Family asks community to help son

An Okotoks family knows its son may never walk or talk, but it plans to give him a better life with help from the community.

Tiffany Boyd and Jamie Menzies are hosting a mini market in the Foothills Centennial Centre on June 14 to raise money to fly their four-year-old son Ryker to Panama City for stem cell therapy that could improve his motor function, vision and speech.

Ryker developed cerebral palsy due to severe brain damage caused by seizures as an infant. The condition left him unable to sit, stand, walk or talk. He is legally blind, has frequent muscles spasms and will likely never develop beyond his 13-month-old brother Jaxen.

It will forever affect our lives, said Boyd.

Boyd spent months searching for ways to help improve her sons condition and came across the option of stem cell treatment in Panama City. The treatment isnt approved by the Food and Drug Administration in North America. Treatment costs $15,600 and transportation and accommodations another $6,000.

Boyd said the stem cells are injected into the blood stream intravenously to restore damaged brain tissue. The result is often improved vision, looser muscles and better balance, she said. Boyd said she was told patients have an 85 per cent chance of improving.

Boyd said shes excited by the possibilities for her son.

Just being able to give him any bit more of independence would be huge, even for the pain factor, she said. A lot of kids with cerebral palsy, because their muscles are so tight, are in constant pain.

Boyd and Menzies cant afford the treatment on their own and hope for a little help from Okotoks.

In addition to accepting donations for Ryker online at http://www.gofundme.com, Boyd hopes to raise $5,000 at the mini market to help supplement the costs.

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Family asks community to help son