Page 8 - Desert Lightning News Tucson 7-31-15

8 July 31, 2015
Overcoming all odds, Airmen defeats toughest adversary yet
Airman 1st Class Christian Clausen
432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs ing Squadron conducting introduction to fighter
CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nevada -- He
awoke on a frigid Washington D.C. morning
completely blind and was rushed through the
cold snow laden streets in a furious sprint to the
hospital.
A few hours later Ryan Keeney received the
worst news of his life. He had been diagnosed
with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, a deadly
form of cancer which without quick treatment
can claim the lives of its victims within months,
even with the treatment the survival rate is a slim
40 percent.
He was thrown into a world he didn’t under-
stand, just hours before he was waking up to
spend the day before Thanksgiving with his fam-
ily. Wednesday, November 24th, 2010 became a
day that changed his life forever.
“I was admitted to the George Washington na-
tional hospital and I stayed there for the next five
weeks being treated with initial rounds of che-
motherapy,” said now Lt. Col. Ryan Keeney, for-
mer 15th Reconnaissance Squadron commander.
The first night was overwhelming, his mind
raced faster than a formula one car. His future
would no longer be as he had envisioned.
“What concerned me the most was not being
able to see my boys Connor and Finnegan grow
up and see their graduation, and get married,” he
said. “I was feeling a great sense of loss of not
being able to be involved in the rest of their lives.” but ultimately knew they would just have to get
His career would take a turn as well, while
worried at first, the feeling didn’t last long.
“The first day I was worried about not being
able to fly anymore,” the former F-15 pilot said.
“After that day I got over myself, realized that
wasn’t what was important and moved on and
recognized that this was just a challenge I needed
to overcome.”
Keeney spent the next five months undergoing
four more rounds of sickening and fatigue-in-
ducing chemo. The balloons from his kids which
decorated his bleak hospital room to keep him
company, and the support from his wife kept his
spirits high. motherapy and was selected for an experimental
His morale also received a nice boost when he
promoted to the next rank while in the hospital.
“The chief of staff and vice chief of staff of
the Air Force came to promote me to lieutenant
colonel,” he said. “I was in my hospital gown and
mask during the whole thing and they even put
my rank on the gown.”
Seventeen months later and after recovering
from the chemo, Keeney’s cancer went into re-
mission. He was able to live normally again re-
gained his flying status and began the next step
of his career as a squadron commander.
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“I was hired in January of 2012 to go be the
squadron commander of the 49th Fighter Train-
fundamentals courses at Columbus Air Force
Base in Mississippi,” Keeney said. “Then I went
to train for six months before taking command.”
Keeney completed his training and began his
trip back to Washington D.C. On the way there
he stopped at the cancer hospital where he would
see a familiar face.
“One of my friends and hero’s, Col. Michael
Stapleton was there being treated for a different
type of leukemia,” he said. “He was one of the
guys I looked up to and it was tough seeing him
like that.”
Keeney wished his friend well and returned
home to his family. All seemed well, he was 18
months in remission and his house was packed
up for his new assignment.
During his final medical evaluation prior to
permanent change of station, he received some
heart-wrenching news.
Just nine days before his change of command,
Keeney had relapsed.
“The doctor let me drive home that night to
tell my family,” he said. “I was worried that I had
gotten lucky the first time and I wouldn’t be so
lucky with the second time. We had just started
to relax and it felt like the rug got yanked out
from under me.”
His wife Aimee and two boys were worried,
through it again together.
The family packed their suitcases, these be-
longings being the only possessions they would
have for the next year. Just two days later Kee-
ney was airlifted down to M.D. Andersen cancer
center in Texas, the same center where he had
visited his friend just four days prior.
“Unfortunately my friend didn’t make it, he
passed away after I got there,” he said, gazing in
the distance as he reminisced. “It was a difficult
environment to be in; people literally right next
to you are dying.”
Keeney underwent two more rounds of che-
stem cell transplant in September of 2012.
“Essentially what the doctors did was give me
enough chemo to kill my bone marrow and then
give me stem cells from umbilical cords,” he said.
“It was a new procedure; I was actually patient
number two on the study.”
This procedure left him too sick to hardly
move or eat. The short 15 step walk to the bed-
room was almost too daunting a task.
“Aimee knew that I responded well to chal-
lenges and got me a pedometer,” Keeney said.
“My challenge was to take one more step than the
day prior. Every day I would try to walk around
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the apartment, after just 100 steps or so I would
have to sleep for hours, that’s how incredibly ex-
hausted I was.”
He continued to recover over the next year
and a half, regained his flying status, and received
a job offer to be a squadron commander in May
of 2014.
“I got a call from Col. Michael King asking
if I wanted to go be a remotely piloted aircraft
squadron commander at Creech Air Force Base,”
he said. “It was one of the most exciting ques-
tions of my life, I thought my second chance to
command had passed and I would never be able
to, let alone to command Airmen in combat.”
He took command in June of 2014 and even
though he only served as squadron commander
for less than a year, he led the 15th Reconnais-
sance Squadron through some impressive mile-
stones.
“Keeney led the mighty pigeons of the 15th RS
for only 11 months in accomplishing over 21,000
hours flying hours, 348 airstrikes, 570 enemy
personnel eliminated,” said Col. Julian Cheater,
432nd Operations Group commander. “Keeney
aced his squadron command tour by setting high
standards, holding people to those high stan-
dards, and rewarding top performance.”
“Being the squadron commander for the 15th
was the best job I’ve ever had,” he said. “It was a
whirlwind and I’m eternally grateful for leader-
ship giving me the chance to command and take
care of people and ultimately help them fulfill
their dreams.”
Even Aimee made an impact on the 15th RS
and Creech AFB. She created a strong spouses
group, held multiple events, and generating
newsletters to keep everyone informed.
“Not only did Keeney and his leadership team
perform well in all mission areas, but they helped
take care of the Hunter Family,” Cheater said.
“Along with his vivacious wife, Aimee, the Kee-
ney’s organized a squadron luau, and were in-
strumental in helping organize a Halloween Par-
ty that was attended by over 380 trick-or-treating
Hunters and mini-Hunters. What an awesome
event.”
Keeney attributes his success and survival
largely to his wife.
“There’s no way I could have done it without
Aimee,” Keeney said. “She was always positive,
supportive, and did all the research on every-
thing I was going through. Going to the hospital
was a daily occurrence and she was always right
by my side.”
The rest of the world didn’t stop for her to
take care of her husband; Aimee still had to be
a mother.
“I’m truly amazed she was able support me,
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