to him what the obstruction was. They told them that it was typically from scar tissue from a previous surgery. Mind you he has never had a surgery for there to be any scar tissue. Eventually, the obstruction went away and no one could tell them why.

Fast forward to January 2023, guess what happened again. Ryan ended up in excruciating pain and another trip to the hospital. The doctors had him have an endoscopy, colonoscopy, CT scans, and finally a MRI. This is when they finally found a mass in his small intestines. The medical team scheduled a laparoscopic surgery to remove the mass. The surgery went very well in March 2023, and we were all hopeful that this would be the fix he needed. April 2023, came so quickly and required another emergency GI surgery. If this isn’t bad enough, they find out that the insurance plan that Ryan had no max out of pocket. So the stress of having an unwell husband and father wasn’t enough they get hit with medical debt piling up.

After his emergency surgery it made it clear that there may still be another issue for his discomfort. Ryan was blessed to know people that had experience in the medical field, and found an in with a very well know oncologist. They went to see the oncologist in May 2023, that was two and half hours away to make sure that they were out of the woods. Unfortunately, that was not the news they were told. This is when they were told that Ryan’s mass was Stage 3 neuroendocrine tumor in the small intestines. He had to have a PET scan completed in June 2023. Based off of those results the mass wasn’t the only place that the cancer had been living. The scan showed that it was in his lymph nodes near the small intestines. The oncologist wanted to let his body have some more time to heal to decide if he needed more surgery. He had his second PET scan completed in October 2023. This didn’t come with great news or much hope for a cure. They weren’t given the best outcome for him. This type of cancer can only be truly cured by being surgically removed. They have other options, but it would only prolong the inevitable. This answer wasn’t anything anyone wanted to hear. My sister wasn’t going to just let that be the final answer to Ryan’s problem.

She went to find that there was a very renowned oncology hospital in Houston, TX that specializes in Ryan’s cancer. They flew to Houston in April 2024 for a second opinion. Ryan had to have another PET scan completed and other tests on their week long visit to Houston. This time they got much more hopeful news. The doctor said that Ryan being so young and healthy that surgery was an option. Which, was amazing news since surgery is the best option for this cancer. They had to make another trip to Houston in June 2024 for further testing to make sure that he was healthy enough to have the surgery. Luck prevailed and they found that he was a perfect candidate. They booked the surgery for August 2024, and made plans to stay in Houston for two weeks.

Ryan had his surgery in August 2024, and everything went amazingly well. I can’t say how happy we all are that this has gone so well. All of the past experience had such a gray cloud over their heads, and now it feels like the sun is shining down on them. He is home with his family, and is recovering well. I am so grateful for the doctors and nurses in Houston for their wonderful care. The road for them is not completely over, with more monitoring to make sure it hasn’t come back. He will have to return to Houston in 6 months for another round of scans to make sure that it has not returned or that they got it all.

All of this has been a stressful situation in so many ways. This journey has affected them all from their family, work, and finances. I would be forever grateful to those of you that can help them with any contributions. I know that it won’t take away all of the hardships that they have had these past years, but it would help them not have to struggle for years to come. Let’s help them enjoy this win, and help take away the financial burden that has come from a diagnosis that no one would want.