It is with a broken heart that we write this post. On Tuesday, September 19 at 2323 hrs, Ryan Gabriel Bergstresser left this world. Surrounded by family. We stood bedside as his heart stopped and he took his last breath. 

Ryan was 17 years old. The youngest of our children. The baby. Dad, mom, his sisters all fiercely protective of him. 

Ryan came into this world on June 15, 2006. Medically fragile and with a compromised immune system. At birth he was in heart failure. In and out of the NICU. At 3 months, when the doctors felt he was strong enough for surgery, he underwent open heart surgery. Facing an uncertain future, we decided as a family that mom would leave her career in law enforcement. Effective immediately. While dad remained with SFSO. Every decision after that was made as a family for the good of Ryan. What was best for him. 

Throughout his short life we celebrated the wins quietly, amongst ourselves. Holding Ryan so close. Wanting to protect him from the outside world. 

He went to school. He had friends, teachers, and staff who loved him almost as much as we his family loved him. 

Loved by so many who either knew him or knew of him. 

Many of his PICU medical team had come to know Ryan throughout the years and more so over the last year of his life. They grieved with us. I know that some will continue to grieve with us and I ask that they too be kept in your thoughts and prayers. 

Words cannot describe the loss that we all feel. We will forever love and miss our Ryan.