Help Kean Ryder Battle Aplastic Anemia
Kean Ryder, a 15 year old sophomore at Crescenta Valley High School, was recently diagnosed with severe Aplastic Anemia, a rare blood disorder in which the bone marrow stops producing enough new blood cells for the body to work normally. Kean has already been through months of treatment to stop random and painful infections as he prepares to undergo a bone marrow transplant to cure his illness. This has required a long hospital stay and intense medical follow-up.
Please contribute so that the Ryder family can focus on caring for Kean without the added burden of financial worries.
Who is Kean?
Kean lives in La Crescenta, attended Robbins’s Nest Pre-School, Fremont Elementary School, Rosemont Middle School, and is now at Crescenta Valley High School.
He is known by his friends, teammates, and teachers as always happy and ready to crack a smile at any moment. He is a straight-A student, very curious about life, and gets along with everyone. He enjoys history, politics, current events, drama, Spanish, and is thinking about a career in law where he can help others.
Kean captained his local club soccer team for the last few years, and also played AYSO. Although quiet, he is highly respected by his teammates and his coaches. Kean likes to camp and fish with his family, and adores his older sisters, Kaitlyn and Lauren, and his family pets. During the COVID shutdown, Kean even created a small farm in the side yard of his home.
Kean’s mother Kelley is a beloved teacher at Fremont Elementary in Glendale, and his father Chris has coached youth soccer in the Glendale/Crescenta Valley area for many years. They are now fully focused on being by Kean’s side as he battles his illness. They have spent the last 3 months each day and night taking turns staying with Kean at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
What is Aplastic Anemia?
Only about 700-900 people in the entire United States are diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia each year. Doctors have yet to fully understand why the disease happens, but a rogue part of a person’s bone marrow stops the main blood cells from growing. It stops red blood cells from bringing oxygen to the body. It stops white blood cells from protecting the body from basic infections and inflammation. It stops platelets from clotting blood, even for simple cuts and scrapes. There are a couple of treatments but the most successful treatment, although risky, for a fully functional recovery is a bone marrow transplant. Fortunately, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is one of the top hospitals in the country for this type of procedure, and has world-renowned specialists taking care of Kean.
Financial Considerations
Although some of the treatments, medical procedures, and hospital stays are covered by health insurance, there are many additional and related expenses that are not covered during and after the bone marrow transplant (insurance co-pays, parking and travel expenses, physical therapy, loss of income, educational expenses as Kean will not be able to go back to school for another year, other emotional therapy and rehabilitation, etc.) There will be at least 2-3 more months of hospital stays and many months of after-transplant hospital checkups and physical, mental and emotional recovery for Kean.
The Ryder family has given so much to our community. Let’s show them how much we support them during this difficult time.
