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Please Help Ryder!

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Ryder is 12 years old. He is sweet and funny. Ryder is in 4-H and proudly shows his chickens and pigs. He loves reading books, building models and dioramas. He loves fishing with his uncle and step-dad. He loves WW2 history. Ryder spends time working on his archery skills with his grandfather.  HE IS YOUR TYPICAL LITTLE BOY. 

This year has been rough for him. He wasn't feeling well for most of the year and his devoted mother and step-father kept taking him for testing, visiting specialist, driving hours to try to figure out what was wrong. HE WAS VERY SICK. He lost 30 pounds. The doctors had no idea what was wrong. He was living with severe pain and nausea, he needed help showering and getting dressed. He has been so sick. Many tears have been shed by the entire family because they couldn't figure out what was ailing Ryder and watching him suffer has been unbearable. FINALLY, he went to another specialist 80 miles away from home and they discovered after some testing that he has a lesion on his brain stem. This was pressing on his Medulla Oblongata, causing his symptoms. 

From the scan the neurologist/neurosurgeon could not determine whether it was inflammation caused by An Autoimmune disease or if it was a Tumor. Doctors decided to do a spinal tap. A regular spinal tap usually takeS 30 mins. Ryders took 2 hours and 5 pokes later.  The spinal tap ended up being a “traumatic spinal tap” which means the fluid was voided because blood got into the fluid. So the spinal tap only had a few answers to some of of the doctors questions. But all came back negative. Ryder has also had 4 MRI's since he has been hospitalized.  THIS IS A LOT FOR A KID TO GO THROUGH!

The doctor told us that if it was anywhere else in the brain she wouldn’t hesitate to do a needle biopsy but because the mass was located on his brain stem she would have to perform an open biopsy. Ryder was not thrilled with this decision but he was very brave going in to it. The surgery from start to finish was three hours. The neurosurgeon said it was definitely a tumor. She was able to grab a very tiny piece of tissue. The pathology results came back.  THE TUMOR IS IN FACT AN ASTROCYTOMA GLIOMA.  This means Ryder will be given a low steady dose of chemo through a port he will have placed under his skin this Monday June 18th . The family will have to travel to Portland (160miles roundtrip) once a week for 48 weeks. He will be scanned every 3 months to monitor the tumor. THIS IS AN INOPERABLE BRAIN TUMOR.

Thus far, he has been hospitalized for over a month. HIS MOTHER HAS NOT LEFT HIS  SIDE, she has been off work for the last FIVE weeks to help her son. In between work days Ryder's step-dad has been driving 80 miles from home to hospital to be alongside Ryder. Now his step-dad is out of sick leave days. They have been taking turns both spending time with Ryder as well as their daughter.
NOBODY CAN PLAN FOR THIS UNWELCOME EVENT...NOT EMOTIONALLY AND NOT FINANCIALLY.  
This has taken a toll on the family and they have a long road ahead. 

This page has been set up to help Ryder and his family during this difficult time.  WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT. Thank you for any amount you can spare at this time, from the bottom of our hearts, we are very grateful!!

Thank you so much.

Love,
Friends and Family of Ryder

*ANY FUNDS NOT USED WILL BE DONATED TO A CANCER CHARITY FOR KIDS!

*my name is Drea Frost and I live on the Oregon coast. I am friends with Ryder’s family and therefore this campaign to help them is near and dear to my heart. The funds raised will be used to pay for medical bills for Ryder. The family is/will be withdrawing the money themselves, I am just running the campaign.

Again, we all thank our donors so much for their generosity and support during this difficult time.
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Donations 

  • Nancy Lamb
    • $100 
    • 5 yrs
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Fundraising team: Team Ryder (2)

Drea Frost
Organizer
Cannon Beach, OR
Shara Ford
Team member

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