Five-year-old Ryan McClymonds has been battling cancer since he was 2.
Through videos, his mom, Lisa, has been documenting his fight with neuroblastoma, a cancer that attacks his nervous system.
Lisa says, "I thank god everyday for him. I'm very grateful."
Ryan's dad, Mitch, is grateful too. It's been years since that first horrible trip to the doctor to find out what was wrong.
He adds, "They told us he had cancer, and they found tumor the size of a cantaloupe. Your hold world just comes tumbling down -- it just stops."
Ryan's been through seven rounds of chemo, 20 rounds of radiation, 12 surgeries and a bone marrow transplant. The worst part for mom she says, "Watching him suffer. Not knowing if he was going to live."
To help get her thru, Lisa turned time and again to music, particularly by Celine Dion and particualrly her song, "A New Day Has Come."
Lisa adds, "Just the words. If you listened to the song. it described how I felt -- that someday he would be fine and a new day would come."
That new day may be near. Ryan's about to have his 2-year scan to see if he's still cancer free.
Lisa says, "We have scans in two weeks and here I am reliving it all over, worried."
This is where Troubleshooter Diane Wilson comes in. Lisa didn't know she was the Troubleshooter. She thought she was just doing a health feature on Ryan.
She didn't know her sister-in-law had e-mailed Troubleshooter Diane Wilson with a very special request. That request was for her to go to the Celine Dion concert.
Troubleshooter Diane Wilson surprised Lisa with four tickets Celine Dion's concert in Raleigh. Lisa says to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson, "Thank you, thank you very much. I wanted to go so bad."
And Wednesday evening, the night of the concert, the McClymonds were all smiles as they walked into the arena.
Ryan, Lisa, Mitch and Connie, the sister-in-law, Connie who e-mailed Troubleshooter Diane Wilson were all ready for the concert. Lisa adds, "I'm so happy. I'm so excited. I can't even breathe. I'm so happy I can bring him out here to experience this."
Connie McClymonds adds, "This meant so much to her and this whole thing is just a dream come true it's wonderful!"
But there was another surprise for the McClymonds. Rright before Celine Dion took the stage she had a special meeting with the McClymonds.
Lisa described it and says, "She comes in and she's like, 'Where's Ryan, Where's Ryan? She came in and gave him a water and said are you thirsty Ryan? I probably have her fingerprint on here."
It was a special moment between Celine and Ryan. Lisa says, "She held his hand and took a picture with him."
As for Lisa, she says, "My heart just skipped a beat I was like oh my God it's really her." A great way to start a new day as Lisa adds, "I really appreciate this, I'm really grateful."
And we're grateful to Celine Dion for helping us with the surprise. She was so nice to them. And it was a really fun Troubleshooter problem to solve. Ryan goes in for his cancer scan soon, and we're all keeping our fingers crossed.
To learn more about Ryan's journey and Neuroblastoma visit Ryan's website at http://www.ryanstrain.us
