Each year, just one in a million people are diagnosed with a rare cancerous bone tumor called a chordoma, which occurs along the spine or skull.  Of that pool of one-in-a-million, only 5% are pediatric cases. In the United States, that's about 300 total cases, just 15 of which are kids.

Ryder Preston Maciaszek is 6 years old, and he has been told he is one of them. The day prior to his first day of Kindergarten he collapsed on the bathroom floor, was taken to the ER and in the following days, diagnosed.  Ryder's cancer is incredibly rare, and situated at a very difficult and precarious location to access, at the skull-base. This is called Clival Chordoma.  Since being diagnosed his parents have found one of if not the most experienced neurosurgeons with this specific Chordoma in Pittsburg.   On October 11th, Dr. Gardner successfully performed a gross resection of the tumor.  Ryder, his mother, and father spent two months in Pittsburg recovering.   After several setbacks with failed grafts to fill the void left behind from the tumor which created repetitive CSF leaks, the surgeons were able to successfully fill the void.  Ryder and his family have been home since Thanksgiving and were able to enjoy the holidays with their family.   Now they await follow up scans in late February to determine what the next step will be in Ryder's journey. This will determine if Proton Based Therapy (Radiation) will be necessary.   We pray these scans show no recurrence and he can continue to rehab, gain weight, and heal in hopes to ultimately one day return to playing the sports he loves, football, hockey, and lacrosse.