Welcome to our CaringBridge site. We've created it to keep friends and family updated. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement during this time when it matters most.
PAGE UPDATE FROM JULY 2020 I imagine most folks who know of this site have been here already. But if you are new here - Thank you for visiting to share your loving memories of Ryan who left us in the early morning hours of March 18th. If he had been at a St. Patty's Day party...he would have called it a good life as the bartender's called "last call". You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. Please visit the Journal page to read Ryan's obituary tribute among other entries capturing our family's experiences throughout the journey.
PAGE UPDATE FROM AUGUST 2018 Hello to all visitors, those who have been coming to this page since the beginning and those who are just accessing it now. We use the journal entries here to share updates on Ryan's treatment, general conditions and progress. We invite you to "subscribe" so that you'll get notification each time we make an updated entry. If you click through to recent entries you will find that his tumor from 3 years back has returned and his medical team has started him on a new chemotherapy treatment plan as of 8/2/18. His UCSF medical team with reassess his prognosis in another 6-8 weeks. Your prayers, thoughts and love are received with open hearts.
ORIGINAL PAGE FROM AUGUST 2015 On Thursday, 8/20/15 Ryan will undergo brain surgery for the second time in his life. Two incredible neurosurgeons have both identified a tumor on his brain and concur it needs to be removed ASAP. One of those surgeons is Dr. Schmidt, his LV doctor who's been seeing him for more than a year. The other is Dr. Pang, the surgeon who first operated on Ryan's brain more than 35 years ago, and along with an incredible team of course, is credited with saving Ryan's life in 1979. (Please see Journal entries for more information)
Ryan Dunn (Dunny to most) is an unabashed WVU alum, known for shouting out "West by God! Virginia" and singing Country Roads at the top of his lungs, while slightly off key. His enthusiasm for the Mountaineers is rivaled only by that of his love for Pittsburgh sports teams- he bleeds Black and Gold. If not watching sports he may be comparing Netflix binge suggestions with his sister, traveling to visit dear friends all over the country (and then going to some sporting event with them) or rolling the dice at a HOT craps table. Ryan is a concierge at NYNY Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas where he sets up guests with every possible interest from Grand Canyon tours, to golf, to indoor skydiving, restaurants from dinky and charming to grand and elegant. And he can even set you up for black-light, KISS-inspired, indoor miniature golf (see Photos for proof!) Oh, and you can get married there too!
All of this tells you about what he likes and what he does. So now let's share who he is. Ryan is a son, a brother, a friend. His heart is strong while tender and he is full of quiet conviction that guides his life choices. He is fun-loving, out-going and has unlimited patience for those of us in his life who might be over-bearing and nosy. (we know who we are.) Simply put, he is an amazing man and he is very very loved by a huge community of family and friends. In spite of all he has faced, he will tell you how lucky and blessed his life is....and that's a beautiful thing.
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