Ahead of her 48th surgery, friends surprise young girl outside hospital window

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    LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WLKY) — Friday morning, from a children’s hospital room in downtown Louisville, a young patient looked confused and then broke into a smile when she realized what was happening just outside her window.

A crowd held up posters and the letters spelling out, “We Love You Ryan.”

Just 30 minutes ahead of her latest surgery, friends of Ryan Neighbors, who was born with spina bifida, crowded onto the 9th floor of the parking garage at Norton Children’s Hospital to wish her well.

“It doesn’t take a lot and what did we do today? We gave time. We all have time,” organizer De De Cox, a longtime family friend, said.

Cox, a previous WLKY Bell Award Winner, was honored for her work granting dreams for chronically ill children like Ryan. She knew if the little girl could just see them and hear them, those few minutes could be enough to lift the little girl’s spirits.

While Ryan is just 11, Friday marked her 48th surgery. It also marked the first time many of those friends couldn’t line the hallways of the hospital to wish her well.

“Before she goes into surgery she gets to see us and know there’s people behind her who need her to get well and want her to get well to get back on the stage and be Ryan again,” friend Hannah Robb, also a Bell Award winner, said.

And with her fierce determination, friends say the next time they’ll be cheering on Ryan won’t be from a parking garage, but a crowded auditorium.

“It will be okay. It’s got to be okay,” Cox said, as she blew a kiss towards Ryan’s window.

Ryan has been hospitalized for the past seven weeks but friends and family are hopeful if this surgery goes well she could be home for the holidays.

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