SMOOTH SAILING: Ryan Agnew with his dog Bailey
and his ship, "Ryan's Challenge." A 16-foot version of the ship was
the centerpiece to the St. Peter's Church vacation Bible camp.
by Meg Ryan
Jul 13, 2010Ryan Agnew, a fifth grader at John Brown Francis School, has remained buoyant in stormy seas throughout his courageous struggle back to health.
Everything changed for Ryan last fall. An active – healthy child who enjoys playing hockey and soccer, as well as the guitar and piano, Ryan became very sick on Columbus Day of last year.
Ryan turned jaundice and started vomiting after playing a soccer game. His parent took him to Hasbro Children’s Hospital, but doctors there assessed the situation as dire and he was transferred to the care of Dr. Sukru Emre at Yale Children’s Hospital in Connecticut.
Then came the tidal waves. Over the course of the next two weeks he rapidly declined to critical condition. After countless blood tests and biopsies, Dr. Emre diagnosed Ryan with an untypical hepatitis, which caused liver failure.
“Our family was devastated,” recalls Ryan’s mom, Connie Agnew.
It was easily the darkest time in Ryan’s young life.
“I was going through rough waters. I couldn’t go outside. My entire school was going to come and sing to me on my front lawn, but I had to go back to the hospital. I would say the hardest part of my journey was the very first blood draw. I had hundreds, but I will never forget my first one,” says Ryan.
Dr. Emre and the other medical professionals at Yale Children’s Hospital began giving Ryan a series of liver function tests, which scanned his blood enzymes and proteins, which indicate liver disease. Ryan’s numbers were extremely high – a surefire sign of liver disease, if not outright failure.
Unfortunately in Ryan’s case, it was the latter. By the end of October, Ryan’s liver had failed completely.
Things were grim.
But fortunately for Ryan, however, some good fortune was finally on the horizon. The brave and generous family of a girl in a diabetic coma stepped forward and donated her liver to Ryan.
On October 26, Dr. Emre performed a dual surgery – a procedure that saved Ryan’s life. Dr. Emre split the donor child’s liver in half and gave the right lobe to Ryan and the left to an infant named Alvir. Both surgeries were successful.
After the surgery, and many prayers from friends and family members, Ryan began the long road back to a full recovery.
In June, he participated in the St. Peter’s Vacation Bible School Camp for the third consecutive year – this year as a counselor.
Margaret Andreozzi, the camp’s director, who had gotten to know Ryan over the last three years, felt as if the camp’s theme, “high seas”, coincided closely with Ryan’s tribulations over the past year.
She had already asked her brother-in-law, Robert Adams, of Assonet, Mass., to build a 16-foot model clipper ship.
So at the closing ceremony two weeks ago, Andreozzi and Adams decided to present the ship as “Ryan’s Challenge” in honor of his journey.
It was then given to St. Peter’s School’s principal, Mrs. Joan Sickinger, to be used as a float in Warwick’s 2011 Gaspee Day Parade. Father Roger C. Gagne presented Ryan with his own smaller replica of the ship to commemorate the event.
“I [couldn’t] stop crying,” said Connie, referring to the ceremony.
“It certainly was Ryan’s challenge, and he conquered it. We never would have gotten through it without the support of our parish, family, friends and community.”
Ryan is doing well, but the recovery is still very much an ongoing journey. He takes life saving drugs twice daily and maintains a strict diet. Ryan still has to refrain from any strenuous activities and therefore hasn’t returned to his active lifestyle. But if his heroic recovery over the better part of the last year is any indication, he will sooner than later.
In the meantime, Ryan has taken his suffering and turned it into something positive. He has devoted himself to working as an organ transplant spokesman in Rhode Island and Connecticut. Ryan spoke at the Transplant Awareness Fair at Yale University on May 15 where Billy Joel performed, and over a thousand people gathered to learn more about organ transplants.
Ryan has also spoken at fundraisers for the Ronald McDonald House, where he also spent time recovering. He will speak at an upcoming fundraiser at Mohegan Sun this November.
For more information about organ transplants or to learn how you can become a donor visit http://www.donatelifenewengland.org/ today.
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