Ryan Dolliver of College Station, like most two year old boys, loves to laugh, play and be mischievous.
Ryan does all of these things without realizing he is living with a condition that could kill him without warning.
Six months ago, Ryan was diagnosed with vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or vEDS, a life threatening connective tissue disorder that affects all tissues, arteries and internal organs making them extremely fragile.
Kyle Dolliver, Ryan’s dad, says with the diagnosis came several questions, and very few answers. vEDS is the rarest and most severe form of Ehlers-Danlos, and there is no treatment or cure.
“I was just at my wits end, I didn’t know what else to do. Whenever you’re faced with something that is as life threatening as this is, it really hits home and I had to do everything and anything I could to help save his life,” said Kyle.
So Kyle and his wife started Ryan’s Challenge, an organization to spread awareness and raise money for research to find a cure.
“There is a 30% chance of a life-changing event, if not death, by the age of 18, and an 80% chance of death before the age of 40,” said Kyle.
Kyle said many cases of vEDS go undetected until it is too late.
“50% of the kids that die on the football field, or running track, and playing baseball, the reason that they have died is because of vascular Ehlers-Danlos or something that is closely related to it,” said Kyle.
Kyle recently traveled to England to meet with top doctors and their counterpart, Annabelle’s Challenge.
This Friday is Wear Red 4 vEDS Day. Wear red to promote awareness for vEDS and use the hashtag #wearRED4vEDS when posting to social media.
Click below to hear Kyle Dolliver visiting with WTAW’s Chelsea Reber.