Ryan's Wish - Just What the Dog-tor Ordered
Ryan was in eighth grade when his world was flipped upside down. While his friends’ minds were consumed with ‘The Big Game’ or the adventures they’d soon have in high school, night sweats and periods of low energy started to slow Ryan down.
After several doctors pointed him and his family in different directions, a biopsy eventually confirmed their worst nightmare—a cancer diagnosis.
Suddenly a daunting treatment plan, including five cycles of chemotherapy, was laid out in front of them. His close-knit family didn’t know how they would carry on. “We were a mess,” said his mother, Janira. “But he held us together.”
Ryan braved it all as his usual self, cracking jokes and giving his family strength to draw from.
“He laughed his way through chemo and even laughed his way through losing his hair,” said Janira. “It broke my heart because as much as he didn’t look like the same child, his attitude about it was phenomenal.”
Ryan made it a point to attend school whenever he was able, and would even push himself go straight to basketball practice from treatment. At the end of the day, he strived to be no different than his peers.
“He kept us sane and he made us stronger,” said Janira.
There was something to keep Ryan sane too - a light at the end of the tunnel, packaged in the form of a wish.
For Ryan, deciding just what that might be was motivating and empowering all on its own. Would he wish to meet one of his NBA idols? Take a trip somewhere warm? Or deck out his room with a custom gaming setup?
He took his time to decide, weighing his options, and going back and forth on several wish concepts. “Ryan kept her [his wish granter] busy,” recalled Janira.
But when Ryan finally came to his decision, he knew it was the right one. After all, he wanted a wish that would uplift his entire family as he turned the page into the next cancer-free chapter of his life.
And in the blink of an eye, his puppy Shiloh Wish entered their world and changed their lives forever.
“I don’t think I ever could have gotten a greater dog,” said Ryan. “She’s always right by my side, we sleep together every night.”
One year later and their bond has only grown stronger. “She for sure changed our house,” said Janira. “Shiloh has made our home complete.”
Today Shiloh can be found howling “I love you’s” at the family or pressing her big green button for asking for a snack. And even when she’s crashing into the sofa or hogging up the AC vents, Ryan couldn’t be prouder to call her his best friend.
“She knows that we all love her, but she also knows that she is here for him,” said Janira. “She knows that Ryan is her person.”
Experiencing first-hand how a wish can change the trajectory of a child’s life, Janira immediately set out to volunteer herself. “When we got in contact with our first volunteer, I knew I had to do this,” she said.
Determined to make sure that no parent feels alone, just one year later she has already worked to Wish it Forward by granting wishes for several other children. “I never thought I would be this close with the foundation, but everyone has been so amazing and so supportive.”
Are you a wish alum or family? Learn more about our alumni program and how you can join Janira and Ryan to Wish it Forward: wish.org/newyork/wish-it-forward