We are shattered. Early last Friday morning our son Toryn went into cardiac arrest in our home. While we are still not positive as to what happened, he had been dealing with croup for several days prior and had been seen in the ER twice. Thankfully he was with us, and we were able to start CPR right away. An amazing team of first responders came and were able to get his heart beating again and get him stable enough for transport. We were sent to our local Emergency Room - PVH where he was cared for and stabilized so that he could be flown via helicopter to Children’s Hospital in Denver.

He was placed on a ventilator and after various tests, it was determined that brain death had occurred. We were able to be with him the whole time and care for him up until the very end. He died peacefully in our arms on Sunday evening.

Anyone who knew Toryn knows that he was pure sunshine. With a smile that lit up the world. You could usually find him barefoot (sometimes naked) playing in a dirt pile or running through the sprinklers on our property. We called him our little tornado, who ran everywhere, got into everything, king of the bedtime stallers, and giver of the biggest tightest hugs. We still are trying to come to terms with what happened and how to go on as a family of 5.

We wanted something positive to come from such deviation so during our time at Children’s Hospital we decided to work with Donor Alliance for organ and tissue donation. Toryn continues to live on in this world as both of his kidneys were received by two kiddos - one in Nevada and one in Georgia. We will learn in the coming weeks how his other donations have impacted others. It gives us comfort in knowing that another family may be spared this heartache.

We wanted to be open and honest during this time as the last thing we want is people speculating as to what happened. We still honestly don’t know, and we may never. It will take months for all of the pieces to come into place and results from his autopsy. He was a beautiful, perfect, healthy 3-year-old.

Right now, all we know is that we have been supported and lifted up by our families, friends, and countless people in this community. From the first responders here in Fort Collins, the amazing team at Poudre Valley Hospital, and the countless doctors, nurses, volunteers, and specialists at Children’s Hospital. We know they gave Toryn the most amazing care in his final days and for that, we will be forever thankful.

If you are looking for a way to support us, we have set up a memorial fund in his name to raise money for playground equipment to go to Harmony School – his school. We have been a part of the Harmony School family for four years and it is one of our kid’s favorite places to be. Toryn loved the outdoors, so playground equipment seemed like the right choice in his honor. Harmony School is such an important place to our family, and we know we will be involved for years to come.

We want to thank everyone for the countless texts, phone calls, and meals. We appreciate and love you all so much. We have tentatively picked October 21st, to host a Celebration of Toryn’s life here in our home in Fort Collins. 

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