The disease would lead to numerous and frequent trips to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville and several hospitalizations -- including the one where he wasn't able to eat for a month. "The poor kid. He would have roommates who would bring in pizza, and here he was, not able to eat," his mother, Cindy, remembers. It wasn't long after that, however, that Geisinger's Janet Weis Children's Hospital opened its doors. In the new children's hospital, located next to Geisinger Medical Center, Ryan would have his own room, and Cindy -- who had been sleeping in a chair while she stayed with her son -- would now have a chance to stay on a daybed, a standard in the rooms at the children's hospital. Ryan even kept up on schoolwork with the in-house teacher. "What a blessing the children's hospital was, with the teacher and all the volunteers. They really try to keep the kids comfortable and entertain them to help keep up their spirits," Cindy says. "And all the doctors and nurses there are wonderful." Ryan says he took it day by day and tried to stay positive. Cochran remembers that Ryan would have a new joke ready for each appointment or procedure. "Ryan has a great sense of humor," Dr. Cochran says. "Every visit would start off with Ryan's joke." That positive attitude Ryan regularly displayed would face a number of challenges, though. He was missing a lot of school and undergoing a number of procedures. Cindy had quit her job to care for her son and take him to and from doctor's appointments. At one point, the family even considered moving because they were making so many trips to Danville, she says. "It was just so much, so overwhelming," Cindy says. "My husband and I just kept saying, 'if we could only take his place.'"
Ryan's positive attitude especially would be challenged when he found out he would need surgery. The ulcerative colitis was controlled with medication at first, but the problems kept recurring and recurring despite our best efforts to keep him in remission," Dr. Cochran says. Ryan's entire colon would have to be removed. "I didn't want to hear 'surgery.' I thought that was terrible," Ryan says. "I had thought I would be in the hospital for a few days, they would give me medication, then I could go home." Ryan's colon was removed in three stages, and his small intestine was attached to a "rectal pouch," which replaced his rectum inside the lower abdomen. Since the surgery, Ryan has improved tremendously. Aside from an episode of pouchitis, an inflammation of the newly formed pouch that is treated with antibiotics, he has been healthy and active. Now almost 19 years old, he works on a farm six days a week and is planning to attend Bob Jones University this fall to study auto-diesel mechanics. He continues to see Cochran -- sometimes at the Altoona Pediatric Specialty Services clinic close to home and sometimes in Danville. He says he trusts Cochran and isn't eager to switch to a gastroenterologist who specializes in adults. "[Cochran] has really been the highlight in all of this," Ryan says. "As long as he's willing to see me, I'll go to him." "I'll continue to see Ryan," Dr. Cochran smiles. "I've got to get my joke fix." Ryan and his family have come a long way since his frequent trips to the children's hospital. He was young and doesn't remember all of the experience, but he's glad that it's over. His family is thankful for that as well and continues to think highly of Janet Weis Children's Hospital. "You wish [the illness] never happened, but at least you're in the right place when it does," Cindy says. | 
