Main fundraiser photo

Medical Travel Expenses & Van Seat Lift for Ryker

Ryker joined our family through adoption in December of 2017 when he was almost 9 years old.  He has brought a lot of laughter to our family.  Ryker was born with Spina Bifida.  Scoliosis is common in kiddos with Spina Bifida, and Ryker is one of those effected by it as well.



We have been waiting under his surgeon’s careful watch to allow him to grow as much as possible before surgical intervention.  The time for intervention has come.  We thought we had more time, but Ryker’s curve has progressed and we no longer have time to wait and plan.  The surgeon has said that the surgery should happen before the end of 2020.

We travel six hours each direction to see an amazing orthopedic surgeon in San Diego.  Today we learned that for surgery we will need to be in the area of the hospital several days before surgery, his hospital stay will be about a week long, and then we are to stay in the area for his incision to heal before the doctor will allow us to travel home.  We could be looking at needing lodging for 3-5 weeks.    This is much longer than we had anticipated. 

We will need to book lodging that is wheelchair accessible for Ryker.  We will need to book in the safest way possible to minimize Ryker’s possible exposures to Covid.  Because Ryker is wheelchair dependent, borrowing or renting an RV is not a very viable option.

We are asking for your help.  We are looking at needing at least $4,000, not including any meals or incidentals.  It’s likely to be much more depending on what date surgery gets scheduled for (upcoming holidays could make things more expensive), where we are able to find suitable lodging and the length of time for Ryker’s incision to heal and be cleared for travel.  His last surgery took about a month for his incision to heal.

Any excess funds donated will go towards installing a lift seat in our van to allow Ryker to transfer into his seat without having to be lifted by mom and dad. He’s growing and it’s getting harder for mom and dad to do all the lifting. Car conversions are not covered by health insurance. We have received a quote to install the lift seat that he would need. The cost is right at $10,000.

Thank you.  Every little bit helps!  

We also have a T-shirt fundraiser campaign right now.  It can be found here: T shirts 
Enjoy a few photos!!

Ryker has become the biggest Disney fan.  Pluto is his BFF!
We are looking forward to no more braces after his surgery!
We are working hard to protect our medically complex kiddo in the middle of a pandemic.
We travel 6 hours in each direction to see his surgeon.  
Ryker is getting so big!  It's getting harder and harder to get him safely into the van.
The van seats are so high that he is not able to transfer by himself.  
Any excess funds donated above medical travel costs will be put towards this seat for our Toyota van.  With this seat he could transfer himself safely into the van.

Organizer

Heather Molley Dunn
Organizer
Kingsburg, CA

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