This picture, taken before Ryan’s first Open Heart surgery, was just how his smiles lit up our whole family. I couldn’t have been more proud to become a “big sister”.

My brother, Ryan, was 3 months old when he had his first Open-

Heart Surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. His

second surgery was in early December that same year, 2006.

I don’t see these pictures so much as sad – but more of

them showing Ryan on the road to recovery…

He was a baby recovering in a huge bed surrounded

by doctors and nurses watching his progress – and with

the comfort of toys I’d brought him.

I didn’t know while my mother was pregnant, that my

parents already knew about Ryan’s heart condition. I was

told about it a few days before he was born, because it was

explained to me that he might not come home for a while if

he had to have his “broken heart” fixed first.

This photo was taken only a few weeks after Ryan’s first

Open Heart Surgery, and he was happy and seemed

to be unaware of all the trauma he had been through.

By July 4th, 2006, only about 6 weeks after his first

surgery, Ryan was all smiles for my Mom and ready

to drive.

The first

Halloween

that Ryan

was old

enough to

walk, he was

ready to

show he

really was a

“Superman”.

His scars are barely visible. There are two, big,

overlapping vertical ones and a few other scars from

the chest tubes he had during and after the surgeries.

There

isn’t

anything

Ryan

doesn’t

want to

do.

A few

years ago,

everything

was all

about

trucks and

army men.

Now it’s

PS3 and

Minecraft.

Ryan is just like every other little boy – he’s

always “ready to roll”…

… and the “life” of every party.

I’m happy

to go

everywhere

with Ryan.

We have a

very strong bond.

Ryan doesn’t

have ANY

restrictions

from sports or

other

activities.

This photo

was taken of

us at camp.

He does

everything

every child

should do

and enjoy.

Through the

miracles of

surgery and

modern

medicine – and

also Ryan’s

determination,

he is dedicated

to taking part in

baseball…

…and martial

arts. He’s getting

close to

becoming a

Black Belt and

already looking

forward to the

incredibly

difficult hike I just

took, because

I’m only weeks

away from

becoming one.

It might be hard for

people to

understand just

how much I

appreciate my

brother and how

protective of him I

am. He means the

world to me. When

he’s next to me, I

feel wonderful.

Once a year, Ryan goes into the city with my parents for a day of a

lot of medical tests. Once, he was even injected with a dye and put

into a machine he described as an “Avatar” machine, so that the

doctors could examine his lungs.

This picture is not

from his testing a

week ago (it’s from 2

years ago). A week

ago, he had his

annual exam, and

he and my parents

had blood samples

taken so that they

could take part in a

huge study of

families, so that

experts could try and

determine if

congenital heart

defects are genetic.

My mother is a

journalist and owns

a newspaper. Every

year, in February,

she publishes an

article she wrote

called, “Born With A

Broken Heart”. It’s a

positive article

about our

experiences as a

family, and with tips

for families with

children suffering

from ailments, and

how they can make

it through tough

times.

Ryan is handsome,

and active and

everyone who meets

him, loves him. He

has the sweetest

laugh, says the funniest things – and

even though he is

sometimes shy, once

he warms up to

someone, his whole

personality comes

out. He is the best

friend I could ever

ask for – and will always and forever, be my best friend.