Make-A-Wish helping Simi boy meet Dale Earnhardt Jr.
| Ventura County Star, By Michele Willer-Allred, Monday, November 2, 2009 Life hasn’t always been easy for 4-year-old Bryce Tory, a Simi Valley youngster born with a congenital heart defect. But on Sunday, Bryce was all smiles when he learned his ultimate wish, to meet his favorite professional race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Texas this week, had been granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Tri-Counties. The foundation surprised Bryce and his parents, Yvonne and Dave Tory, on Sunday with a party at MB2 Raceway in Newbury Park to announce the news. Bryce and his family will be given a police and firefighter escort as they leave their home in Simi Valley for the airport on Thursday. Once in Texas, they will catch a helicopter ride to the racetrack to meet NASCAR driver Earnhardt Jr. and possibly see his No. 88 race car. Bryce was relatively speechless when he was told by wish granters Cherie and Leo Maciel that he’ll be the envy of most of his classmates this week, but Mom and Dad reacted to the news with tears. “Words cannot express the deep appreciation we have for the generosity of everyone that had a hand in what some may call a simple gift,” Yvonne Tory said. Bryce Tory was born one month premature in 2004 with a hole between the two chambers of his heart. The inlet and outlet valves were also switched. Yvonne Tory said she found out about the heart defect 18 weeks into the pregnancy during a routine ultrasound. Doctors told the family that if Bryce had been born one week earlier, his lungs would probably not have been developed enough and he wouldn’t have been able to overcome the mix of the good and bad blood in his heart to make it through surgery. The family debated on whether they should have a baby shower, because they weren’t sure he’d survive after birth. “We wanted to continue staying positive so we had the baby shower. We delayed building or buying a crib because we didn’t know if we should buy that or save up for a coffin. The initial diagnosis was that harsh and severe,” Yvonne Tory said. After surviving two surgeries, Yvonne Tory said her son wanted to play like his friends did, but would get tired easily. Bryce, a student at Simi Covenant Preschool, received his third surgery in July. “(Today) his energy level is through the roof — the doctors told us he would have more energy than before surgery but we never imagined or dreamed he would be able to play like any other kid,” Yvonne Tory said. She said her son’s prognosis is good and she credits the doctors and nurses at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for saving his life. On Sunday, Bryce and his father rode together in a go-kart around the MB2 track while Vicky Bolt, who made Bryce’s wish into a reality, watched nearby. Bolt’s husband, Gary Galloway, was a longtime Simi Valley Police Department detective who died of cancer in 2007. Bolt said she wanted to grant Bryce’s wish in memory of her husband, who was an investigator of child abuse and a children’s advocate. “(Gary) would’ve been truly honored to do this. It makes me feel good to bring something positive from our situation to the entire family,” Bolt said. |
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