Fundraising Raffle for Stryder
Stryder and I just got back from the Mayo clinic a couple weeks ago and while we are happy to have results, most are not the ones that we wanted to hear. We went back to the Mayo after being there in July where he was diagnosed with Childhood Apraxia of Speech. It is a disorder that makes it hard to plan for words, in other words, his brain doesn't tell his mouth what to do with the words. He had intensive speech therapy two times every day for six weeks as well as music therapy. He started with very few words (somewhere around ten) and now can speak many words, although he does sound like a robot now and has some more language disorders that were revealed.

Stryder has been diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and to put it simply, it means that he does not have the collagen that you and I have in our bodies and since our bodies are made up of a lot of it, it means that there is a chance that Stryders internal organs can break out/rupture and he can die instantly. There are six types of EDS and we are waiting for genetic tests that will tell us if he has the vascular type, which is the most dangerous and will most likely cause a short life for him-there is no cure for this disorder.Because he does not have the collagen in his joints, he can bend them backwards and it causes chronic pain because the ligaments and muscles are doing things they are not supposed to do. We went on Monday and got him fitted for some braces that should help with his walking. He will have to go through surgeries when he is older and will end up in a wheel chair.


On top of the EDS, we also found out that Stryder's Neutrophils count was very low; this is the same blood count that children with leukemia have that makes them so sick. After further testing, the results show that he has a pancreatic disorder, another fatal disorder with no cure that can cause organ failure. They are still processing results from some of these tests as well as many others that will include his language problems. To be honest, I stopped listening to what they think things "might" be.

Stryder has a long road ahead of him and this is only the most recent information. You can read more about his journey on our Caring Bridge site. I try to update it as I can, but in short, Stryder has a lot going on and will for the rest of his life and we will need to make more trips to the Mayo clinic to get the help he needs.


Your name and contact number will be recorded against ticket numbers, and you'll receive an email with your ticket numbers once your payment has been received.  Prizes will be drawn on December 24, 2011. -by Stryder himself -(with Kasiah helping him).

Funds will be transferred to Stryders Trust Account at Mid Oregon Federal Credit Union

1 ticket $2.00 USD 6 tickets $10.00 USD 10 tickets $15.00 USD