Ryan’s favourite sport is hockey. He can’t get enough of it. Almost, every night, his mom had to drag him in from playing hockey with the older kids on the street. When Ryan grows up, he definitely wants to be a hockey player. About a year ago, Ryan’s NHL dreams had a setback.
On April 17th, 2008, four-year-old Ryan went to bed like he did every night, except this time he didn’t wake up. His parents went to check on him in the morning and immediately called 911. Doctors believed that during the night Ryan went into hypoglycemic shock, which caused a severe brain injury, the result was dystonic quadriplegia. This means Ryan can move his head, but has limited mobility in his arms and legs. Ryan spent six months at Bloorview Kids Rehab.
Ryan’s mom, Kelly, stayed with him every night, while his dad, Mark, stayed home with Jillian, his seven-year-old sister. Ryan lights up whenever Jillian walks in the room and she was the first person he smiled at after the incident.
During countless visits to see her little brother, Jillian became very fond of Bloorview. She wanted to give back to the place that was helping her brother so she initiated a fundraiser. She started to collect aluminum pop tabs and planned to cash them in at the aluminum depot to make a donation to Bloorview. She contacted 10 schools and asked the kids to help her out with this fundraiser. Jillian ended up collecting eight big garbage bags filled with pop tabs.
Unfortunately, the recent price of aluminum plummeted from $1.10lbs to $0.25lbs, but Jillian still proudly presented a cheque for $125.00 to Bloorview. Funds raised will help support programs and services that help children with disabilities achieve their personal best.
“Jillian and Ryan are best friends so she spent a lot of time at Bloorview. She got to know the staff and other kids and wanted to do something special. She came up with this creative fundraising initiative for Bloorview all by herself. We are so proud of her for helping out and raising awareness for Bloorview,” stated Kelley, Jillian and Ryan’s mom.
On Ryan’s last day at Bloorview both Jillian and Ryan presented the cheque to Bloorview as a thank you. If you would like to learn about how you can help Bloorview or donate, please visit: www.bloorviewkidsfoundation.ca.
