By the time Ryder was diagnosed (11 days before his first birthday), he had a tumor in his spinal cord so large, it was literally pushing his spine out of the way and we could both feel and see it protruding from his back in addition to metastasis throughout his stomach and into his hip bones. His oncologist told us when he first saw Ryder's scans, he didn't think he would ever be able to walk. Almost a year later, Ryder took his first steps. The following year, we took Ryder "skiing" for the first time. I held him up between my legs and we skied down the hill together. Last week, we took him out again but we noticed he was standing up a little straighter and leaning just a little bit less on me. Skiing was all he talked about after that so we took him out again this weekend. I am so thankful for this little boy that continues to inspire us every single day.