Wichita Northwest football photographer on life support after being ran into
6 September 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Ryder, 12, was diagnosed with craniopharyngioma when he was 7 years old. He did 30 rounds of radiation and wore a suit each time.
“It’s to look good, feel good thing,” Ryder said. “It makes me feel better, and it makes me feel like I’m not sick.”
“They make you take everything off because you have to put a gown on,” Ryder’s mom Laura said. “It’s only 30 minutes, so I would say, don’t you just want to throw on some sweats, and he didn’t. He wanted to put the full suit on every single day and nice shoes. Everybody knew him there. They knew that he was a little boy with the suits. “
Ryder’s mom, Laura, says it was a scary situation at first. They first noticed Ryder was having a hard time seeing things, and they thought something was wrong with his eyesight. Ryder got an MRI, and that’s when doctors found a tumor on his pituitary gland.
“It was pretty, pretty awful, Laura said. “It kind of rocked our world. All of us, you know, our whole family, siblings, grandparents, and so it was terrible. We didn’t know what to think. You know, all we heard was brain tumor, and we didn’t know anything else.”
Laura says St. Jude guided them through a confusing time.
“We weren’t really aware of what we were doing,” Laura said. “We were just kind of existing, and they just directed us and told us where to go and what to do and what the plan was, and they put together a really good treatment plan, and it was just so reassuring. It felt good being there.”
Ryder says his favorite part about St. Jude is the doctors.
“They’re so nice,” Ryder said. “They always get to know you, and they remember things about you.”
Laura says Ryder is doing great now, doing what a normal 12 year old should be.
Ryder will go back to St. Jude once a year for the next 10 years.
“They know this tumor, they have people studying this tumor, and they know what can happen,” Laura said. “Five years down the road what to look for, 10 years down the road. I mean they’re on top of it. They’ve already made an appointment for that to have a scan for something.”
She says reserving tickets for St. Jude goes to help kids just like Ryder.
“That’s why Ryder is here and better and a normal boy because of people buying tickets and supporting St. Jude,” Laura said. “And we’re really proud to be a part of that and that people support it because it’s helped him help so many kids. So grateful. Just so incredibly grateful to everybody and all the support, you know, the tickets and the doctors and nurses, everybody. It just means the world to us and our family. We’re all forever grateful to St. Jude. People who support it.”