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A little Bobcat needs some help

Paytonlives

Moderator
Staff member
an X Bobcat football (Ty McDonald) players son needs a kidney & Heart transplant

This would be a good time to reach out and help!

Post form Bobcat Nation

It’s been on my mind to post about this situation for 8 months now and have to admit I’m ashamed that I waited so long to post about it but here it goes. Former Bobcat player Ty McDonald #45 2004-2007 along with his family are in the fight of their lives and literally the fight FOR the life of their son Lyam.
Check out this video to get a small glimpse of what they are dealing with.

https://www.ktvq.com/news/local-news/fi ... infant-son

Many of you may have already been aware of this but I want all of Bobcat nation to know. Please keep this family in your prayers and if you have any thought or knowledge of where they might get the help they are so desperately seeking do what you can.
Ty played for the Bobcats from 2004-2007 and wore number 45. You won’t find his name in any individual records list but his dedication and impact to the team go far beyond that as indicated by a small write up about him in the Bobcats by the numbers.

Ty McDonald (2004-07)

Other #45 Notes: It's an obvious over-simplification to say that Treasure State products have been the backbone of the Bobcat football program for the century-plus of its existence. The Bobcat program began to really take off early in the 21st century, though, when non-scholarship and low-scholarship players from Montana began matriculating to MSU in larger numbers, and staying their entire careers. One of the greatest examples is Ty McDonald, a Montana High School Heisman winner who picked up the nickname "The Bus Driver" when that's the role a new assistant thought he held in the program on the trip to Great Falls for the Triangle Classic because he was attired in blue jeans and boots rather than team sweats or shorts. McDonald was a solid special teams contributor and reserve tight end, and coming from an agricultural family near Geyser his MSU heritage was strong. Away from the football field is where McDonald really made his mark. He won the University's Torley Award as the senior male who most exemplified the spirit of community service and involvement, he earned an International Stockmen's Education Foundation Travel Fellowship to the 2007 International Livestock Congress in Denver, a Val Glynn Award for leadership and scholarship, was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi agricultural honorary, interned for former U.S. Senator Conrad Burns in Washington D.C., and traveled to Taiwan to study international grain use in the spring of 2006. Ty McDonald was a favorite during his time at MSU, and remains a sterling example that college athletics provides opportunity far beyond the playing field…
 
Lyam translates to "strong-willed warrior", and for this little boy, that couldn't be more true.

Lyam McDonald was born with a serious heart defect and underwent his first open heart surgery at five days old.

He was discharged and got to know his family, and bonded with his big sister, 3-year-old Kymber.

"We were a family of four for a few months. it was pretty neat," said Ty McDonald, father of Kymber and Lyam.

Formerly of Geyser, Montana, the McDonald family relocated to Colorado to meet Lyam's needs.

Following his second stage of heart surgery in March, Lyam was put on (ECHMO) life support.
 
Ty is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He was a great friend while I was going to school there. Help his family out if you can.
 
dupuyer griz said:
Ty is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He was a great friend while I was going to school there. Help his family out if you can.

Done
 
There is some great news. Ty and Jyll have word that a hospital in Florida is willing to look at Liam! They think they can stabilize or help his kidneys enough that it will enable him to get on the heart and kidney transplant lists in the future. It's very early in the process, but the fact that someone/anyone is willing to give him a shot is HUGE! They will likely be moving to Gainesville for the next 8-12 months if/when all the details of moving Lyam are figured out.
 
MTCowpoke said:
There is some great news. Ty and Jyll have word that a hospital in Florida is willing to look at Liam! They think they can stabilize or help his kidneys enough that it will enable him to get on the heart and kidney transplant lists in the future. It's very early in the process, but the fact that someone/anyone is willing to give him a shot is HUGE! They will likely be moving to Gainesville for the next 8-12 months if/when all the details of moving Lyam are figured out.

AWESOME!
:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
 
MTCowpoke said:
There is some great news. Ty and Jyll have word that a hospital in Florida is willing to look at Liam! They think they can stabilize or help his kidneys enough that it will enable him to get on the heart and kidney transplant lists in the future. It's very early in the process, but the fact that someone/anyone is willing to give him a shot is HUGE! They will likely be moving to Gainesville for the next 8-12 months if/when all the details of moving Lyam are figured out.


:clap: :thumb: Great to hear. Best of fortune for that young man and his family!
 
Lyam arrived in Gainsville yesterday. They were hoping to move him Monday, but weren't able to secure an echmo circuit until yesterday. Lyam made the flight in great shape with the flight team. Jyll was able to line up commercial flights and made it before Lyam, and I believe Ty is on the road between Denver and Florida today. Continued prayers and support are greatly appreciated. We are all hoping things start to turn around for this little fighter!!!
 
Update: Things were going ok for Lyam until yesterday. His new doctors have been trying to do some different things and have been amazed at how he's been handling it. Originally, they were pleasantly surprised with how well he was doing upon arrival. They expected him to be in much worse shape. However, yesterday his arterial ECMO cannula slipped out of place. This made him very unstable (basically the ECMO has been keeping him alive), and they had to intubate and paralyze him immediately. He went in for emergency surgery. This included reopening his chest and putting him on bypass. It's very dangerous to do so as the med's he's on have thinned his blood to the point that any bleeding can be extremely detrimental. The doctor's were able to fix the ECMO cannulas. Sounds like they actually were planning on switching over to a different cannula type next week, but ended up doing it yesterday. He made it out of surgery, but was still bleeding a little and retained a lot of fluid. The immediate plan now is to drain off the excess fluid, rehab his lungs from all the fluid and transfusions, and control the bleeding. Things are still touch and go as he recovers. Doesn't sound like this was necessarily a step back, but may delay some of the other procedures planned as he'll have to recover from yesterday's surgery before they can move on to any other procedures. His doctor is amazed at how tough Lyam is! Ty and Jyll continue to thank everyone for all their support and prayers.
 
Things have been up and down for Lyam over the past several weeks. This little fighter turned 1 on December 5th. He’s had more sugeries and transfusions than most will have in a lifetime. Lately there have been some issues with his tubes leaking into his body. But he’s also had some good days and made some gains as well. However, late this last week they discovered a fungal infection in his incision wound. It is festering and creating pressure. They are going to try to lance it and relieve the pressure. If this does not work, it’s possible Ty and Jyll could be saying goodbye to Lyam tonight. Ty didn’t say much more in his update, so I don’t have anymore details. We can only hope this works and he can start to recover from yet another setback.
 
MTCowpoke said:
Things have been up and down for Lyam over the past several weeks. This little fighter turned 1 on December 5th. He’s had more sugeries and transfusions than most will have in a lifetime. Lately there have been some issues with his tubes leaking into his body. But he’s also had some good days and made some gains as well. However, late this last week they discovered a fungal infection in his incision wound. It is festering and creating pressure. They are going to try to lance it and relieve the pressure. If this does not work, it’s possible Ty and Jyll could be saying goodbye to Lyam tonight. Ty didn’t say much more in his update, so I don’t have anymore details. We can only hope this works and he can start to recover from yet another setback.

Please an update...
 
Paytonlives said:
MTCowpoke said:
Things have been up and down for Lyam over the past several weeks. This little fighter turned 1 on December 5th. He’s had more sugeries and transfusions than most will have in a lifetime. Lately there have been some issues with his tubes leaking into his body. But he’s also had some good days and made some gains as well. However, late this last week they discovered a fungal infection in his incision wound. It is festering and creating pressure. They are going to try to lance it and relieve the pressure. If this does not work, it’s possible Ty and Jyll could be saying goodbye to Lyam tonight. Ty didn’t say much more in his update, so I don’t have anymore details. We can only hope this works and he can start to recover from yet another setback.

Please an update...

The wife heard from Ty’s sister that Lyam did make it through the procedure. He is stable, but still very critical. For now he’s holding his own, but that could change at any moment. The doctor is calling it day by day, which is an improvement from “hourly” right after the procedure. What really sucks is that in all the pictures they share, he’s always very alert and attentive. He’s very much there and ready to be the little boy he should be, if only his heart and kidneys could support his body the way it should.
 
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