“I wasn’t a cancer parent—until I was.”
These are the words of Kristin Oliver, the mother of 5-year-old Ryder, who was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor called a medulloblastoma in March 2018.
“No one ever thinks their child or family can get cancer,” Kristin continues. “You read stories and pray for other kids who are suffering from this horrible disease, and you think it wouldn’t happen ever to you. But when it does, you have a whole different perspective.”
It wasn’t until Ryder began his cancer journey that the Oliver family looked into a number of ways that they could support the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. “I think it’s of utmost importance for families to support other families and give when you can,” says Kristin.
After complaining for 10 days about headaches, Kristin and her husband, Chad, decided to take Ryder to a hospital near their hometown in Macon, Ga. During an MRI, doctors discovered a golf ball-sized tumor in the back, right side of his brain.
“When you live an hour and a half away from the best of the best, we knew Children’s was where we needed to be,” Kristin says. “Macon has just one pediatric neurosurgeon and Children’s has a whole team. It’s better to have a team.”
Ryder was taken by helicopter to Children’s and admitted into the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. He had brain surgery on March 28, 2018, to remove the tumor. Less than a month later, Ryder had a central line placed in his chest, a G-tube placed in his stomach and chemo began on April 28, 2018.
Six rounds of chemotherapy were followed by three successful stem cell transplants, and on Oct. 12, 2018, Ryder completed all treatments and rang the bell in the center. It was a quick journey from diagnosis to remission, but it wasn’t always easy.
“They told us that if everything went by the books and treatment didn’t have to be delayed for any reason, he would be done in that time frame,” Kristin says. “He had no setbacks. But, I still can’t decide if it was the longest year of my life or the fastest.”
Ryder, who Kristin describes as loving super heroes, dinosaurs and playing with bugs, is in remission and currently isn’t on any medicine but will have to have scans regularly for the rest of his life to monitor his progress following surgery and treatment.
The family took time to recognize Ryder’s one-year diagnosis anniversary. “It’s a day that you don’t want to let pass without being recognized, but you don’t want to necessarily celebrate it,” says Kristin.
