A Rally for Ryder Fundraiser

Meet Ryder... He's an amazing little boy who has been through so much in his first 2 years of life.

Ryder was born December 30, 2011.  He was a healthy 8lbs. 12oz. baby boy.  Or so we thought...  In the next 24 hours we would come to find out Ryder was very sick.  Ryder wasn't interested in eating.  The nurses assured us there was nothing to worry about.  The next day, the doctors felt Ryder's abdomen looked distended.  This was the first time anyone thought something may be wrong.  The doctors suspected a bowel obstruction.  We were then transferred to the Cleveland Clinic for further tests.  At 5 days old Ryder had his first major surgery to confirm his diagnosis of Hirschsprung's Disease. This is a rare genetic disease. This disease only affects 1 in 5000 births. Hirschsprung's disease occurs early in fetal development. Basically with Hirschsprung's Disease you are missing the nerves in your intestines that contract and relax to push waste through and out.  Ryder's case was extreme, meaning he had Total Colonic Hirschsprung's Disease affecting his entire large intestine and a section of small intestine.  Ryder has had his entire large intestine removed and is living with two ileostomies.

Ryder is now two years old. He has had 5 major surgeries and has spent a lot of his life in the hospital.  The next major surgery for Ryder is coming up in early September.  This will be the first of two planned surgeries.  

Throughout Ryder's long battle with this disease, his parents, Laura and Nick have been beyond amazing!  They are both fortunate to have medical backgrounds and were able to understand terms and procedures that the rest of us couldn't.  This helped with months of at home care, including daily IV's and administering multiple medications.  They have taken off so much time from work to both be there every day that Ryder has spent in the hospital.  Unfortunately, even with good insurance, the medical bills pile up quickly.  Ryder struggles with eating typical food and gets the majority of his nutrition though special formula that is very expensive and is not covered by insurance.  My hope with this fundraiser is to ease some of the financial burdens off of Ryder's parents.  

Ryder's story is not over.  No one knows what the future holds but at this point he is a thriving smart two year old little boy.  Ryder loves Legos , Mr. Potato Head and hats!  He is an amazing little boy who is loved by so many people!

Here's how you can help!

With the help of an amazing group of Teachers Pay Teachers authors, I have put together a bundle of some awesome products!  This bundle includes $90 worth of products including an exclusive Melonheadz clipart set that can't be purchased anywhere else!  Check out all of the incredible products that are included:

Look at this adorable set of Ryders!  You can only get it in this bundle!

 

(Click on any of the pictures above to view the product.)

Every single dollar donated is appreciated and needed!  

If anyone is interested in making a direct donation, you can click the button below.

 

Thank you SO MUCH!!

Special thank you so the authors who donated products: Melonheadz Illustrating, Rececca Seeley, Terri Izatt, Brinca into Bilingual Mrs Nicolau, Sara Prue, Leslie Hope, Laura Boriack, Sara Frampton, Kindergarten Kristy, Good Enough Teacher, Kristen Stefanko, and Erin Blatnica.