Our Miracle Children
Every child we meet is more than their diagnosis—they’re a fighter, a light, and a reason this race exists. Behind every smile is a story of courage, love, and the community that stands beside them. Meet one of our miracle kids, whose journey inspires the heart of Race for the Kids
Wyatt Barry
Wyatt Barry is a bright, spirited 12-year-old and fifth grader at Erie Mason Central Elementary. Wyatt is autistic and has epilepsy, and his journey took a challenging turn this past February when a routine MRI revealed a mass in his right frontal lobe. That mass turned out to be brain cancer. Wyatt was immediately admitted to the hospital, where he bravely began receiving treatment and underwent brain surgery. Through it all, his strength, courage, and unshakable spirit have inspired everyone around him. Wyatt is known for his love of adventures, his deep affection for his people and his enthusiasm for chips, pink paper, and Curious George! His smile lights up any room, and his determination is truly a force to be reckoned with. Today, we honor Wyatt- not only for the challenges he has faced, but for the joy, resilience, and love he brings into the world.
Cordelia Lauman
Cordelia is a 15-year old Sophomore at Bedford High School. She is the daughter of Ron and Nikki Lauman and older sister to Lucas and Oliver. Cordelia enjoys acting, reading, painting and hanging out with her friends. Cordelia has Rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer that causes tumors on soft tissue.
Cordelia was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma in 2024 after suffering from back pain. She was in Toledo Hospital for the month of May and underwent surgeries for a biopsy as well as a port placement. She started chemotherapy at the end of May.
Since being diagnosed Cordelia has been in the hospital many times, has lost her hair, and some of her movement in her feet and hands. Through all of this Cordelia's spirit has kept her going. She has a positive attitude and fights everyday.
We thank God for watching out for her everyday. We also thank our family and friends who have supported us and helped us daily through Cordelia's journey.
Lexi Wilson
Meet Lexi Wilson. She has come a long way in her short life. She was born with Neuromuscular Scoliosis which affects different parts of the spine . She has had many hospital stays in her early years as well as three surgeries. One surgery was for a tethered cord release to keep her spine from contracting her body. The second surgery was on the inner and outer eyes. The third surgery was for a skin tag removal on her neck. She started to meet all of her physical milestones and one day she lost function of movement in her leg. As of right now she is not eligible for surgery because the risk of surgery is too dangerous. There are many limited options as far as surgery goes. She goes to physical and occupational therapy to help maintain her upper body strength and she has a special team of doctors that follow her growth and conditions very closely.
Lexi doesn’t let anything stop her. She is ambitious. She loves to learn and explore many things. She plants flowers with her dad in their flower bed at home. Lexi loves to read, sing, play, paint and play with her peers. She plays many different board games and video games with friends and family. She enjoys playing tag and Super Mario Brothers. Her family is her biggest support system. Her cousin Kaydence is one of her favorite people who she enjoys being around a lot. She likes putting puzzles together with her mom or playing games with her as well. Her family always encourages her to try her best at everything she does. A fun fact about Lexi is she loves milk, Kinder Joys and Reese's cups. She loves to dress up and she enjoys going to church. She still has a long way to go in her future but she sure is enjoying the present .
Kaiden Wertenberger
Kaiden is a fun loving, happy 9 year old who was born with Cornelia de Lange syndrome, CdLS, although we didn't know it at the time. He had to have multiple blood tests, a genetic doctor, and clinical presentation to determine this. CdLS, is a genetic disorder usually acquired by a mutation during development. It occurs in about 1 in 10,000 live births. It typically affects growth with smaller body size; skeletal, with missing fingers or forearms; as well as developmental and intellectual delays. It also affects body organs of the heart, GI, genitourinary and neurologic body systems.
Kaiden is the son of Dusty and Jen Wertenberger and the brother to Gracie, Adelyn and Xavier. Kaiden goes to Monroe County ISD. He loves riding the bus and going to school. However, over the last several months with Kaiden having multiple respiratory illnesses and being hospitalized more often he has missed a lot of school. Kaiden loves lights, music and anything sensory. He also loves camping and being outside. He is mostly nonverbal, but does say a few words and uses some sign language. He requires a wheelchair for mobility, but does love to roll around on the floor. He has been working hard with feeding therapy and physical therapy.
Kaiden has endured so much over his short life, thus far. Before he was even born, he had to have multiple tests done, one of which was a cardiac echo that was done in utero. He was found to have a cardiac defect called Tetralogy of Fallot, or TOF for short. With that we knew he was going to have to have cardiac surgery in the future. He also had to have multiple scans which showed he had some missing digits on his right hand. He was born on February 2, 2016 at 37 weeks 3 days weighing in at 4 lbs 15 oz. He was in the NICU and was unable to take a bottle so he had to have a tube in his nose, but due to the inability to put the feeding tube in his left nare, he was found to have choanal atresia, a blockage or narrowing in the back of the nose. Due to this, it was moved to his mouth for nutrition. He also required oxygen due to his heart and lungs to help him breathe. Due to him having an increased amount of blood draws he had to have a blood transfusion about 1 week old. He took his first ambulance ride from Toledo Hospital to U of M, Mott Children's hospital, at about 1 month old. There he had to see multiple specialists: cardiologist, geneticist, ENT, oral maxillofacial surgeon, and pulmonologist, with more to come. He was able to come home, after about 6 weeks, but had to be readmitted due to swelling in his body. He ended up having a g-tube placed for nutrition. After several weeks he was able to be discharged home again, with several follow ups until his scheduled open heart surgery.
He had his open heart surgery at 4 months old for his Tetralogy of Fallot repair. He was in the hospital for 10 days hooked to chest tubes and IV pumps. He did well and was able to come off the diuretic and the oxygen 4 months after surgery. He was almost 1 year out from his open heart when Kaiden started having respiratory problems. We took him to the ER, as something felt off, and his oxygen level was in the 70's. He was diagnosed with Rhino Enterovirus, which nearly took his life. He had to be intubated and was life flighted to U of M where his multiple specialty doctors are. Due to his respiratory failure, he again was hooked up to many IV pumps, a machine to measure the perfusion in his brain and kidneys, and was about 15 minutes from ECMO, the heart and lung machine, twice. He was given another blood transfusion, not because his levels were low, but to help give him a boost to carry oxygen to his heart and lungs. He was in the hospital for several weeks recovering, with many ups and downs before being discharged home again.
After this admission, he was in and out of the hospital for about a year due to multiple viral infections which took a toll on his lungs and required him to be on oxygen probably for the rest of his life. Kaiden requires a ventilator with a mask to help him breathe better at night and wears a nasal cannula during the day. Kaiden was able to stay out of the hospital for several years with only an occasional admission here and there. This past year he has been struggling since October with in and out of the hospital admissions due to his lungs.
We would like to thank all of the supporters for their generosity in achieving the mission to help all of our Superheroes. It truly takes a village.
Audrina Groesbeck
This little cutie is Audrina Groesbeck. She is one of the happiest five-year old’s you will ever meet. Audrina loves spending time with her family, friends, and preschool classmates. She is raised by her mother Chelsea Groesbeck in Erie Michigan. Audrina has a one-year old baby sister named Isabella that she loves very much. She loves to be outdoors, watch Mickey Mouse, and go swimming. Audrina was born at thirty-one weeks which caused delays and health issues. In 2022, she was diagnosed with a very rare disease called Syngap1. About 1,500 kids world wide have this rare disease! It affects learning and development in many ways. Symptoms of syngap1 are delayed speech, weak muscle tone, developmental regression, epilepsy, hyperactivity, autism, sleep problems, and behavior challenges. She once had 400 head drop seizures in 24 hours. There is no cure but researchers and doctors are doing everything they can to help find a cure. Despite her difficult life, Audrina is so happy and lives the best life that she can.
