Happy 30th Birthday Rys! 18th March 2024
30 years on and that love and pride of course remains in bucket loads, just in a different way than I could ever have imagined. Today is as always, a day of celebration, but also of reflection. My thoughts recently have been more focused on where would he be living and working, what would he look like, would he be getting married like some of his friends (who continue to be amazing by the way!), and would he still be mischievous? The latter is most definitely a yes….. he would be continuing to live life to the full as he always did, with laughter, banter and of course love. His famous cheeky grin would still appear and hopefully, there would be the occasional message checking in with his Mum.
Whilst I ponder on the other questions about his general day-to-day life, I feel a distinct feeling of comfort that he would be proud of all that has been achieved in his ‘next chapter’. A very timely milestone has also been reached as ‘a Life for a Cure’ hits the ‘fun-raising’ total of £600,000. We are delighted and can not thank you enough for your hugely significant support and hope that this will continue if that’s OK? We’ll never truly know the precise impact of ‘a Life for a Cure’, but some good must have come from sharing Ryan’s story with millions of young adults and parents over the years, with our far-reaching meningitis awareness campaigns.
I also know how proud Ryan would be of his little sister! Charlotte/Shim has been incredible and continues to astound me with her creativity, resilience, wisdom, and her light that shines as brightly as the comet that passed by the earth last night! Unlike 12P/Pons-Brooks which we are unlikely to see for the next 71 years, Shims light appears every day.
My ‘two peas in a pod’ have made me the proudest Mum ever – thank you!
We feel hugely blessed with his ‘next chapter’ and eternally grateful for all your love and support and keeping to your initial promise to remember him. Thank you all so much.
A Cheers to Ryan and a Cheers to You!
