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Survival by Grace for Purpose: The Ryan Hamner Story. After two years of misdiagnosis, in 1982, Ryan underwent surgery and radiation treatment for the first time. It was the beginning of his fight against Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He was a five-year-old little boy with a big spirit. Shortly thereafter, in 1983, exploratory surgery for his lingering cancer brought with it the removal of his spleen and appendix. In 1985, the second occurrence of Hodgkin's appeared, which landed him back in the operating room and scheduled for more radiation therapy. Ryan's ninth year (1987) came and went with emergency surgery, necessary due to complications from the previous operations that left painful adhesions in his stomach. At twelve years old, in 1988, he was, for the third time, diagnosed with Hodgkin's again. More surgery and more radiation followed. By the age of eleven, Ryan had undergone six surgeries, three of which were accompanied by radiation therapy. His ongoing fight to live was waning and major anxiety and depression began to set in. He was left with digestive problems brought on by scar tissue in his esophagus as a result of the continued radiation to his little body. He found it difficult to sleep or get rest of any kind, physically or mentally. This is how he would live for the next nine years, but still, he was thankful and believed he had escaped the Hodgkin's wrath for the last time - and the toll it had taken on his life and body began to heal. In 1997 while attending college, he was again diagnosed, for the fourth time, with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He quit everything, to fight once again, to live. His college classes, his part time job and his martial arts training all went by the wayside and soon he was participating in the only normal life he knew: surgery - a bone marrow transplant and more chemo therapy. This battle left his immune system weak, leaving him prone to infections, pneumonia and the like. But Ryan's spirit brought him through and he conquered the disease for the last time. Ryan lived the next four years normally and freely, as he never had before, until the year 2002. Hit head on by a drunk driver, he escaped with his life but the accident left him with added shoulder complications already permeating from his years of radiation. In 2006, an infected port landed him back in the hospital for more treatment only to resurface on Christmas day that same year, where he was suddenly overcome by V-tach, which landed him on the floor. Recovering once again, "Ryan Style," here he is today. Seventeen of his thirty-three years were spent in a battle most of us will never comprehend. Although the majority of his precious childhood was spent in and out of operating rooms, attached to tubes and unconscious, Ryan was surrounded by love and normalcy at home. His granddad taught him to fish, played GI Joe and encouraged him to be the fun loving child he knew he was. He played baseball and collected cards with his older brother, Jason, and developed a love of martial arts. His little body may have been in need of help but his spirit was not. His dad was the first to introduce him to the sounds of the guitar and fostered his love of the acoustic tones. Simply by listening and watching his dad play, at the age of fourteen (and within a week of his dad handing it to him) Ryan learned each major chord and was off and running! At the age of sixteen, he wrote his first song, "Rain Sometimes Falls from Blue Skies," that he now refers to as a "cheesy little diddy." That "diddy" led him to his second attempt at writing, resulting in "So Soon." He was seventeen at the time and the song, written for and dedicated to his grandfather, recently landed on his first album "Between The Lines." During his last recovery period, and being (as Ryan puts it) "stuck in his room," he began recording his music diligently and at the same time, authoring and illustrating "You'll Be Alright, Buddy," a children's book about surviving cancer. The book was quickly picked up by Blue Cross/Blue Shield and distributed to children in cancer centers around the Southeast. With that, Ryan began traveling and speaking about his experience and the book, and spreading hope and inspiration to others that could relate solely to him - children with cancer. The book would be the connection to, and how Ryan met his first sponsor, Pam Omidyar, founder of the nonprofit HopeLab. At the same time HopeLab was developing a videogame called Re-Mission, designed to give young people with cancer a sense of power and control over their disease. A phone call from Pam (and by her personal invitation) Ryan made his first trip to San Jose, California, to participate in a focus group to help further HopeLab's efforts, and a friendship between the two has continued ever since. Pam's belief in Ryan and his abilities to inspire others through his music led to her funding his first in-studio demo, followed by his first EP, and most recently, his first album, "Between The Lines." In Ryan's words, "Through all this stuff, there's God doing what He does - He brought Pam into my life, a truly wonderful woman who believes in me and my music." Ryan began traveling the South and Southeast in June, visiting cancer centers, family lodges and hospitals in the hope of inspiring others by showing the example he now lives - one of successful treatment and ultimate survival. What began as a leisurely trip around the south (with a few dates booked) the Ryan Hamner Presents: "Hear The Heart" Summer Tour, 2010, has all but exploded through eight states, ballooning to twenty-two interviews and requested performances in the first forty-five days. Local media coverage like FOX, NBC, CBS and NPR, along with local newspapers, love his story and are showing up regularly in support of Ryan's efforts. Meanwhile, on July 6th, his new single, "The View", was released to radio stations, with four adding it to their rotation within the first twenty-four hours. The song rose from the 22nd slot of OnlyLyrics.com's Top 100 Unknown Songs list to #1 in six days. As Ryan plays for his audiences, whether they are patients or doctors and nurses, he is leaving behind not only his newly released music, but his example of hope and inspiration to those he touches as well. For those who attend to sit, relax and enjoy the show, they're leaving with a t-shirt and cd in hand, taking the inspirational experience with them. (See local interview at: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2010/06/29/1176793/local-singer-songwriter-ryan-hamner.html) Ryan is performing free from "Between The Lines" in an effort to raise awareness and funds to further cancer research, while distributing HopeLab's RE-MISSION to young cancer patients along the way. "Roxie", the game's Heroine who travels through the body fighting cancer from the inside out, offers her assistance as well, empowering young people to fight along with her and recover for good, as Ryan did. Ryan's experience teaches us many things, the most important being the one of the Spirit within each of us - how it lives on through faith and love - by Grace and for Its own Purpose. To hear Ryan and to learn more about how you can help, visit www.HearTheHeartTour.com or his personal website, www.ryanhamner.com. |
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| Copyright 2010 Ryan Hamner Music | How the tour works/Book a Date with the "Hear the Heart" tour | ||||||||||||
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