January 11th, 2026

Good Morning! There wasn't too much going on the last two days. I know we were hopefully waiting to get discharged from the hospital last week, but the approval from the insurance didn't come through so we are still here. Most of Ryan's lab work looks good, but his hemoglobin was low with labs this morning and so he will need another blood transfusion. We are thankful now that the discharge didn't happen, with him being so close to the transfusion threshold and needing blood today after his hemoglobin holding for a few days in a row. He has had some trouble with his braces cutting his mouth and one of the wires was sticking out, but luckily they have a dentist at the hospital and they were able to clip the wire. When we get home he will need to have his braces taken off for the remainder of his treatment because of the increased risk of infection and bleeding. We started playing clue the other day and now that's all Ryan wants to play! :) He's really enjoying it! the child life specialists here have been wonderful and brought him another board game yesterday as well as a Nintendo switch to help him pass the time. We are still getting him out of the room as much as we can for a change of scenery and keep him moving. Long walks are more tiring for him lately, but yesterday I put him in a wheelchair and took him all over the hospital which he seemed to enjoy. Jesse and I are still switching off every other night with one of us staying at the Ronald McDonald House and one of us staying at the hospital with Ryan. Jesse's Aunt Merrilee came for a visit yesterday, which was great as always. Ryan's spirits really seem to pick up when he has visitors.