Support Riley and His Parents as He Heals at MGH

Update from Nancy (Riley’s mom), February 19, 2025

Day 25 update: Riley is transferring back to MGH this afternoon. His skin graft surgery is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon in the MGH OR, so it made sense to move him there today to get situated. The team of surgeons is the same at both hospitals and MGH has additional staff including a dedicated plastics team. We’re all excited for this next step forward in Riley’s healing journey, but recovery from skin graft surgery can be very uncomfortable, so there is some sense of trepidation on our (parents) part as well. Shriners has been absolutely amazing. May your children never have need for a burn unit, but if they should - Shriners is the place to be. It is small, (they cap out at 9 patients), and the building older, but the staff is out of this world. In addition to their medical knowledge and experience, they really go above and beyond for these kids.

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Hello! This is Nancy's sister Paula. As you probably already know, Riley was in a serious ATV accident that has left him with extensive burn injuries, and he will be staying at Shriners Children's Hospital for a number of weeks. He had a successful surgery on Wednesday (1/29), but has more scheduled in the coming days. Nancy has been staying with him 24/7, while Todd, and now I, are driving in every day (they only allow one parent to stay overnight).

A number of our friends and family have asked how they can help. From what I've seen so far, the parking fees and meal costs are starting to add up, plus we have yet to know what the impact of the medical costs will be, hence this GoFundMe. If you would like to help offset the costs, please consider donating here. If you would rather send something to Riley to cheer him up, please send it to:

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ETA: Riley is home! If you would like to contact the Danoses in Haverhill, message me (Paula) for their info.

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He likes (no more candy! omigod he has so much candy!), humorous graphic novels suitable for a 13yo, cozy socks with grips, and Robucks, and he could use more soft pajama bottoms (w/ drawstring: men's small; without drawstring: boys XL), and soft throw blankets (they need to be swapped out frequently and this will cut down on time spent on laundry). Please do not send flowers, as they are not allowed in the rooms.

And if you don't have anything to spare right now, please don't feel obligated. Just knowing how many people are rooting for him has been a great source of cheer for Riley, and for us. :-)

He is currently sleeping 18-20 hours a day as he heals, so if you plan to visit, please contact Todd, Nancy, or me first to make sure Ri is up for it.

Thank you to everyone who has reached out! Paraphrasing what Nan said on Facebook, "We knew we had a village but never realized how big it was."