6 year old Ryder Delathouwer of Princeton is in the fight of his life. On September 14th, Ryder was diagnosed with a so-called WILMS Tumor, a form of Kidney cancer that most often afflicts children between the ages of four and six years old. Ryder also suffers from Lung Cancer. Since the September diagnosis, Ryder has a total of 19 tumors diagnosed, 6 in his right lung, 2 in his left lung, 6 on his left kidney and had to have 5 tumors on lymph nodes surrounding the left kidney. Being a single mother of three kids, Ryder, along with his 9 year old sister and four year old brother, you can imagine the stress and struggle for Ryder’s mom, Torrie Searle, an employee of Princeton Elementary School.
Friends are now rallying around Ryder and his family with the start of a GoFundMe campaign, linked here. The money raised will go toward helping the family stay afloat while Torrie stays with Ryder who is currently at St Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee where they will be through early February. On December 21st, Ryder underwent surgery to remove tumors from his left kidney and hopefully save what they can of the kidney. The doctors will also be placing a G-Tube or Gastrostomy Tube to help get nutrition directly to Ryder’s stomach and aid in his recovery.
In a conversation with WZOE RegionalMediiaNews.com, Torrie tells us that Ryder is a big baseball fan who loves being outdoors but also loves videogames. Now, at just six years old, he’s learning resilience in the hardest way you can imagine. Thus far a few fundraisers have taken place and more are planned in the near future but you can imagine with medical bills, Ryder’s sister and brother at home, and Torrie being unable to work as she stays by Ryder’s side, the family is going to need a lot of help. If you are able, you can donate to the GoFundMe campaign. Below are some more photos of Ryder, his mom, and his siblings. Photos provided by Torrie Searle. You can keep up with Ryder and his mom, Torrie on social media with the hashtag #RyderStrong
Venmo users can donate to help Ryder with this QR Code for Torrie Searle on Venmo
