Meet Ryder
Ryder is all about hockey – from playing with his hockey team in Drayton Valley, to cheering for the Edmonton Oilers. Thanks to the expert care he received at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, Ryder gets to eat chicken wings to his heart’s content.
When Ryder was just 10 days old, his parents took him to his local emergency department after his stomach seemed abnormally large and he was vomiting yellow bile. After multiple tests, Ryder was transferred to the Stollery via ambulance where experts discovered a mass in his stomach.
What looked like a cyst turned out to be a second stomach. His second stomach was attached to his intestines and was interfering with the function of his vital organs. Ryder needed emergency surgery to remove it as well as some of his intestines. He spent a week in a coma to allow his body to fully heal, followed by a few more weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit to completely recover. Ryder’s parents are grateful for the care their son received and thankful to have this world-class hospital in their backyard for whenever families across Alberta need it.