On Saturday, friends, family and others lined up for a car parade by the home of East Islip High School student Taylor Ryan, 18, who is getting ready to graduate this year. Credit: Newsday / Shelby Knowles

Self-isolating is nothing new to Taylor Ryan, as the treatment for the teen's cancer can compromise her immune system. But two months at home has brought her down, and this week's chemo was especially tough on her.

So on Saturday, friends, family and others lined up for a car parade by the home of the 18-year-old East Islip High School student, who is getting ready to graduate this year. It was an incredible display of compassion as people departed from their stay-at-home routines.

Perhaps 100 vehicles drove by with people waving and calling out cheers of support, honking their horns and blasting her favorite tune, "Fight Song." 

"Our goal is to put a big smile on her face," said Jennifer Rosand, 42, of Islip Terrace, the teen's godmother who helped organize the parade.

Ryan, for her part, said she was dazzled by the sight of her friends, grandparents and nieces driving by in all those vehicles, some decorated with balloons. Some dropped off candy, treats and home-baked cookies for her.

"I know there are people out there backing me up, but it's crazy to see all of them at once," she said.

The community gathering took on a deeper meaning as it arrived during these troubled days of coronavirus, Rosand said.

Friends and loved ones cheer Taylor Ryan, who has been battling...

Friends and loved ones cheer Taylor Ryan, who has been battling cancer and hopes to study nursing. Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.

"It shows how the community can come together, that we don't let anyone fight alone," she said.

Ryan has been undergoing chemotherapy on and off for 10 years to treat a cancer called histiocytosis, a degenerative neurological disease that attacks the front of her brain. When it flares, it brings on extreme headaches, a fuzziness in her thinking, seizures and a loss of feeling in her right side.

Despite undergoing some 300 chemo infusions over the years, she played soccer for the school up to last year, when she suffered her third relapse of the disease. When the chemo compromises her immune system, Ryan stays at home, and when people visit there are no hugs and kisses.

"We've been wiping down doorknobs and light switches for a long time," said her mother, Teresa Ryan, 42.

Taylor Ryan, right, sitting in back of an SUV, right,...

Taylor Ryan, right, sitting in back of an SUV, right, with her family, including father John, sister Samantha, and mother Teresa, watch the parade by her East Islip home Saturday. Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.

Taylor Ryan has been self-isolating out of concern about COVID-19, and she misses the contact with her young nieces and friends from high school. Then came Monday's chemo treatment, which left her with hours of dry heaving and crippling pain in her back and legs.

Ryan is not one to complain, Rosand said. The teen, she added, is one of the strongest people she knows. Ryan has dedicated years raising awareness and money for charities and families in need.

"If she's hurting, she won't let you know. She'll put a smile on her face," Rosand said. "She doesn't want you worrying about her."

That's why when Ryan asked her parents to take her to the emergency room Monday, they knew this was bad. At the hospital, she received morphine to blunt the pain and antibiotics for the low-grade fever. She returned to the hospital Tuesday for another scheduled bout of chemo, as well as Wednesday and Thursday, though the doctors, seeing her discomfort, let her miss the Friday treatment.

Despite such rigors, she will graduate this year and has been accepted to St. Joseph's College in Patchogue where she will study nursing.

On Saturday, as the car parade slowly passed by, Ryan sat in the open rear compartment of the family's white SUV, bundled in a Rangers blanket. She thrilled at seeing so many people she loved. It made her cry.

And it made her smile.

Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV Credit: Newsday

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Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV Credit: Newsday

Updated 52 minutes ago Romantic spas in the winter ... What's up on LI ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV

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