Meet Madi

Charity: The Ryan House

My name is Madi and I have a very cool story to tell you about my visits to Ryan House.  It is a place of “dreams come true” for me and all the kids I am now friends with.

Ryan House is an amazing place for babies, toddlers, children, teens, and even for parents. It is like a sleep away camp for kids from birth to seventeen that have incurable conditions. I was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) when I was three years old.

You can imagine how hard it is to take care of me. Well, at Ryan House, everyone treats me as if I was their own. They’ll do anything for me!  But don’t let them fool you, they still know how to have fun and throw a party and I’m a BIG party thrower!

Let me share with you some of my favorite things to do at Ryan House:

I love fashion, so the volunteers and staff throw fashion shows or mini parades with me.  I like to cook some odd family recipes, like Cottage Cheese Pancakes, which I don’t think the volunteer Derek is too fond of!

Once I challenged Grayson, a Ryan House nurse, to drink ten Capri Suns in ten minutes. He did it, but I think I ruined Capri Suns for him forever!

Three of my closest friends Ryan, Destiny, and Alissa all like to make forts, maybe do some minor pranks on the volunteers and joke around with the staff.

We have amazing visitors come to Ryan House as well! The Arizona Rattlers came to hang out with us kids and since I know football players are tough, I thought it would be fun to do their hair, makeup, and nails. Tyson had long hair, so we braided it, gave him sparkly blue eye shadow and sparkly blue nails. Finally, we put the finishing touches on his look with a tutu and a wand!  I’ll never forget that crazy day!

Ryan House is a place to get away from my family and just hang out with my friends. I love my family a lot, but everyone knows you just need a break for a few days. I want to thank everyone that cares for me and remember I am always up for a great party!