The Ryan’s Lion Organization

The Ryan’s Lion Organization is dedicated to the of en-COURAGE-ment of those who are suffering. The mission of the organization is to provide courage, hope, empathy and love to those enduring difficult experiences.

Almost every human being will face, at some point in his or her life, a significant and life-altering physical, emotional or mental challenge. The death of a close loved one, a traumatic injury, a chronic illness, a difficult interpersonal relationship, or a draining emotional challenge will affect nearly every one of us at some time in our lives. The Ryan’s Lion Organization recognizes that human existence brings challenges, sometimes severe challenges, for which there is no immediate relief.  However, our aim as an organization, is to help ease the burdens of those who are suffering.

We provide a small, blue plush lion as a token of love and en-COURAGE-ment to those who are struggling.  Each Ryan’s Lion™ comes with a legacy, because each lion is passed to the recipient by another individual who has faced a significant challenge.  Consequently, each lion has the ability to serve as both a tangible and a symbolic source of comfort and strength. A Ryan’s Lion™ can represent empathy when it is passed on to you from someone who has experienced a challenge similar to yours.  Or, it can simply be a representation of the fact that the giver wants to express sympathy and encouragement, even if he or she is struggling to find the right words to say.

You can read more about the Ryan’s Lion Story, and view stories from others who have been a recipient of a Ryan’s Lion.™  You can sponsor or purchase a lion of your own to provide lions to hospitals, women’s shelters, and individuals who are having significant challenges.

The Ryan’s Lion Organization was founded in 2008 by Ryan Allred, a 16-year-old social entrepreneur who knew a small idea could make a difference.

Bridger’s Story: “I am the Bravest Boy in the Whole World”

Lion #115

On October 1st 2008 our four-year-old son Bridger started to run a fever.  This was not a big surprise because it was fall. Every year of his life up to this point he had been hospitalized for a minimum of seven days due to lung related infections. This always seemed to happen in the fall and winter months.  His doctors never diagnosed any chronic
condition.

On October 3rd a chest x-ray showed that his lungs were in good condition, which was a relief.  I was paranoid that he had another infection in his lungs that would put us back in the hospital again. So, this seemed to be good news and I now had hope that this was just some small sickness that would quickly pass. But things didn’t ever improve. Bridger continued to get very high fevers for the next 10 days.  When his fevers would spike he would get the shakes and his fingers, toes and around his mouth would turn blue.  When I took him back to the Dr. and they saw his appearance they became immediately concerned and sent us straight to the emergency room.  For the next five days they ran a battery of tests and performed a brochoscopy.  During this time it was first mentioned that he might have Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD).

In the hospital Bridger continued to go downhill.  His vitals were erratic, his stomach began hurting and he became very dehydrated. As a result he had to receive IV fluids.  This was very problematic because Bridger’s veins kept collapsing.  The doctors decided to tap the IV directly into his artery. This is a painful procedure.  While the IV was being placed, Bridger was whispering, “be brave, be brave” and he was.  On our fifth day in the hospital his heart rate skyrocketed and his face started to swell.  He was constantly complaining about stomach pain and was very thirsty.  From an ultrasound, we found out that his gut had stopped working. Through that night his heart rate remained high and his blood pressure began dropping.  We were admitted into the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

In the meantime, blood tests that had been sent out to a specialty lab confirmed a bacterial infection in his blood that had originated in his intestines.  The particular infection he had was typical in patients with CGD.  We where relived to know that we had likely found the source of the problem, but were very worried due do his present condition.  They put him on three potent antibiotics right away, but he was still getting worse.  Bridger’s body was going into septic shock.  His liver and kidneys began shutting down and he got water around his heart.  His body was shutting down.   The entire day they worked at keeping him alive. We weren’t allowed to be with him until they were finally able to stabilize him.  When we finally got to see him, he was fully sedated and we were told not to try to communicate much with him because they didn’t want him to be stimulated.  He was hooked up to a ventilator and had multi-port IV’s in both legs and in his neck.  He had as many as 10 meds going into him at the same time.  He was a very sick little boy and there was no guarantee he would make it.  Every hour in the PICU brought something new, both good and bad.  His little body was pumped full of fluid and was nearly twice his normal size.  His feet began turning a deep purple and black because his small blood vesicles had collapsed and cut off much of his circulation.  We were warned that he would likely lose some of his toes and maybe even his feet.  But this was a secondary concern at this point.  The doctors found that the infection had settled in his gallbladder, which had become extremely inflamed.  They decided to take Bridger to surgery and remove his gallbladder, but were concerned about his weakened condition.  It was a risky procedure, but we couldn’t take the chance of having his gallbladder rupture because the subsequent spread of infection would likely have claimed his life.  After many kisses and a whole lot of hope and prayers, they rushed him into surgery.  A couple of hours later, he had made it through surgery and a very enlarged, infected gallbladder had been removed.  Following the surgery his condition stabilized somewhat.

Over the next few days the doctors worked on opening his blood vesicles in his feet. With a lot of prayers and excellent care his feet began to improve.  The skin in the affected areas eventually sloughed off, but his feet and toes were saved.  Many of the nurses thought this was a miracle.  From this point the road to recovery was long.  Bridger remained sedated and on the ventilator for about two and a half weeks during which time he turn five years old.  As he continued to get better we would talked to him and tell him that we loved him and if he wanted to tell us that he loved us he could squeeze our hand.  He always gave a good tight squeeze.

We spent many hours by his side reading to him and holding his hand.  The rest of the time was spent praying.  Eventually, the sedatives were reduced and he became more responsive.  The first time we sat him up he couldn’t even hold his head up by himself.  He had lost much of his strength.  On Halloween we got to move out of the PICU to the oncology unit, where he slowly gained back his strength.  Once strong enough, he had to go back into surgery to remove part of his lung that was infected and permanently damaged.  During this time he was officially diagnosed with CGD.  CGD is an immunodeficiency where white blood cells don’t produce hydrogen peroxide to kill off antigens.  His body couldn’t fight certain bacterial infections, molds, or funguses.  This is a very rare disorder, with only about 20 new cases each year in the United States.  Luckily there is a cure for it; a bone marrow transplant.

He was discharged from the hospital the day before Thanksgiving. Bridger received his Lion from Ryan and Ryan’s Aunt Marilee shortly after we got home.  It helped us several times to have courage during the many follow up doctors visits, which required blood draws and other tests that were preformed as prescreens for transplantation.  Eight months later with a willing donor and thousands of people praying and giving support to him, Bridger underwent ten days of intense chemotherapy and received his new bone marrow.  He was hospitalized during the transplant for approximately one month and had a smile almost the entire time.  His Lion was with him during those long days and he hugged it tight whenever he needed to be extra brave.  Bridger is now 80 plus days after transplant and getting stronger every day. We are out of the hospital but have visits a couple times a week.  Before the transplant he told a nurse, “I am the bravest boy in the whole world.”  I know his inspiring attitude and courage have been shaped by three things; first, his Lion with it’s accompanying stories of others who have had to endure.  Second, the love and support he has received from so many.  And third, his faith in a loving Heavenly Father who will do what is best for him.

There have been a couple of occasions since Bridger received his Lion, where he has seen others who are suffering.  The first thing he has suggested is to give them a Lion.  I know it has been a great comfort to him.  May it bring you and your family the same hope, courage and Love it has brought us.  From the heart of a little boy who understands, please accept this gift.

Read more about Bridger’s story at janaleeg.blogspot.com

Bridger has passed on lions to…

Bridger #143

Bridger #144

Bridger # 145

Whitney #149 (Sponsored by the 2008 SHS Boys Varsity Soccer Team*)

*Sponsored lions are paid for and donated by third party donors who choose a Lion Ambassador like Bridger, and request delivery to a particular recipient. For more information, visit our “Sponsor a Ryan’s Lion” page.

Mike’s Story: “I’ve just come up against a bit of ‘experience…’ “

“I’ve just come up against a bit of experience….experience is a brutal teacher.  But you learn, my God you learn!”  –CS Lewis

[Editor's Note: Mike fell and was seriously injured while washing windows on a commercial building. This is is story of survival and recovery]

In my case I’m not sure a strong back is the end result of adversity, which is another story for another time, but there certainly is an adapted/personalized way each of us gets through our adversities.

Nine lives you ask?  I don’t know, but as one of my sisters said: “his guardian angels (it must take a team) are certainly working overtime.”  Or, as another sister put it: “That’s why I live a simple life, so my guardian angels are free to spend their time watching over Mike.”

I had been a mortgage broker by profession, but when the mortgage market crashed in 2007 I lost my business and my source of income, so in order to put food on the table for my family, I returned to my post-high school job of window cleaning. You might consider window cleaning to be a simple job and something that doesn’t take much training. However, I’m talking a 400 foot rope connected to the top of a building anywhere from 4 stories on up to 24 stories high.  Add a second rope for back up.  Attach yourself (in a full body harness) to one of those ropes.  Then attach to the other a small padded bench with a safety clip for a water bucket and then repel off the top of the building to clean the windows.  That kind of window cleaning!

On the 18^th of June 2009 I took a job cleaning windows in a nearby city. It was a 5 story office building.  I was looking forward to a day of swinging from the ropes out in the fresh air, and hoping to finish early enough to make it home in time for a scheduled date with my wife. After hooking up my backup line and stepping over the edge of the building to get into my chair…somewhere between clipping my water bucket to my chair and trying to sit down in my chair…my anchor system failed me.  At this point I am on the roof of a 5 story building which means I am 6 stories up.  As I fell through the air my first thought was “when is my backup line going to catch me?” Once it did, my second thought was “ok now what am I going to hit?”  My third thought, oddly enough was “Laura (my wife) is going to kill me.”

As I had not yet sat down in my chair and it had gone out from under me I fell backwards and I assume at this point I was upside down.  I dropped about 3 stories and since my back up line was hooked up near an air conditioning unit on the other side of the building, I also did a pendulum swing about 2-3 stories sideways at which point me and  my equipment) went through 6 panes of glass in the middle of the building.  My head must have gone through the middle window (2 panes per window), my equipment through the bottom, my teeth through one of the frames separating the windows, and my knee through the top and biggest window. (See photo)

After gathering myself and sitting upright (now in my safety harness dangling from my rope) I could see through the reflection of the broken glass that my head was covered in blood.  Then I realized blood was spurting from my head.  I looked inside the window and there was a man standing there with his hands on his head in shock.  I yelled to him to call 911.  I realized that I was in serious danger and that I either had to climb in through the broken window to get off of the ropes before I bled to death, or I had get back into my chair and finish the repel to the ground.  It didn’t take me long to decide I didn’t want to get any closer to the glass again, so I used a trick I learned a few weeks before working with some of the other “ropes guys” and I leaned over backwards so I could kick my feet above my head and use my legs to pull my chair down to my level and lift my body up so I could get back into the chair.  Once back in the chair I looked back over to the man still standing in the window frozen with shock and yelled again for him to call someone.  I finished my repel  to the ground, stepped out of my chair, unhooked my safety line and walked far enough away from the building to be able to sit down on something other than broken glass.

By the time I started to sit down there was already a handful of people at my side to help.  Someone placed a paper towel of sorts over the largest laceration on the right side of my face to slow the bleeding. The ambulance must have been around the corner because it did not take long for them to get there. (This is not the first time I’ve been wheeled off in an ambulance, but that is a story for another day).

Once I arrived at the emergency room, the Doctors made their initial assessment of me and deemed me worthy of trauma 4…whatever that is.  The room cleared, for the most part, and one of the people left behind began to take off the wonderful neck brace the EMTs had put me in. In the meantime the paper towel that was initially applied to my head to slow the bleeding had been trapped under the neck brace.  So once the neck brace came off and the towel, they discovered my neck sliced to heck right where my jugular (carotid artery) is.

This immediately brought all of the doctors back into the room in haste.  Another whirlwind of questions ensued and I lay there confused.  One of the many in the room put his hand on my right shoulder and said: “They have just upgraded you from level 4 trauma to level 1.  What this means is there are going to be a lot more doctors, a lot more questions, and basically you’re going to get the entire hospital’s attention for a little while”.  Evidently it’s a big deal to have 3 lacerations in a Zorro “Z” shape on your neck directly above your carotid artery!

In addition to the cuts by my carotid artery, I had essentially slit both wrists and had a total of 19 lacerations that required either stitches or staples.  I broke 3 teeth, fractured my knee cap, and tore some tendons in my right knee.  In spite of all of this, miraculously none of it ended up being deep enough to actually hit any of the arteries or cause anything other than some superficial wounds–nothing that could not be fixed with a few good doctors and some recovery time.  I truly feel blessed, watched over, and protected.  There are so many what if’s that I can’t count them all, I believe it to be more than coincidence that I was so protected.

I began this story speaking about coming out of adversities with a stronger back …or a better outlook on life, or whatever it may be for you.  So often in life we spend our time worrying about ourselves so much that we don’t take time to show any concern for those around us.  The Ryan’s Lion I was given, means so much to me because I know I’m not alone.  I can learn from others’ experiences, feel some empathy for them, and most importantly, spend some time showing some concern for someone other than myself.  I hope my experience I have shared here can be just that to someone else out there.  I hope in writing it I can do someone other than myself some good.  I know, however, that in writing it I have solidified some of life’s lessons in my own mind.  I have gained so much from those lessons, and in doing so gained a greater sense of optimism and hope for the future…I hope you can too!  Thanks Ryan!

A Ryan’s Lion in Action

We’re grateful to Jacob’s family for providing this adorable photo of Jacob snuggling with his Ryan’s Lion.  If you have a photo of your Ryan’s Lion you would like us to post, just shoot us an email and attach your photo.  ryanslionorganization@gmail.com

Carolena’s Story: Life is All About What You Do With Plan B

A note from Ryan:
Carolena Flint, one of our generous lion sponsors, died on August 6, 2009 after a truly courageous battle with cancer. Carolena was one of the first to embrace the Ryan’s Lion™ cause, and donated generously to provide lions to others. If you are lucky enough to be a recipient of a lion with the name “Carolena” embroidered on the collar, you are holding a tangible piece of her effort to lift and comfort others, even in the midst of her own suffering. One of Carolena’s favorite quotes was, “Life is all about what you do with Plan B.” So take your lion, squeeze him as tight as you can, and hopefully you’ll be able to draw some of Carolena’s rare kind of courage from this little lion that came to you directly from her.

Carolena’s Story:

In Spring of 2006, Carolena had two big problems. One was a lump the size of a bar of soap on her left thigh, the other was the mental health of her beloved husband. True to her personal commitment to the service of others, she postponed her own health concerns as she attended to her companion. He was battling a troubling lifetime struggle with mental illness and he required full time care.

In May, at the insistence of friends and family, she finally took the time to look into her own health. She knew it would not be possible to care for him if her own health was in jeopardy. It didn’t take long to diagnose stage three Sarcoma Cancer that had grown to the size of a volleyball. The cancer had not entered to the bloodstream, so they were able to save her leg.

The wound site was large. Over the course of the next two years, she had eight more surgeries to the area to remove damage caused by infections. The Infectious Disease Department and the University hospital near her home identified ten different bacteria in her system that prevented the large wound from healing. She wore a vacuum pump to clear out the wound for nearly eight months and spent seven weeks going for frequent Hyperbaric Chamber infection treatments.

In August of 2007, as a last effort to try to save her leg from amputation, doctors did a “living muscle flap” which is easily explained by saying that the six pack stomach muscles were loosened, turned around, and and placed in her thigh. This brought a viable blood supply to the leg and the infections cleared. I would always refer to this leg as a scientific work of art, and her “bionic leg.” I enjoyed showing off her amazing leg to anyone brave enough to take a look!

During the next six months she was eventually able to gain enough strength to walk with the assistance of a cane. She was not content to settle for just what the doctors expected. She always wanted to accomplish just a little bit more. The first day she lifted her own leg up on to the exercise machine she couldn’t get the smile off her face!

Soon though, cancer showed up again in her lungs. This time part of the lung had to be removed, followed by more radiation. Upon completion of that, yet another cancer in the lobe just below the one they had already removed was taken and also treated with radiation.

Recovery was hard, and her immune system was taxed with so many radiation treatments. Once again, infection manifested in her thigh and they needed to surgically clean it out. A biopsy of the tissue they removed showed cancer had found its way back to her leg again.

Carolena accepted this diagnosis with dignity. She was thoughtful of the Doctor and his staff who had to deliver the bad news, and was calm as they discussed the new treatment. Surgery was successful and she was discharged to a rehabilitation home to recover. Her friends and family had taken care of her at her home during all of this ordeal and she felt that a little respite for all of them would help relieve some of what she felt was a burden on those of us who had loved and cared for her over the last three years.

After seven weeks of full time care at this facility, my husband and I convinced Carloena to finish her recovery at our home. We had to tempt her by reminding her that I was a good cook and that she could have her own remote control and a view of the neighborhood from her bed.

During her stay in our home Carolena was brave and grateful, even in the worst of pain. She never forgot to thank me for help, even when I woke her up during the night to give her scheduled medication. I often caught her with her brow furrowed in concentration as she struggled to overcome each wave of pain that her many medications never seemed to completely control.

One day, after a painful trip to the bathroom with her body draped over her walker to walk, she eased her legs back on to the bed as tears streamed down her cheeks. I felt that finally I would see that side of Carolena that nobody ever saw: that she was mad at the cancer, frustrated with the pain and tired of being sick! I knelt beside her and waited for her to recover enough to tell me about all the unjust and unfair things she had survived and how she deserved and wanted to heal! She wiped tears and explained that her other leg, the “good leg” felt as if it would break with each step. This uncomplaining brave woman was dealing with pain that large from moment to moment, and yet so accepting of the process. And still she refused to complain.

A new MRI of the knee revealed cancer so aggressive it had penetrated quickly into the bone this time. The proposed treatment was to replace the knee, and possibly amputate if necessary.

As she left for the hospital, I helped wheel her in a wheelchair to a waiting car. I was overwhelmed with her example of fortitude and strength. She was resolved to fight in spite of her excruciating unrelenting pain.

A few hours before her knee surgery a CT was done to explore her shoulder, back, and stomach pain. Her doctor and his nurse, with whom Carolena had developed a close friendship, came to deliver the bad news. Carolena told me that it took some time for her to realize that they were saying they couldn’t help. Each had tears streaming down their faces as they explained that the other areas that were hurting also showed cancer and that there was too much this time…

They modified the surgery plan and removed as much cancer and bone as they could, then stabilized the leg with a rod from hip to knee in effort to make her more comfortable. As I entered the Hospital room she looked up to me and said. “Its cancer. There really is a reason it hurts!” I suppose she had wondered all this time what could hurt so badly, but shucks, its Cancer! That explains everything!

Hospice Care at our home was busy. People lined the hallway to have one last conversation with her. She refused medication in order to be more alert when someone from far away was coming to see her. Dear friends and neighbors stayed with us all day and family was here all night.

About a week and a half before her death, her husband was picked up from his mental health care facility and brought to her side. He was aware that she was too sick to come see him and he knew that she was in a great deal of pain. He stopped at the doorway long enough to hear her say “Oh, Marvin!” and he stormed the bed where she lay, being so careful to not touch her at all and planted a firm kiss on her lips. He stayed for a few hours, coming in and out of the room, and returning four times for one more kiss when it was time to go.

Cancer hurts. Carolena was so brave. Cancer is aggressive. Carolena was strong. Cancer took her away, but her legacy and example will long be the best part of knowing her, caring for her and being with her when she passed. Peaceful and pain free at last.

Carloena Barnes Flint was a happy, optimistic, friendly, hopeful, grateful soul. Each person that met her was sure to feel her sincere interest in them, and many felt that friendship from the first time they met. It was that hopefulness and gratitude that led most of us to endear to her as a life long example of strength and faith.

-Karlyn,
niece of Carolena

If you would like to order one of the Ryan’s Lions™ sponsored by Carolena, click here, and then click “add to cart”, then “go to checkout.” On the checkout page, type the name “Carolena” in the field that says, ”Name to be embroidered on Lion collar.”

Our Little Aiden

Lion # 133

Lion # 134

It was Easter morning, April 16, 2006.  I had been on bed rest for 5 weeks due to premature labor.   The labor was becoming more intense, and I decided I would need to go in for medication to help slow the labor.  The doctor had given me a test to determine the likelihood of delivery, and the results reported that I was not likely to deliver soon.  However, minutes later, my water broke.  The nurses and doctors stayed amazingly calm, although I was not.  I thought this meant that I would need to deliver our baby who was only at 26 weeks gestation.  They immediately gave me a shot to help mature the baby’s lungs, and informed me I would be airlifted to Methodist Hospital in Rochester, MN.  I knew this was serious.

I laid awake the next 24 hours watching the clock, waiting for the second shot that would help our baby’s lungs mature.  I prayed continuously that our baby would hang on and not decide to come yet.  Every morning I eagerly awaited the nurse to come in and hook me up so that I could hear the baby’s heartbeat as reassurance he was alright.  I felt that I was in good hands in Rochester knowing that I was only minutes from a delivery room should we need it.  The doctors and nurses were so kind to me.  They stayed in the room and chatted with me reassuring me that they handle babies at this gestational age all the time, and they knew just what to do.  I also knew it was in God’s Hands.

After ten days in Rochester, on April 26, 2006, the doctor had come earlier on her rounds and said to be prepared for another boring day in the hospital, which was fine with me.  Boring was a good thing these days.  But two hours later, the doctor stuck her head in the door and asked “How would you like to have a baby today?”  I thought she was joking at first, but she said that my lab results indicated that an infection had set in and the infection could do more harm than taking the baby now, so today would be the day.  My husband, John and I, were scared about the outcome.  I had to wait most of the day before it was time to deliver.  Pastor Ned came to visit and pray with us up until I went into the delivery room.

At 5:22 p.m. Aiden was born.  He weighed 3 lbs. 3 oz. and was 16 ½ inches long.  We got to see him for a short time before he was transferred to St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester where they have a Level 3 nursery.  He spent 4 weeks at St. Mary’s, first on a ventilator and then on a C-Pap.  He was taken off the C-Pap and then put back on with a small setback.  He had two blood transfusions in Rochester.  When he was strong enough, we were able to transfer him back to our home hospital in Eau Claire, WI.  He spent another six weeks in the special care nursery there due to needing oxygen.  He started to feed well, but just could not be without the oxygen.  He needed another blood transfusion to hopefully get him off the oxygen.

Finally, after ten weeks, Aiden was able to go home on July 6, 2006 which was one week shy of his actual due date.  Now he is a thriving 3-year-old boy who loves to do everything his older sister, Alexa, does.  He had some bumps along the way with sitting up, crawling, and eating, but he has overcome those things and is a healthy, happy boy who brings joy to our lives everyday with his radiant smile and bright blue eyes.

It took courage for me to lay still every day for 5 weeks, praying that today would not be the day our baby came.  I had a miscarriage prior to Aiden and was scared that he would be born too soon. It was hard to watch our little Aiden laying in his isolette with all the wires attached to him.  It wasn’t easy when it took the nurses longer to get him out of the isolette than the minutes we were allowed to hold him at first.  It wasn’t easy watching him get three blood transfusions.  But these were just little bumps in our road that helped me grow by not taking anything or anyone in my life for granted.  I learned about love and empathy of others from our friends and family as well as medical staff during this time.

I would like to pass the courage of the Lion to my two friends, Vicki and Jeanne.  They both are teachers.  They are both fighting cancer.  Vicki has been fighting cancer for two years and Jeanne just started her battle a few weeks ago.  Ironically, the mascot at our school is a Lion.  I pass these lions on to them with love and hope that their battles with cancer are just a little bump in the road on their long journey of life.

Aiden passed his lion on to…[Please click here if you currently own Lion #134]

Toward a common goal.

I recently participated in the Live wElle 5k and fun run put on by the family of one of our lion sponsors (see Elle’s Story Lion # 110). Hundreds of people attended the event to support the Live wElle Foundation. After the race, my mom related to me a powerful experience that she had while running the 5k. She said that a few minutes into the race as everyone was running up a certain hill, which was part of the course, it was amazing to see the many many people that were are pushing their way up the hill. Because of the incline of the hill it was one of the few times in the race where you could look back behind you and get this panoramic view of everyone who was participating in the event. She thought it was a remarkable image to see everyone exerting themselves to support a single cause.

Reflecting on this experience was again another reminder of all of the help and support that the Ryan’s Lion Organization has received during the past months. Although the effort that was put forth by those who supported the organization has not been something that you can take in all at once like you could at the race, It has been just as amazing to see the everything that has been given by those who have supported the Ryan’s Lion Organization. I would personally like to thank all of you one more time for the money, effort and time that you have given to help make us a success. Because of you, we are right on track to meet our goal of having 500 lions by August of 2009. Thanks again.

- Ryan

Marie – “Not a Lighter Load, But a Stronger Back to Carry It”

What do you do when you suddenly realize at age 60 that your husband’s business is facing bankruptcy? He has, until the last year or so, operated a fairly successful medium-sized business. Our living had been adequate to have a nice home, a few interesting trips. We were able to make good contributions to our church. We supported community programs. Our social life, though not lavish, was comfortable and we enjoyed entertaining friends. We found pleasure in furnishing transportation for Boy Scouts and other youth groups to their camping grounds, etc. Many times we commented how good life was, we could not ask for more happiness.

Then gradually the handwriting on the wall began to come clearly into focus. There just seemed no way to head things back up. You just can’t continue to lose money and build back at the same time. After my husband came from his banker, we quit kidding ourselves that things would change. There was nothing to do but face it.

I’d go to bed thinking I could shut the monstrous picture out of my mind. Sleep would only last for a few hours and then I was wide-eyed, trying to relive the past, correcting the mistakes we had made along the way. Or, I’d try to lay plans for what we could do for the future. At 60, your chances for good jobs aren’t plentiful. My training did not qualify me for today’s jobs. I could imagine the “Sorry, we can’t use you,” pop before my eyes. There were plenty of women to do the jobs I could do, even if I really humbled myself. Though we were still hanging on, I tried to lay concrete plans.

I tried to be cheerful and normal for the sake of my husband. I could see that he was trying just as hard. It was hard to keep up a conversation. I knew it pained him to ask about the business. I knew if there was any encouraging news, he’d tell me anyway. Most noticeable was the change of interests. No longer was I enthused to hear about some good bit of luck that happened to my friend. I watched people drive by with good cars, their boats or campers, and wondered why there were more deserving than we. I was Christian enough to believe the Ten Commandments and the one that said “thou shalt not covet” I was sure was meant me.

T.V. programs held no interest for some were too happy, which I was not; and other programs were full of problems and I didn’t need them. Radio irritated me, but the quiet left space in my mind to go over and over and try to solve our problems and soon I’d find myself too keyed up to settle to anything. I have several hobbies but could generate no enthusiasm for them. Suddenly, the treasures I had accumulated over the years lost their dearness.

I resented that others had what we had worked for and given every ounce of energy to. Through the jobs, my husband had helped so many needy persons, a boy who wanted to go to school, etc. I could hardly get food down my throat, the inside was so tight, and I couldn’t concentrate to read. Worry takes the enjoyment out of everything.

One message from this experience is to build a retirement as you go. We were always going to do this when we hit it good; but we plowed everything back into the business. Now the debts were ready to swallow it. We had given to the needy, and I couldn’t believe that I might be one of those in need. I thought I had had compassion on those in need (i.e., the many jars of fruit and cans of vegetables, etc.). I tried to pretend to be happy and keep it from others in the family, like our children who were in their early married years and needed no added burden or embarrassment they would feel for parents they had built such confidence in.

I had a continual lump in throat and I’d sleep to shut out the problems; but it would only last a while. Every drawer was torture to open, for it held things dear, and I wondered what to do with them. Jokes that used to be funny on longer had any humor.

Then, the bank foreclosed, and we

• tightened our belts,
• found we didn’t need all the things we’d been used to,
• ate out of our food storage,
• found we could get by with very little cash outlay

Harold started to sell the equipment, etc. It seemed he had a lot of guidance from somewhere. Things turned out good in most instances. He worked his sales like a game of chess. Each move made another possible. It would have been interesting to have recorded each move.

And the results:
Gradually, we could see the dawn of a new horizon. We had learned to meet things head on. No longer was there anxiety and dread of what was going to happen. I began to feel the joy of accomplishment of climbing out from under the load and found new appreciation for life.

The question of “Why?” had persistently come before me. Now it became, “What can I do about it?” I began to see the bankruptcy as a period of growth instead of tragedy. When I wondered if the Lord had turned his back on us, I knew I must keep trying and not turn my back on him. We would give Him the best we had and trust in His goodness. It was like being swept toward the falls and help was just standing on the bank doing nothing. But the thing I didn’t reckon with was that the Lord would be at the bottom to give His hand.

This is what I learned:
• that adversity can bring growth if we accept it as a blessing and not a tragedy–it all depends upon how we accept it;
• that doors will open, giving blessings that we never dreamed of;
• that to feel bitter and resentful is only a wasted life;
• that the Lord didn’t put us here to fail;
• that the greatest growth years should be ahead;
• that there’s no growth until we are sharpened on the grindstone of life (in fact, I feel sorry for completely happy people, where I used to envy them);
• that this is probably our “Gethsemane”–what we do with it is up to us. We know what Jesus did with His
• that where there’s contention, the Lord can’t dwell–in my case, this applies to contention in thinking and bad attitudes; and
• that our greatest contribution is to build lives–not to feel sorry for our lot.

Realizing this has helped to give me a sense of direction and a peace of mind that has eased my load measurably. I think I can now sincerely pray “not for a lighter load, but a back strong enough to carry it,” and I might add “to accept this crisis for what it can be–a blessing.”

Marie

Editor’s Note:

Marie is the great-grandmother of Ryan, the Ryan’s Lion Organization founder. Five years after Marie’s death, we had our first Organization Fundraiser. Just days before the fundraiser, family members found a crocheted afghan that Marie had made and donated it to the fundraiser raffle with the following note:

“This lap afghan was made by Ryan’s great-grandmother, Marie, sometime in the 1990’s. She would have been in her late 80’s when it was made. It was not unearthed in a corner of her home until just lately (She had many corners!) As a family, we were not sure who should get this afghan. She loved Ryan and we know that she would want to help him with this awesome project.”

Marie’s lion, Lion #125 was then created in her honor.

Marie’s Lion was passed on to…Mike.

Bryan’s Story – Defying all Odds

Our son, Bryan, was born at 27 weeks gestation.  Already the mother of three, I knew what labor pains felt like.  But it was way too early, it couldn’t be happening NOW.  But it was.  I had already been on bed rest for 3 months with placenta abruptia.  We went to the hospital thinking they would give me something to stop the labor and we would go home and deliver in another 3 months.  Our world turned upside down in the early morning hours of 22 February.

Bryan was delivered at a hospital that did not have a Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU): after all, it was too soon to be having a baby and who does that at 6 months?!  Thanks to a great OB and a fantastic pediatrician, Bryan survived the delivery weighing in at a whopping 2 lbs. 3 oz. – twice the size they expected him to be.  He was rushed off by ambulance to the closest hospital with a NICU.  Now we were separated with Bryan in one hospital and me in another.

He had many ups and downs over his 3-month stay in the NICU.  How do you get used to those phone calls telling you to hurry to the hospital because he might not make it much longer?  We had many such calls. Some of the diseases he had were: a hole in his heart, respiratory distress, neonatal sepsis, apnea, bradycardia, and hypotension to name a few.  Then he developed necrotizing enterocolitis.  He was in critical condition and needed a pediatric surgeon.  The local surgeon was going out of town so Bryan was transferred to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.  Upon his admittance to the NICU we were told he was the sickest baby in the unit and that he probably would not make it, but they would do all they could.  He was in so much pain!  His belly was distended and discolored.  We felt so helpless!  Then we received a miracle!  Bryan began to improve without the need for surgery.  Alas, we had crossed yet another hurdle.  We stayed in Primary’s for one month then transferred back to the hospital closer to our home and family.

After he learned how to suck, maintain his body temperature and was consistently gaining weight, we were allowed to bring our miracle baby home!  He came home on oxygen and a heart monitor.  We were told he would probably have vision problems and, due to lung problems, would not be able to run and play like the other children.  That was OK with us.  He was alive and coming home.

That was 20 years ago!  He defied all odds.  He can see with perfect vision.  He has played soccer his entire life.  He was a high school wrestler.  He has been able to accomplish all he has ever desired to do.  He is currently serving a mission for our church in Mexico.  We only have our Heavenly Father, our wonderful pediatrician and the awesome NICU staff to thank for our little miracle.

Bryan passed a lion on to … Jacob

Social Entrepreneurship

Thanks to Loveable Labels for helping us get the word out about Ryan’s Lions

It is a fact of life that with children, items get left behind and things get lost. Lovable Labels has a fun and unique way to identify children’s belongings. Our labels are extra touch (dishwasher and microwave safe) colourful and super cute! Discover Lovable Labels and say goodbye to lost items and the lost and found bin forever!

Whether your children are attending daycare, school or camp Lovable Labels are a must have! Products range from sticker labels, shoe labels, clothing labels, bag tags, medical and vital ID wristbands and much more!

For further information on Lovable Labels products, fundraising opportunities or becoming part of the Lovable Labels’ team, please visit our website: www.lovablelabels.ca or contact us at info@lovablelabels.ca / Toll Free: 1-866-327-LOVE (5683).

 

Fundraiser is successful! Thanks Everyone

 

 

We are so grateful to our friends and sponsors who made the Ryan’s Lion Fundraiser such an overwhelming success!

 

We especially thank the following contributors:

• Karlyn Naylor, and the Naylor family who helped spearhead the event (Aunt Karly you are the best!)
• Mapleton City Youth Council provided several volunteers to run the games, help with setup and cleanup and make light work of keeping everything running smoothly
• Jill and Chelsea Whiting (and family) who tye-dyed 39 T-shirts for our Organization volunteers
• Matt Bushman: provided great live background music
• Kranky Franks Hot Dogs: provided food and drinks, and donated $1.00 from every dog they sold to the Ryan’s Lion Organization
• Cristobal Vallegos and his “jumpers”: provided the kids with hours of fun
• Gift Basket donors: Dozens of kind-hearted neighbors and friends, and some of our favorite Lion sponsors contributed gift baskets that were auctioned.

Also, a huge thank-you to our corporate and business sponsors:

• MyBarnwoodFrames.com
• Mity Lite Tables
• Falling Star Media
• Partyland
• Ream’s Grocery
• UPS Store
• Heavenly Touch Massage
• The Porch on Main
• Honey and Grains Bakery
• Cedar Fort Publishing
• Vaud Hanks
• Mountain Rock Music
• The Retreat Salon
• Gingers Garden Cafe
• MetalMoms.com
• IHC
• Sam’s Club
• AM PM Service
• Dominoes Pizza 
• NAPA/Brian’s Auto Service
• MEI-Travel/Stephne Hilgendorf
• Dan Hixen Photography
• Sunroc/Ace Hardware
• The Herb Shop.com

Thomas’ Story

 

Thomas’ Story  - Lions # 123 & 124

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. -Helen Keller ” 

 Lion #124

Thomas lived the happy-go-lucky life of an average five year old until half way through his kindergarten year.  On Thursday, February 5, 1997 all that changed.  It began as a typical day. No one could have guessed the turn of events.  Thomas went to kindergarten in the morning.  After school he went with his mother and sister to visit his friend who had chicken pox.  They took the friend some soap to stop his itching.  While the two mothers visited upstairs with his little sister by their side, Thomas and his friend were downstairs playing Nintendo.  Because the electrical cords weren’t long enough to sit on the couch the two boys sat on the table in front. 

Earlier that day, in preparation for a home appraisal, the mother of Thomas’ friend had lit scented candles throughout the house. Thomas and his friend did not notice that one of these was still burning on the table where they were sitting to play Nintendo.  The flames from the candle nipped at the back of Thomas’ shirt, catching the shirt on fire.  Thomas’ friend said to him, “Thomas, you’re on fire!”

Thomas panicked, as any young child would.  The screaming attracted the attention of the mothers and Thomas’ mom met him on the landing of the stairs as he ran up to find help.  She felt guided to push him to the ground where she rolled him side to side to put out the flames.

The next four days were a blur of grief and pain as they went from doctor to doctor trying to find the proper treatment for Thomas’ third degree burn.  When the course of action prescribed seemed to throw Thomas’ little body into shock at every treatment, his parents sought further help at the University of Utah Burn Trauma Unit.  Thinking they would be given a different type of ointment to apply, the family headed to Salt Lake Monday morning.  Within an hour Thomas was scheduled for surgery to graft slices of his healthy skin over major portions of his back.

Thomas lay sedated in his hospital bed for the next eight days as the grafts took time to heal.  Finally, Thomas was able to move.  He wanted to get up and play.  His first attempt to stand was similar to the young Bambi trying to find his legs.  In the twelve days since Thomas’ accident, with all the trauma to his young body, he had lost all the strength in his muscles.  He had to work for the next several months doing painful physical therapy to get his strength and mobility back.

Thomas has overcome much. For the five years following his accident, Thomas wore special Jobst undergarments every day that protected his fragile skin from getting bumped, scraped or sunburned.  This skin continues to be very sensitive (recently he developed sores from simply doing sit-ups on the hardwood gym flooring) but aside from a back full of scars, Thomas is blessed to be able to live the full and happy life of an average sixteen year old.

Peppy’s Story – Never, Ever, Ever, Give Up!!!

Lion # 126

Since I was an early teen I have struggled with depression and self image issues. Most of it started when I was fourteen. I thought that I had to have a boyfriend in order to be happy. I sought approval from everyone but especially my boyfriend. If I didn’t have a boyfriend I didn’t think that I was good enough for anyone or anything. When I had a boyfriend, however, it still wasn’t good enough for me. I still wasn’t pretty enough, I still didn’t get enough attention, I wasn’t good enough to be around. I was too tall, too skinny, to loud, to crazy. I thought everyone was just annoyed by me. If anyone even gave me a compliment I twisted their words in my head and turned it into something negative. I hated myself more than anything. I didn’t think that I deserved to live. I have attempted suicide three times. I’ve struggled with cutting and burning myself to punish myself for living and for not being good enough. Even when I was at my high points I would still cut and burn myself. It was a release for me. It felt good. I’ve seen several therapists and they each say that I show many, if not all, signs of sexual abuse. I don’t remember, or choose not to remember if that has ever happened to me. My brain blocks out anything that is too painful to remember. Even now, years later, we are still discovering memories that I have blocked out.

 I have been so lucky to have survived this long with all of the damage that my body and mind has been through. It’s a miracle. To anyone that struggles with similar things I would just like to say that you can get help. You can find your way out. Even when things look like they can’t get any worse, like it would be easier to just die, trust me, I know from experience. It is just as easy to live. If you keep on living you will get to experience even more. If you don’t think your life is going anywhere, you are wrong. God has a plan for you. He has a plan for all of us. He is the only one that can understand everything that you and I have been through. If you need help and you feel like you don’t have anyone who can help you, I challenge you to ask God. No matter how bad your relationship is with Him, no matter what religion you are, he will always reach out and take your hand.

 As for self image, everyone struggles with self image. You just have to figure out how to love yourself. It took me years to do and I still struggle with it today. You have to learn to accept what you have and work with it. You can’t change it, so there is no sense in crying over it. I don’t know how I learned to love myself. My parents sent me to a wilderness camp in order to help in curing my depression and it was there that I finally came to terms with myself.

 I chose the name peppy because I looked up push in a thesaurus and “pep” was one of the synonyms in the “mental determination” section, hence Peppy. I’ve had to push myself physically and mentally to survive this long so if you are struggling with similar things, be prepared for a long rough road to recovery. Don’t get discouraged. It can be done. And if you don’t get anything else from this story, learn this: to NEVER EVER EVER GIVE UP!! !!!!!

Kylie Lynn, Tiny Dancer

Lion # 119

It was Christmas Night 2008, and we were with family visiting and enjoying our holiday together. For some reason, I was getting really grumpy and really uncomfortable–more  than I had been the past week. That night, I took a Tylenol and thought that when I woke up, everything would have gone away. But when I woke up the next morning I still felt awful. I was having some pains, my back hurt, and all in all, I just wasn’t doing so good.

It was December 26th and I had just passed 28 weeks gestation with my pregnancy. So in my mind, the thought of our baby coming was non-existent. I had delivered my son on his due date, so at the earliest, I was expecting to deliver her was a week or two early. I just kept thinking that the pain and discomfort would go away. Finally, at 1:00 p.m. I called the doctor and explained the symptoms that I was experiencing. He told me to take a warm bath to see if that would help, and that he would check back with me for an update on my condition. Well, I was sitting on a heating pad at the time (which seemed to help a bit) and I didn’t really want to move and get in the bath.

Finally, a couple of hours later, I decided to take a bath, and by that time my husband got home from work. I got out of the bath, grabbed my What To Expect When You’re Expecting book and started reading up on my symptoms. My Doctor had called back wanting to see if I had started feeling any better. Nothing had changed and the pains had actually started getting closer together. He told me I could go to the hospital and get checked out. I debated about whether I wanted to go or not. I just knew that I would go and they would hook me up to the machines and tell me that I was not having the baby and send me home. Then I would be stuck with the bills. I continued reading in my book about signs of when you should go to the hospital. As I was reading, I noticed that I had all of the signs of labor, and then I had another big pain so I told my husband “Okay, I will go and have them give me some medicine and then we can come back home.”

My mom met us at the hospital so she could watch our son, and I told her we would be back down in about an hour or so. We got checked in and they asked me “Have you ever had premature labor before?”

I gave them a weird look and said, “I don’t even know what that means.” Soon after I got into the room, several nurses and people started showing up asking questions. The more questions I answered, the bigger their eyes got. I was wondering, “Why on earth are they looking at me like that?” Then they told me the doctor wanted me to have an IV. I resisted, telling them I was okay and had plenty of fluid and I didn’t need that (I am not a very good patient when it come to needles). I told them, “Just give me something for the pain and then I can be on my way.” Well, that poor nurse came back and said “Sorry the doctor said you have to have the IV and we also need to do a test to see if you are leaking any amniotic fluid.” That test only took a second and the nurse said “I can already tell you that you will not be leaving the hospital until you deliver.”

I was stunned. I was only 28 weeks along and I didn’t know what on earth I was going to do with our son (Michael). The Nurse said to me, “If you had not come when you did, you would have delivered this baby at home. Your membranes have ruptured and you are leaking amniotic fluid.” She said, “We will have to give you medicine called magnesium to try and slow down and hopefully stop your labor.” They also gave me shots to stop the labor and steroid shots to help Kylie’s lungs develop faster. The steroid shots are set up to be administered twice within a 48-hour period. Everything they were trying wasn’t working, and I was very uncomfortable. I had to be tilted with my head lower then my pelvis so there wasn’t any pressure.

All night I just prayed that she wouldn’t come and that her grandpa (who had passed away) could hold on to her for a few more weeks. Even with all the praying she still was determined to come. The next morning at 7:00 a.m., I called my husband, who had taken our son home the night before, and told him to hurry and come to the hospital because they were giving me an epidural to try and slow things down, but she was coming today. He hurried and got to the hospital. At about 8:00 a.m. they had a Neonatal specialist come and talk to us about what we should expect. I was coming off the magnesium medicine, which makes you fell really weird (like you are having an out-of-body experience), so when the doctor was talking to us, I was in my own little world. I wish I could remember more of what he said. The only thing I remember is my husband asking what the probability was that the baby would survive and hearing the doctor tell him that out baby had a 95-98% chance of survival.

At 10:23 a.m., I delivered Kylie in the operating room, the NICU staff was in a room right across the hall so they could start taking care of her as soon as she was born. Kylie weighed 2 pounds 7 oz and she was 14 1/2 inches long. As I mentioned earlier, the steroid shots are supposed to be given twice in a 48-hour period to enhance lung development. I was only given one dose. From the minute she was born, Kylie seemed to be doing really really well. She was on a ventilator for about 24 hours or less, which is truly amazing considering how tiny she was. She is a true fighter. We had some bumps along the way. Her umbilical cord I.V. punctured a hole in her abdominal wall, causing her stomach to fill up with her I.V. fluid. This led to digestion problems that made it necessary to feed her with a tube. Because of all of this, her body had a really hard time accepting her feedings. Since her stomach had so much air in it, it put pressure on her lungs, which made it hard for her to breathe, and so along with struggling with her feedings, she was put back on the CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) machine to help her breathe. This was considered a step backwards in her progress, and it made me very frustrated. My emotions were running wild, and it was at this time that I received a Ryan’s Lion™. It was passed on to me by my sister who had suffered from the stillbirth of one of her children. I would look at the lion every night and it helped give me courage that everything would eventually work out and things would be O.K.

One of the hardest things for us was not being able to hold Kylie and rock her like we should have been able to. For me, it seemed like I just went to the hospital and stared at her in her enclosed box. Another thing that was really hard on us was not being able to have that immediate emotional connection. But I will never forget how I felt when I first got to hold her. It was exciting and scary at the same time. She was so small I was nervous, but it was a very special time for me. They have such an amazing team of well-trained doctors and nurses at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. I truly believe the NICU staff, our religious beliefs (which allowed her to receive priesthood blessings), and all the prayers offered for Kylie, are the reason she did as well as she did. I am truly blessed to have such a beautiful MIRACLE that I was able to take home on March 22nd 2009.

If you  are struggling, hold on to your faith and everything will somehow be O.K.

While Kylie was in NICU, Kylie’s family received Lion # 101, “Junior.”

They passed their lion on and purchased a second lion, Lion # 119 – Kylie that was also passed on to someone else…

Ryan’s Lion Fun’D Raiser

Please join us on May 16, 2009 for a Eagle Scout Project Fundraiser sponsored by the Ryan’s Lion Organization. Our goal is to raise $3,000 so that we can purchase Ryan’s Lion™ courage lions in bulk and “en-COURAGE” people all over the country. We want to provide Ryan’s Lions to 500 more people by August 2009, and we need your help!

Where: Mapleton City Park, 50 South Main, Mapleton, Utah
When: Saturday, May 16 from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
Who: You and everyone you know!
What: Wear blue and join us for a whole host of great activities.

• Bring a lawn chair and listen to renowned guitarist, Matt Bushman (outdoor concert begins at 11:00)
• Compete with friends in the “Courage Challenge.” Register your team of 3-5 players via Facebook or in person at the event.
• Enjoy a danger dawg and a drink from Kranky Franks hot dogs
• Purchase a raffle ticket to win one of dozens of prizes donated by local citizens and businesses
• Play games with your family members–everything from a Giant Twister game to marshmallow races
• Enjoy some blue cotton candy, or purchase a blue helium balloon and put a message of hope and encouragement inside. Balloons will be released at 1:30.
• Meet some of the Ryan’s Lion sponsors–Courageous people who have triumphed over adversity
• Bid on a Ryan’s Lion™ gift basket to donate to your favorite charity organization.
• Put in your “advance order” to receive a Ryan’s Lion you can donate to someone in need.

If you are able to contribute goods or services that can be raffled at the fundraiser, please contact Karlyn Naylor at 801-471-4466.

Matt Bushman to Perform at Ryan’s Lion Fun’D Raiser

 

 

 

 

We’re pleased to announce that guitarist Matt Bushman has graciously consented to join us for the Ryan’s Lion fundraiser scheduled for May 16 at the Mapleton City Park. Matt’s performance will begin at 11:00 a.m. Bring a lawn chair, sip some lemonade, and enjoy a morning in the sunshine listening to live music. Matt has performed his one man and full band show for thousands over the past several years. Washington DC, Baltimore, Reno and Las Vegas and regionally such venues as OC Tanner Amphitheater, Red Butte Garden, Springville Arts Park and many high school auditoriums around the intermountain area have been his play ground.

He has made numerous appearances on KSL and KUTV television. His Tanner Amphitheater concert has been broadcast hundreds of times over cable. His popular CD, Smile Again, continues to receive regular radio air play regionally on BYU Radio and nationally over the Dish Network.

Music critic, Eric Snider said, “His voice is deep and resonating and he sings with confidence and authority, sounding much like adult contemporary artist, James Taylor.”

“Matt Bushman’s folk-rock music has delighted hundreds of audiences from Washington DC to Las Vegas, Nev.” The Daily Herald – January 2000

Don’t miss an opportunity for a great morning playing games with your family, listening to live music, and learning about the Ryan’s Lion Organization. Great prizes donated by local businesses will be given away in a raffle, or you can bid on one of 10 Ryan’s Lion gift baskets to donate to the charity of your choice.

The Story of Ryan’s Lion

 

Eagle Scout Project: How Hard Could That Be?

If you are one of those lucky young men whose parents say that you cannot get your driver’s license until you earn Eagle Scout rank, then you know my pain. I have helped lots of friends earn their Eagle Scout rank, and usually the project is something like painting a park bench or two, or digging post holes for fences. I don’t have anything against painting benches, but I wanted my project to be something that mattered to me.

Since I was two months premature (I weighed just over four pounds), my parents have mentioned many times how much the love and concern of others meant to them when they were worried about my survival. One gift, a cute stuffed lion, had particular meaning. I decided to start a project to give a few more “courage” lions to other parents of premature babies. How hard could that be?

Almost a full year later, I have logged hundreds of hours on the project and benefited from the help of over 60 different volunteers. On March 24, 2009, I finally carried the first batch of completed lions to the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, where they will be distributed to parents of critically ill newborns. I am still hoping to donate dozens more before I consider this phase of the project “complete.”

And yes, I got my driver’s license.

Fundraiser Scheduled: Help us raise funds for 500 Ryan’s Lions

The demand for Ryan’s Lions has made it necessary for us to find a way to manufacture them in bulk. But in order to do that, we need your help. Please join us for our “Have Courage Event!” and help us raise funds for lions to be given to critically ill children nationwide!

Event Details

Our goals:

• Raise $3000 to be used for manufacturing additional Ryan’s Lions.
• Raise awareness about Ryan’s Lions.

Saturday, May 16, 2009
11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Mapleton City Park, West Pavilion
(50 South Main, Mapleton, Utah)

Activities Include:

• Giant Twister Game
• Raffle $1 each ticket  (Must be present to win) Starting at 1:00
• Live Band
• Blue Balloons  $1 each  include a note inside your balloon, the picture of a loved one you are donating on behalf of or just for fun!  Balloon launch at 1:45
• Blue cotton candy  $1 Yummy!
• Blue Jell-O dunking machine
• Silent Auction: We will be auctioning off a few of our treasured stuffed lions. These are handmade by volunteers, and each is sponsored by the family of a critically ill child, or other “courageous” individual. You will have the opportunity to purchase a lion to pass on to someone you know who is struggling.

Bring a photo of the person you are donating on behalf of for our Dedication Wall. Don’t forget to wear blue in support of Ryans Lion!

Gift Basket Donations:

If you would like to assemble a gift basket that will include a Ryan’s Lion, please contact us.

Corporate Sponsors:

We are gratefully accepting donations of goods and services from corporate sponsors. Thank-you to the following businesses who have donated already:

MyBarnwoodFrames.com : visit www.mybarnwoodframes.com
Falling Star Media: www.fallingstarvideo.com
Karlyn Naylor Salon
Cedar Fort Publishing: visit www.cedarfort.com

Note: This fundraiser is organized as a Boy Scout Eagle Project. Your donations will be tax deductible.

Shane’s Story: A 2% Chance

Lion # 118

Earlier that week we had just announced to our friends that we were expecting our 6th baby.  We had an ultrasound just weeks before and everything looked great.  We decided to not learn the sex of the baby, we thought it would be fun to be surprised. But he came early to surprise us, maybe we should have found out his gender with our ultrasound, then he wouldn’t have had to show us himself!

I was sitting down that morning with a friend I had not seen in a long time to have a cup of hot chocolate and a nice visit when I went into labor.  I wasn’t very concerned because I knew these things happened, usually where the labor would stop quickly and all would be well.  I left my friend at home to babysit the kids and drove myself to the hospital thinking I would be back in time to pick my kindergartener up from school.  As soon as I walked into the emergency room, things got quite hectic very fast.

After being taken by wheelchair to the labor and delivery where I was given medications to stop the labor, it became apparent that this was not going to end the way the doctors wanted it to.  I called my husband on the phone and told him that things were bad.  They had me strapped to a table in a vertical position with my head down.  I guess so that gravity wouldn’t play a role in the premature delivery of our baby.

I was barely 24 weeks pregnant which made this situation even worse.  The doctors told us that we had a 2% chance the baby would survive.  They said if the baby lived we could expect brain damage, cerebral palsy, deafness, blindness etc.  They said there was nothing they could do and that this baby was coming.  They were considering a cesarian section to help prevent brain damage but decided against it and then before we knew it, I had the baby.  He was born just 24 hours after I went into labor.  The doctor told us that if the baby was born alive we should just hold him and wait for him to pass away.

But, we love life and will fight to preserve life.  We wanted our baby to live.  We believe in miracles and we pray for miracles.  We prayed for our baby and we named our unexpected miracle Shane.  We told the doctors to do every reasonable thing to save Shane’s life.  They did do every reasonable thing.  And, Shane did live.  November 17, 2000 was the beginning of the biggest and scariest roller coaster ride of our lives.

Shane was 12 inches long and weighed under 1.5 pounds.   He was about the size of a Barbie doll or Beanie Baby.  His skin wasn’t quite formed, his eyes were still shut, and any kind of physical touch caused his heart rate to drop.  Since touching him was out of the question, there was no way we could hold him.  In the beginning they were able to use his umbilical cord to give him the necessary fluid, nutrients and medicine that he needed.  In addition to using his umbilical cord, he was hooked up to a monitor, oxygen sensor, heart rate monitor and an endotracheal tube to breathe for him and to keep his lungs from collapsing.  When they could no longer use his umbilical cord, the regime of multiple IV’s started.

During this roller coaster of a ride, Shane experienced over 5 major heart attacks, one where he was revived with the help of a defibrillator.  He had over 20 blood transfusions, surgery and even an epidural (for the surgery).

On our wedding anniversary, December 11th, my husband and I went to visit Shane.  Shane was so tiny that we were able to put his father’s wedding ring all the way up his arm to his shoulder.  It would have fit up his leg, but we weren’t able to because of all of the IV’s.  He was so sweet and so helpless.  We really wanted to be able to hold him.  Yet we were so scared at the very thought because we didn’t want the tubes to come out, we didn’t want the oxygen tube to come out and have him stop breathing.  Plus, we needed his heart rate to stay at a steady rate.

The day finally came when the nurses announced that we were going to hold him.  It took 3 nurses to help position Shane onto Gordon’s bare chest.  They said it had to be skin against skin to keep the baby warm enough since he would be away from the incubator for the short time we would hold him.  I remember Gordon being so scared that he told the nurses he thought he was going to pass out.   Then it was my turn, the baby was so tiny.  It was an exhilarating feeling to finally have this miracle baby in my arms.

Not every day was a good day, however.  There were times when he was so sick that it was all we could do to hold on to our faith.  Yet people around us were so strong and so helpful.  Everyone was praying on our behalf.  Even people we didn’t know.  We received e-mails from all over the world telling us that they were praying for our baby.  What a miracle that is.  Volunteers did so many things to help us in this trying time.  It seemed like every day we came to the hospital there was another tiny stuffed animal in the bed with Shane.  It was so great to have something for him to look at.  At first he could not see in color so his animal toys were only black and white.  Then his beanie babies were changed to color ones as his eyes changed.  The doctors kept telling us that he was going to have eye surgery.  Another miracle took place though, and he never needed to have surgery.

We were told that the time to take Shane home was approaching.  We said, “No thank you.”  We weren’t ready for that responsibility.  Apparently the hospital won’t take “No” for an answer.  We were told that all of us needed to learn CPR for babies.  So the kids came with us to the hospital and the nurses taught us what we needed to know to resuscitate Shane if he stopped breathing.  It was scary and we all took this education quite seriously.  Then the hospital required my husband and I to spend one night in the hospital with Shane so that we could practice taking care of him with the nurses around for support.  Who would have thought that we would need help taking care of our own baby? After all, we have 5 children at home that we had no problem taking care of.

Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2000 we took our miracle baby home, he wasn’t even due to be born until March 9. He weighed less than 4 pounds and did not fit in his car seat.  It was such an exciting day.  I just wanted to sit and hold him forever.

After a time it became apparent that Shane did not flinch or move when loud sounds were made around him.  Of course the testing began, and it turned out that Shane could not hear.  The audiologists began talking about hearing aids, sign language, lip reading and cochlear implants.  We decided to start learning sign language as a family.  Then another miracle of many miracles took place.  He was eight months old when he started to hear.   One day he was in a silent world, and the next he was hearing and communicating with sounds.

Today Shane is eight years old.  He has had much help through special education classes during his preschool years and by kindergarten was transitioned into a regular classroom. He is a second grade student in my 2nd grade classroom.  I can’t describe to you how incredible it is to have him in my class each day.  I just can’t help it, I have to give him a hug and kiss at school.  This is my one chance to have him with me every day.  It is awesome!  He is reading above grade level and is doing well in all of his other classes.  He loves playing outside with the neighbors, playing with his game boy, and even does ballroom dance.  We do have to protect him somewhat because he is at high risk for detached retinas because of his premature birth.  He doesn’t play sports that might include some kind of head trauma, but he has many opportunities to do other things.  You should see him dance.  He loves to draw and sings so beautifully.  He is famous for singing Phantom of the Opera as he rides his bike down our street.

Everyday people go through times of trial and distress.  There are opportunities all around us to reach out and make what may seem to us a very small gesture toward others. From our experience I can tell you that to the person going through the trouble, each small act seems like a great and wonderful gift.  We are grateful for all the many acts of kindness shown to us and we try to help others in ways that we are able.

-Shane’s Family

Hope’s Story: Grateful For Hope

I didn’t plan on having my 11-year-old daughter’s birthday party the same day as I buried my baby girl, but life never turns out exactly as you planned. My life would still not be perfect if “Hope,” my baby, had lived. In truth, it would have been just as crazy–if not more so, since babies can make life crazy.  I would have taken crazy if I could have. I cannot say why she had a rare form of spina bifida, despite my taking all precautions. I also cannot say, “Why my baby?” because then I think, “Why anyone’s baby!”

I’d never even heard of “exencephalic,” and not many others have either (as I have found when trying to research the condition). My lack of knowledge does not change the fact that Hope’s brain was destroyed by the amniotic fluid–the same fluid she could not have lived without. The rest of her body was perfection, even down to her tiny fingernails. Without a brain that works, there is no feeling, thought, or life, they tell me, even if her heart is beating or her body is moving. That was hard. Feeling the moving of life inside of me that had felt so wonderful and alive for months, now made me ache–a kind of ache that goes too deep.

When I mourn for Hope, it is not because I wish she could experience heartache and trials, but because I wanted to worry about her the way I worry about my three living children.  Yes, I have three great children.  I should not ever complain.  Selfish of me.

Hope has it made.  She was able to get her body and never experience some of the horrors others face in this life. Our family has a reminder of where we want to be. There is a different appreciation for my living children I cannot explain. My beliefs help me. Experiences that are sacred and peaceful to our family–Miracles!

I look at life differently. Other people often open up to me during sad times. I learn many things about people–what they have suffered that I never knew. People can amaze! Many have worse experiences. I am grateful for Hope. I am excited to get to know her. I really pray I will live so I can. I have been so blessed.

-Hope’s Mother

Jared’s Story

On a cold day in February of 1984, the busy, simple life we knew changed forever.  Our healthy, active, 22 month old son Jared went from playing to dying in a matter of hours due to a critical case of Spinal Meningitis which was complicated by Septic Shock.

As parents of Jared as well as 3-year-old and 6-week-old daughters, we felt young, inexperienced and unsure of how to handle the grim prognosis we received that Jared’s was the most critical Meningitis case our doctor had seen.  We were told that he wouldn’t live, and then when he did live, we were told that he would have severe brain damage, be a “vegetable”, and need to be placed in a special home where he could receive the care he would need.

There were many dark, frightening moments and hours as we stood by watching our son fight for his life.  There were feelings of helplessness, but thankfully not feelings of hopelessness.  We felt the great care of the many doctors, nurses, and hospital staff, the love and concern of family and friends, but especially, the ever present feelings of peace when we turned to God and felt His loving hand guiding our lives.  We could not have known then the changes this event would make in our lives, but we knew He knew, and we knew that we would need to trust Him.

Now 25 years later, we continue to enjoy the life of our now almost 27-year-old son.  There have been many challenges, doctor visits, therapy sessions, and tough-love lessons, but Jared is healthy and happy in his world.  He is able to talk and communicate, and shares his happy spirit with everyone around him; friends as well as strangers.  Some aspects of life are hard for him, but he doesn’t give up or give in.  He falls down, then gets back up and tries again.  We have learned the valuable lesson of not taking even the little things in life for granted as we have watched him struggle at times with the simple, basic tasks of life.  We have felt the need to slow down at times and enjoy the moment, and to be grateful for the miracles that we continue to receive.  There were and continue to be times when life and circumstances seem so overwhelming.  It is these times when we are reminded of the words of a song, “Where can I turn for peace…Where is the quiet had to calm my anguish…Who, who can understand?  He, only One.”  He carried us through those long, frightening days and nights, and He continues to carry us still.

Bailey’s Story: We held an angel in our arms

Lion # 113

I am sure of the future. I have married my Prince Charming, we have two little boys, I am pregnant and sure it is a girl and I am on my way to having the two boys and two girls I have always wanted.  We have heard the heartbeat and we are on our way to have an ultrasound to see what we are having. Just the routine 20-week ultrasound.

We are taking the two boys and we have invited anyone that wants to come, so my Mom and Dad are there, my sister and sister-in-law, and my mother-in-law. A full house. The tech comes in and asks if we want to know the sex of the baby and we say “sure,” and she tells us it’s a girl. Cheers go up, a baby girl!

Then the tech gets real quiet and rushes out. It seems like it takes the doctor forever to come in. He seems pretty serious, and the boys are getting restless so my sister takes them out. The Doctor tells us that our baby’s head is not completely formed. She has anencephaly, which is a cephalic disorder that results from a neural tube defect. t occurs when the cephalic (head) end of the neural tube fails to close resulting in the absence of a major portion of the brain, skull, and scalp (Wikipedia).   My first thought is, “Okay, how they are going to fix this?” The doctor goes on to explain that there is nothing that can be done. If I carry her full term she will probably die en utero, or I can deliver her. Most anencephalic babies do not survive birth.  At this point I just said to my husband, “I will not do this.” They send us on our way and we stop by our Doctor’s office and he explains what we just found out. We call our church leader, looking for something, someone to tell us what to do, and give us some peace of mind on how we could ever do this. We find out it is our choice. We can deliver early or carry her until her due date, or until she dies. The peace we are looking for will have to come from within.

We pray and pray. We talk to the Doctor about whether she could be an organ donor. That is not a possibility. I want a sign. I am just starting to show and harmless questions are now very painful: “Are you expecting? Do you know what you’re having? Are you just so excited? Plus, we are trying to figure out a way to explain to our boys who are 5 and 3 what is going on. I become a little obsessed about being able to give her a name and a blessing, because it seems to so important to me to have her name on our church records. I don’t want anyone to ever forget she was here!

Eventually, we decide to deliver her early. My Dad goes to the cemetery and finds out that we can bury her with my Grandpa. That somehow seems so comforting to think she would be buried with a Grandfather I love so much. They schedule the day and we go in. We have tons of family who want to support us, so they are planning on being there. They tell us it will be about 6 hours. After about 3, I am starting to have contractions. Most of our family have visited, and we can’t seem to get the nurse to come back. Finally, my sister goes out in the hall and grabs a nurse that just happens to be in her church congregation, and she literally comes in and takes over. Her name is Kathy, She know I am going to deliver soon and called the Doctor. In a short amount of time they wheeled me into the delivery room and we had our sweet angel Bailey. The Doctor was most concerned about me, but Kathy said that Bailey’s heart was still beating and Greg (prince charming) was able to give her a name and blessing. They wrapped her up and we went back down to the room, filled with our family. What to do, how to handle the whole thing? What I really wanted to do was to curl up in the fetal position and drop out of life. What happened was, Kathy walked us through it. We held Bailey and Kathy unwrapped her, and pointed out her long fingers and long toes. We noticed that she looked like her brothers, and we were able to enjoy her. Later we would receive the molds they had made of her hands and feet.

Bailey would be 13 this year. We hang a Christmas stocking for her every year.  We have ornaments on the tree that her brothers have picked out. I really don’t like the cemetery, it hurts to much, even now. So my Mom goes out in the spring and cleans up. We usually go by on Memorial Day. My Mother-in-law goes by and leaves things on holidays and my Dad drives by and lets me know all is well out there.  We ended up with three boys to raise on earth and an angel daughter.  It still hurts, and I still miss having a giggly girl in the house, but I never doubt that she is close by. I feel her all around us. I always pray she knows how much we love her and what an important part of our family she is. I know she knows.  And when people ask me how many kids I have, I say, Three boys,” because it’s easier.  In my head I always add, “and a girl.”

The thing I really hope for when I get the chance to be with her is that I can do all of the things that only Moms and Daughters get to do. I’ll learn to do her hair, go shopping for shoes and clothes–you know really cute girly clothes. We’ll laugh about girly things, get our nails done and talk. Mostly just talk. People wonder, “how it can be so hard, you didn’t even really know her, and how can you miss what you didn’t get to have?” That’s one of the things I miss the most, not getting the chance to know her here on earth. But I know her spirit and I am glad that I get to feel her close by.

On her headstone it reads, “Some people only dream of angels, we held one in our arms.”

-Trudy, Mother of Bailey

Cody B’s Story: Holland has a lot to offer…if you just let it

Lion # 112

Cody B. was born January 13, 1999. His due date was March 21st. He weighed in at 3.5lbs. He was doing very well and then got an infection. They told us for days that he wouldn’t make it, and even let us bring our two little boys so they could see him. But day by day he started to get better. They were preparing us to take him home and then he had a brain bleed. At first, they told us there was nothing they could do for him, but one of our Doctors (Dr. Stoddard) contacted Dr. Walker at Primary Children’s Hospital. Dr. Walker said to bring him up. It felt like such a miracle! Cody ended up having 3 shunts, and we eventually got to bring him home. Dr. Walker continues to be one of our angels.  We knew that he wouldn’t be “normal” and that we would have struggles with him, but they weren’t sure what they would be, so we got to have a slow learning curve.  I remember when he was about five and one of his therapists told me that we would need to look into getting him a wheelchair and I was a little surprised to realize that he would never walk.

There was a story on the wall at UVRMC  Newborn ICU that has stuck with me, and it brings me comfort.  I can only remember parts of it, and I am sure I won’t tell it nearly as well but this is the main part that has stayed with me:

We planned a trip to France, we learned the language, we bought the right clothes and read everything about France, and when we landed, we realized we were in Holland. Holland! We can’t be in Holland! We don’t know anything about Holland and this is not what we planned. But little by little we learned to love Holland. Sometimes, when our friends or family talk about their trip to France, we wonder what it would have been like to go there, and sometimes we are jealous. But mostly, we are grateful for the journey we did get to go on.

I am grateful for every day I get to spend with Cody. He literally lights up my life and the people around him. He is truly such a joy. I am grateful for the spirit he brings into my life.
There are days that I wonder how much longer I will be able to lift him. There are days when I get tired of changing diapers. I wish he could talk, and tell me all of the things he tries to show me. He eats by a feeding tube, so we have to make sure we take everything, and figure out a place to feed him so people don’t feel uncomfortable.  There are places I can’t go and take him, like the grocery store, because I can’t push a wheelchair and a shopping cart. There are normal things in life that take a lot of planning. Can we get a wheelchair there? Can we carry him far enough to sit down without a wheelchair?

Would I trade my journey? No.  Do I wonder what might have been? Yes.  But at the end of the day, when he pats me or does his sign for love, it is all worth it and I am so grateful for the blessings he has brought. Everyday we spend with him is a gift.

Holland is a beautiful place and has a lot to offer, if you just let it.

-Trudy, Mother of Cody

Elle’s Story: How We Live wElle

Lion # 110

On Wednesday, August 30, 2006, our lives changed forever with the tragic loss of our beautiful 15-month-old daughter, Elle. I was hustling off to the kids’ soccer practice, when I accidentally backed over our precious Elle. Words cannot expess the pain, sorrow, and guilt I feel even today. I don’t understand why this had to happen, but I have faith that someday, I will. If I could bring her back, there is no question that I would. However, the reality is, I can’t. So I have tried to go on with my life the best that I can. I want to make her proud, and be strong for her, for my husband, and for our children. I will try to convey some of my feelings, thoughts, and experiences that inspire me to keep striving for happiness and joy on this earth, until I can see, hold and kiss my sweet baby again.

One thing that my eyes have been opened to, because of our experience, is the love, compassion, and empathy that were extended to us. When word spread about the accident, we were bombarded with kind acts of love and service. People we knew well, and many whom we didn’t, reached out to us and provided for us much-needed support. It was truly amazing and still brings tears to my eyes. This couldn’t have been an easy thing for many people to do, yet they did. Our family felt of their love and concern and I realized that this world is filled with many angels.

A few days after losing Elle, my husband Scott came to me while I was alone in my bedroom and told me that I needed to get up and come outside. Honestly, this was the last thing I wanted to do. I didn’t want to see, talk to, or be with anyone. When we walked outside, our yard was completely covered with floating white and pink balloons. Numerous friends were outside placing the balloons in our yard as a tribute to Elle. An overwhelming feeling of love washed over me and I felt peace. Our family stayed outside for hours and eventually released the balloons heavenward.

At Christmastime, the year we lost Elle, we were all having a pretty hard time. I would have preferred to skip the whole holiday. Yet, once again, we were blessed by the generosity and love of those around us. My good friends brought me a little “Angel Tree” in memory of Elle, were were given Christmas books and ornaments in Elle’s memory, and someone even purchased us a Christmas tree at the Festival of Trees tree in memory of Elle. How can one not feel of the Christmas spirit when so many loving gestures were being offered daily?

I could go on, listing the kind words, visits, letters and gifts that people offered in our behalf. In january, of 2007, my brother suggested that we might consider a scholarship fund in memory of Elle. He sits on the Nebo Education Foundation,and told us that many scholarships are created in memory of a loved one. We immediately felt that this was something we should do. It would give us a chance to not only remember and celebrate Elle’s life, but it would also give us a chance to give back a little something to the community that had blessed our lives. thus, the Live wElle Scholarship Fund was created.

In order to raise money for the scholarship fund, we have created a family fun run. This, of course, could not be possible without the support and help from our dear family, friends, and sponsors, that have helped us make this race a success. the “Live wElle 5K and Family Fun Run” is an annual event held each may, and all proceeds are used towards the scholarships. In addition to the scholarships set up with The Nebo Education Foundation, we are working on creating our own foundation so that we can fund some additional charitable endeavors. Because we were so moved by the Festival of Trees tree that was given to us a few years ago, we decided to do the same thing this past year for a family that had lost a loved one. Being on the giving end was an amazing experience for us, and through the creation of the Live wElle Foundation I hope that we can continue to give back to the community.

Our family cannot possibly thank all of those many people who reached out to use in our time of need, but we can try and reach our to others in need and offer them comfort, hope, and ultimately peace. I feel it a great honor to write of our experience. To those who receive Elle’s lion in the future, know that our thoughts are with you in your time of struggle.

Kirsten and Scott, parents of Elle

Click here to learn more about the Live wElle Foundation and the Live wElle Family fun run

Matthew’s Story

Lion # 109

Twenty two years ago, my third child was born unexpectedly seven weeks early at UVRMC. His name is Matthew, which means “Gift of God.” His stay was only a few weeks in the NICU, but a roller-coaster since we didn’t live very close. The fear of not knowing what will happen is very real and discouragement can set in. If this is your first experience in a NICU, it can be a strange place.

Since there are many caregivers for your baby, different personalities and communication skills become apparent, which can be frustrating. Unfortunately we are told many “worse case scenarios,” because it is required, but they can’t change your Faith.  Do not give up – feel free to ask questions, as many times as you need to. There is always somebody available to help. Get enough sleep – you need it! Please also remember the staff truly loves these precious babies; it is much more than just a “job” for them.

Matthew? Well, he is a wonderful happy young man with many talents. His childhood was difficult due to chronic illness, but that was OK because he was here and worth it!

-Pat U. Mother of Matthew

Drew’s Story: Drew’s Fight

Lion # 108

Three days after our son’s 7th birthday, he came home from school limping.  Drew never complained about it.  When asked what happened he explained he got hurt on the playground.  After a few days the limping continued as well as the pain.  On May 24, 2007, Drew was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma (bone cancer).  His tumor was above his right knee.

Drew immediately began chemotherapy.  Drew was told he could not place any weight on his leg and had to begin using a walker.  One of my initial thoughts was “this will absolutely break Drew’s spirit.”  It was so difficult to watch Drew go through chemotherapy day after day. The chemotherapy made him so sick.  The worst part about the chemo was the terrible mouth sores he would get once his immune system was compromised.  He couldn’t eat, drink or talk.  The only thing that could be done was to be hospitalized with IV pain medication until the sores would heal, which was a terribly slow process.

Drew finished chemotherapy after 10 months.  Most of this time was spent in the hospital coming home for a few days in between.  Drew missed his entire second grade school year.  Drew’s fight did not end with chemotherapy.  Because of the location of his tumor the majority of his femur bone had to be removed early on in his treatment.  We did everything we possibly could to save his leg but after many, many surgeries, infections and painful rehabilitation we had to make the most difficult decision of our lives.  Drew’s leg was amputated.  Our surgeon performed what is called Van Ness Rotation Plasty on September 18, 2008.

Drew also lost some of his permanent hearing from the chemotherapy so he now wears hearing aids.  I used to think one of the hardest trials for my child would be to look so different from the other kids.  However, seeing Drew completely bed ridden for more than 18 months taught me there are far greater challenges than looking different.

Drew missed out on so much normal, simple, every day kid stuff.  He spent many days on the couch or bed as he watched neighborhood children ride their bikes and scooters up and down the street.  He longed to be with them.  He so badly wanted to be able to run with his puppy–the same puppy that has helped him heal tremendously.

Through this experience, I have often thought to myself that I wish I could trade Drew places.  Not really, because I would never want to go through what he has had to go through.  I guess I really just wish I could have taken this challenge away from him.  At those times, I only allow myself to think those thoughts for a short moment, realizing that thinking that way would not change things nor help the situation.

Drew has seldom ever complained about his situation.  He has completely amazed us.  We had no idea what inner strength or courage he was capable of possessing.  It has been a rare occasion not to see Drew with a smile on his face throughout this entire challenge, even immediately before and after his surgeries.

We are now at place of healing that we can look back and be grateful for the deepest feelings of pain and agony that we experienced.  Because we have now been blessed to feel the exact opposite emotions of gratitude and joy.  We now find joy in simple pleasures we took for granted.  What an incredible feeling it was the first time Drew was able to wiggle his toes by himself, take a bath or swim after not being able to be in the water for 19 months.

Drew continues his fight to learn how to do everyday tasks again, such as learning to walk.  We know the future will be filled with challenges but we also know it will be filled with hope!  We are so grateful for the love, compassion, service and prayers that have been shown to us by so many friends, family members and even strangers.  This helped our family find courage.

Cody’s Story: A Reason To Smile

Lion # 107

When Cody first arrived on this earth, he was a beautiful baby boy, but his lungs had extra fluids on them, so he spent the first few days of his life in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit.  I longed those first few days to hold my beautiful baby, and cringed every time he got another shot, tube or machine hooked to his little body. I cried and cried every time I went to see him. After a few blessings, our miracle happened and he was able to go home just two days later.

Cody grew to be a normal, happy, healthy, full-of-life little boy.  When Cody was exactly 3 years and 8 months old, something strange happened.  He was riding in the car and he jolted out of his seat. He was disoriented, then really scared.  I rushed him to the doctor. They couldn’t explain what it was, so they assumed I was just a worried Mom and sent me home.  I knew something wasn’t right.  As the days went on, these “episodes” increased.  I continued to go to the doctors searching for answers.  He would be walking and fall to the ground without warning, but still no answers. He progressively got worse until he was continually shaking. He couldn’t hardly eat, walk or talk. He could smile though, and he did often. I remember one night when he was trying to eat a fruit snack.  He must have dropped it 10 times before it made it to his mouth.  He never gave up and smiled through it all.

After a grueling and long 3 months, we found that Cody had a rare seizure disorder that at times caused him to have 10-15 seizures per second.  His little body would start to respond to meds then stop, we continued switching medicines and tried lot of treatments, until one day I had an impression that he could have food allergies. We had him tested and found that these were very severe.  After changing his diet, the seizures came only occasionally over the next six months.

To celebrate his progress, and Cody’s long journey with seizures, we took him to Disneyland for his 5th birthday.  (He loved Donald Duck and any big, fast, scary, ride). I remember on his birthday having cake and him spreading the frosting all over his face and saying “HO! HO! HO!” He was always trying to make us laugh. The night we arrived home, I will never forget. We read scriptures and said prayers with the boys.  After our nightly routine we said goodnight.  Cody gave his little brother (3) a great big hug tackling him to the ground and saying “I love you brother.” We all exchanged hugs and “I love you’s” then put the boys to bed. As we left their room that night, Cody yelled out “goodnight and good luck”. We laughed and went to bed.

The following morning, Cody had a seizure that caused him to stop breathing.  It was a stormy, cold day.  When they whisked him off in the ambulance I knew this was it.  It took them 45 minutes to get his heart working, but the rest of his body was shutting down, and he was completely brain dead.  We knew Cody had accomplished everything he needed to in this life and was ready to go to the next. I will never forget the devastation and complete heartbreak I felt, but also the comfort and knowledge that we would see him again and everything would be O.K. Cody was able to save another little girl’s life by being a heart donor.

The next days, weeks, months, and now years have been very hard. It has now been almost 3 years since Cody passed away. Although I miss him dearly, every day my heart is healing and I think of how many lessons I learned through these experiences and especially from Cody. The thing I learned the most from our sweet angel was that when times are tough we can always find something to smile about, someone to make laugh and something to be thankful for.  He taught me to not concentrate on the bad and hard things in life but to look for the good.  I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a mother to an angel.  I know that God lives and loves us and will help us through our trials, and that I will see my perfect little boy again!

-Angie, mother of Cody

For more information about organ donation, please visit www.idslife.org

KEBBE’s Story: The Most Courageous Thing I Ever Did Was Hide

Lion # 105 : KEBBE

I left my husband in 1999. I hid in a motel with my three kids after telling him I was leaving, and my parents drove through the night to get be because I was too afraid to drive away.

He did not beat me.  Surprised?  Instead, he belittled me, made me feel ugly and worthless.  He broke my spirit.  I had three very small children aged 3, 2, 1, and each had mental disabilities.  I knew I was in for a fight.

The next 8 years were the most exhausting, frightening, and crushing of my life.  I took only three bins of clothing when I left and never took anything else.  I started from scratch.  I have been accused of child abuse, adultery, bi-polar disease, and violence.  I have had to answer all of these allegations in court.  On two different occasions, my children have been taken and hidden from me by my ex-husband.  You know what all this taught me?  TO FIGHT!

I am now happy and stronger for everything I have gone through.  I am grateful to be given the opportunity to be so.

-Name Withheld

Sam’s Story: Don’t Quit

Lion # 104 (Humphery)

Lion # 106 (Sam)

We knew Sam was a fighter long before he was born.  We had many complications during his pregnancy – ones that could be life threatening to both of us.  I was on bedrest for many weeks, but even then we made many rushed trips to the hospital.  Each time we went we wondered if perhaps this might be the end.  But each time, we had an ultrasound that showed his tiny little heart beating strongly and we knew that Sam was no quitter.

The day did come, however, that Sam was ready to be born, even though he’d be a few months premature.  Because of a brief NICU stay with our oldest child, we felt comfortable with what was about to happen.  We knew Sam would have a much longer stay than our daughter, but we also knew that he would be spoiled by all of the loving doctors and nurses there.  As we listened to our doctors explain what was about to happen, we felt no fear, but rather an overwhelming feeling of peace.

I wish I could say our courage lasted longer than it did.  Sam was only two days old when an infection settled in his lungs and nearly destroyed them.  We had prepared ourselves to have a preemie, but we weren’t prepared for him to be “a very sick little boy” (as the doctors would put it).  Suddenly we were terrified, but we didn’t give up hope.  And neither did Sam.

It seems that once one thing goes wrong, many more frustrations follow.  Because of Sam’s lung problems, aggressive actions had to be taken to heal them.  He was put on a medication that prohibited him from moving.  He then gained lots of excess fluid and in a matter of days our tiny baby become a huge, swollen baby.  The stress his body was under caused problems to develop in his heart and other organs.  We felt as though we were losing the battle.  It was at this point, however, that we learned to look for the little victories in our situation.  Sometimes they were very small victories, like the thrill we would get when we’d visit Sam and he would twitch his little toes (which weren’t supposed to be moving because of all his medications) and his vital signs would start improving – all signs that Sam recognized us.

There were big victories too.  Like the first time I got to kiss Sam and feel his warm, soft skin on my lips.  Or the day that we finally got to hold our baby.  There are no words that can describe that miraculous moment.  It was well worth the wait!

Now Sam is a healthy, energetic boy who is approaching his first birthday.  I have always thought of motherhood as a way to enrich and impact someone’s life.  But I never expected it to be the other way around.  Sam has made a profound impact on my life.  Who knew I could learn so much from someone so tiny?  I have learned to never quit, even when the battle seems lost before we’ve begun.  I’ve also learned to look for the little victories, because they do exist even in the bleakest of situations. 

-Ann, Sam’s Mother

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit…
Success is failure turned inside out.
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit.
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
-Author Unknown

Coach W’s Story: As You Think, So You Become

As a teenager, you are invincible and nothing can harm you. You are on top of the world and whatever you want to do, you can. As a teenager, your hopes and dreams are as high in the sky as they can be. So it was for me as well. Life was treating me great. I was class president for my high school, a track star and state record-holder, and I had just found out that I was going to be a starting football player when my life changed forever. Before that summer day, all I could think about was track, football, girls, and school–in that order. Then my world changed.

After a morning two-a-day practice for football, I found myself throwing up blood. I had a doctor’s appointment scheduled for later that day to get my sports physical. At that appointment I told my doctor what had happened at practice. He ran some more tests and told me that I needed to go down to the hospital right away to have some “special test” done. i asked my doctor if I would be done with the test in time to make it to the afternoon practice for football. The doctor told me, “I don’t think so.” I was really frustrated at this point and asked if I could put off the “special test” until after practice. My doctor then told me something that I have never forgotten: Looking me in the eyes he told me. “I discovered a tumor, and you have  cancer.”

Now I don’t know about you, but to be told as a teenager that you have cancer, your first reaction is that the doctor is playing some kind of cruel joke on you. However, this was not the case. I was diagnosed with malignant testicular cancer. I went down to the hospital right away for the “special test”. This was a biopsy of the tumor. This was the first of five surgeries I would have over the next three months. The second surgery, to remove the tumor from my body, was done first thing the next morning after I was diagnosed. I had a chance that night to talk to my friends, teammates, and coaches and tell them what was going on. They were so supportive of me it really helped to know t hat they were there for me.

I did not know that much about cancer when I was first diagnosed, but I quickly learned as much as I could as fast as I could. It just seemed to me at the time that the really scary thing to me was not knowing what was wrong with my body. The more I learned, the better I felt about the treatment I was going to have. They performed three more surgeries to remove the cancer that had spread all the way up to my lungs, and I had two cycles of chemotherapy. After each surgery, they would wait a week or two for my body to recover. After the fourth surgery, I had a bad reaction to the drugs that they gave me for the pain, and my heart stopped beating. I also stopped breathing for a little while. I am forever grateful for the nursing staff that saved my life that night with CPR. My body really did take a beating during this time, and I still cary the scars to prove it. In a matter of weeks, I went from being one of the fastest kids in the state, to barely hanging on to life.

It is during those endless nights in the hospital (one month was my longest stay) when the small room starts to close in on you and you are alone with your thoughts to think about all that is really happening to you. This is where you find out what type of a person you really are.  You have many choices to make at this point.  Are you going to spend time asking why this happened to you? Are you going to spend time feeling sorry for yourself?  Are you going to try to answer some of those life questions that you have been thinking about? It is how you respond at the times of challenge and adversity that show to yourself and others who you really are. I realized that I could lie there and feel sorry for myself, but it would not change the current situation. Instead of asking, “why did this happen?” I asked, “what is to be learned from this?”  I also saw how all my friends, teammates, coaches and family members would look to me to see how I was responding.  I knew that I could set a great example for them. I reallly gained a passion for all the things that I took for granted before being diagnosed with cancer. The main thing I gained was a passion for was life. I wanted to make the most of my life for whatever time I had left. And so I hope I have. Not everyone would tell you that they were grateful for having cancer. I, however, am forever grateful for having cancer. It changed my perspective. The things that I learned that mattered most are my relationship with God, family, life and friends in that order. I hope that whatever your challenge is at this moment, that you will find the power within you to overcome it. As a coach told me during my challenge that has become my life motto: “As you think, so you become.” So it is with you. If you think that you can overcome your challenge, you can.

Good luck.

Webmaster’s Note: Although he was never able to run again himself, Coach W. has become a beloved educator and track coach who has inspired hundreds of young people. He teaches every student and athlete, “As you think, so you become.”

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