This is our friend Ryan. He’s a young dad and youth worker with a big smile and a bigger heart.

In 2024 aged 32 Ryan suffered two major strokes.

Despite the doctors’ negative prognosis we’ve seen many miracles since then: the first hand squeeze, the glint in his eye, the first ‘I love you’.

Now Ryan is almost ready for the next miracle – going home.

But he needs our help.

Ryan can't go home to his wife Izzy and five-year-old son Isaiah because their small flat can't accommodate his ongoing and complex care needs.

In response we, Ryan and Izzy’s friends and family, are fundraising for a home where they can finally be together again one day.

Can you help us #BringRyanHome?

Ryan's story

Ryan is the warmest, most welcoming person in any room - and probably the best dressed too. We still haven’t worked out where he gets his energy from.

Izzy is his rock. She has walked through unimaginable days for any wife or mum with strength, grace, fierce hope for her family’s future and unshakable faith in God for Ryan’s healing.

Together they were the youth workers at New Life Croydon for three years before Ryan suffered the strokes - work Izzy still continues today.

On Good Friday 2024 Ryan and Izzy were at home getting ready to take more than 100 young people from the church on a weekend away when Ryan suffered a major bleed on the brain.

He was rushed to a specialist stroke unit in central London where he suffered another bleed that night, resulting in emergency surgery.

Since the strokes Ryan and Izzy have seen many miracles in his recovery. Things Izzy once prayed for – like Ryan saying her name again or playing with Isaiah – have become a reality.

A year ago Ryan left the specialist neuro care and rehabilitation centre where he was being looked after, and was moved into a nursing home.

But where he really wants to be is with his family.

Ryan currently has multiple complex care needs and can only be discharged into fully accessible accommodation with a care plan in place.

But Izzy and Isaiah still live in the family’s one bedroom, second floor flat in Croydon. There's no lift, and the flat is too small to be adapted for wheelchair access or other specialist equipment – meaning the family cannot be reunited there.

Ryan cannot even visit Izzy and Isaiah at the flat - meaning he hasn't seen them in a home environment since before the strokes.

The family have already spent almost two years apart. Ryan wants to be able to go home, and they want Daddy back where he belongs - with them.

Ryan and Izzy were born in Croydon and have given their lives to the borough’s children and young people.

They met while working for a youth outreach project when they were 21, and have since worked in nurseries, preschools and schools across the borough - before taking on the roles as youth workers at New Life Croydon.

Ryan and Izzy have cared for countless children and young people.

Now they need us to care for them.

What we are doing

We hope to provide Ryan, Izzy and Isaiah with a family home where it is possible for them to be together again one day. They need a home which is able to accommodate Ryan’s current care needs and which is suitable to see them into their future as a family.*

To make this hope a reality many of Ryan and Izzy’s family and friends have committed to fundraising £1000 each. We will be walking, running, baking, singing, stitching and doing whatever we can to make it possible to reunite this family.

Donations and sponsorship in support of individual fundraising efforts will be collected in this pot alongside individual donations to the campaign - so if you are sponsoring a specific person please do reference them in your donation.

How you can help

DONATE: All funds raised through this GoFundMe will go directly towards securing a home where Ryan, Izzy and Isaiah can be together.

FUNDRAISE: To find out more about how you can help by fundraising £1000 yourself please fill in this form.

FOLLOW: To stay up to date with the campaign, fundraising activities and important announcements follow our WhatsApp channel.

SHARE: Help us spread the word by sharing this page and Ryan’s story far and wide.

PRAY: If you share our faith in God please pray for the campaign and Ryan’s continued healing.

*All funds raised through the #BringRyanHome campaign appeal will be used to directly support Ryan's transition back to home life with Izzy and Isaiah. This will include but is not limited to a home for the family to live in, and could also include other costs associated with that transition like care.