Ryder Wells is a nearly seven-year-old boy from North Carolina who has faced many challenges in his young life and continues to be brave. When he was just 21 months old, Ryder and his family were at a friend’s house for Thanksgiving when he was attacked by two large Rottweilers that weighed 100 pounds each.
This terrible event caused Ryder to lose half of his face. He also had his teeth broken, a broken arm, and a punctured lung. The doctors didn’t have much hope, but Ryder proved to be a little warrior and survived. Over the next five years, he had to go through about 50 surgeries to help fix his face.
Until he gets mature, he will need to have more surgeries, including nose and teeth reconstruction.
Ryder’s family feels really proud of their heroic son, but they also worry about him since he just started kindergarten. He gets a lot of attention, not just from his classmates but also from adults. Even though he’s still little, he notices everything around him. In an interview with The Mirror, his mom, Brittany, shared that “He wears glasses and a cap, and sometimes he lowers his head to cover his face. But I remind him every day that he’s beautiful, and being different is beautiful too, and it’s perfectly fine to be unique.”
One day, the family was enjoying their time at the park when a kid suddenly yelled, “monster!” while pointing at Ryder and then ran off. This wasn’t the first time something like this happened. Just the other day while shopping, someone shouted “ew” at him. It really hurts as a parent to see that after all he has faced, some people can be so unkind about something he has no control over.
Brittany is afraid that things could get even worse once Ryder starts going to school because no matter now innocent children are, they are not really considerate.
She worries that her kind-hearted son could be bullied, so she’s working hard to spread the word about how bullying can hurt someone like him. She hopes that people will consider their actions towards those who are different and wishes for her son to be welcomed by others. “I try to comfort him as much as possible, but I’m really scared for him when he starts school. There will always be a few kids who aren’t nice,” she says.
We need to show our kids how important it is to accept differences and treat everyone kindly. This way, kids like sweet Ryder can have a happier life.
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