Monday, August 31, 2009

Saying Goodbye to Ryely


This last week we said goodbye to our nephew, Ryely, as he headed to Indiana for college to attend Rose-Hulman. We are beyond proud of him to be attending the second best engineering school in the nation. Ryely, the son of John's brother, Bob and wife, Kristin, has always been bright, driven and hard working. I'm overwhelmed with pride when I speak about him with my friends. With his positive attitude, friendly personality and drive for success, I know he will be successful in life.


We celebrated Ryely just a couple of days before he was leaving for college with a barbecue at his house. The entire family was there, along with some of Ryely's close friends that have grown up with him. His parents presented him with a book of "Words of Wisdom" that had been written by his family and friends. This incredible 55-plus page book was filled with lots of pictures, funny stories and lots of advice for Ryely to read through during those difficult, stressful college moments. As I flipped through the book to see what others had written, I was overwhelmed by all the people that love and support Ryely.


We invite you to pray with us for Ryely as just months before graduating, he was diagnosed with a rare neurological disease called PANDAS. This rare disease is caused when the body inadvertently begins attacking parts of the brain during a Strep infection. PANDAS has left Ryely with body tremors and cognitive inflexibility, along with some other problems. We know that despite this unfortunate disease, Ryely is success-driven and capable of doing anything he sets out to do. We love you Ryely!

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