On August 28,
2007, it was
confirmed that
Libby was
diagnosed with
High Risk Acute
Lymphoblastic
Leukemia (ALL).
Leukemia is a
cancer of the
blood. Blood is
made up of three
types of cells.
Leukemia is the
abnormal growth
of cells that
crowd out the
other good
cells.
Hi, It's
Libby,
I want to thank everyone for your wishes and support.
My spirits
are very
high and
I'm my
usual
happy
self. Oh
by the way
I'm going
to have my
hair cut
off so
they can
make me a
wig of my
own hair.
Have a
good look
at my hair
its going
away soon!
Hi, I'm Dave Ryan, Libby's
Dad,
I know everyone wants to
call to get updates and
find out what is going on
and I have to stress that
this website will be our
best way of spreading the
news. Phone calls only
reach a few people and we
just can’t reach everyone
in that manner, including
family, which we have a
lot of.
I want to back up a little
to let everyone know what
happened to Libby. I put
my notes into a Journal
that you can read starting
with Sunday August 26th's Events. Click
the My Journal Button to
view those notes.
The oldest information
will be at the bottom so
read the notes starting
from the bottom.
Treatment is effective.
Studies have been done
over the years to improve
cure rates. A relapse is
possible and the outcome
could be worse case
scenario. The relative
survival rate has more
than tripled in the past
47 years for patients with
leukemia. For more
information on survival
click here. The cause of
(ALL) is not known. It was
not caused by anything she
or her parents did. It was
not caused by anything in
the environment. It just
happens. Libby has some
blasts in her spinal
fluid, so treatment will
start probably on August
29th.
Induction is the first
part of treatment. It is
about a month long. The
goal is to get the
Leukemia in remission. The
overall length of
treatment is 2½ years. The
first six to ten months
therapy is more intense.
The First month is an
inpatient routine and the
rest of the treatment is
out patient. Chemotherapy
is medicine that attacks
cells that grow rapidly.
There are side effects
like hair loss and a
weakened immune system. A
fever can be very serious
because she is at risk for
infection.
My neighbor, friend and
sometimes Libby's other
parent Craig will be
creating and updating this
website so I can keep you
informed of what is going
on with Libby. I know
everyone wants to help,
and I know everyone will
be praying for her too.
We ask that you be patient
with us and give us time
to get settled with this
undertaking. Right now
Libby can see limited
visitors please see the
visiting calendar schedule
button to see when you can
visit her.
Thank You So Very Much For
All Your Blessings And
Support!
