Our long-time friend Ryan Teixeira was diagnosed with cancer at the age of eighteen in the middle of his senior year of high school baseball. After two separate battles with cancer, Ryan passed away in 2017. As friends of Ryan, we wanted to create a foundation that carries out the many passions he had including sports, FFA and working with kids with special needs.

 

Ryan was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma five months after signing a baseball scholarship contract with Colorado Mesa University in November of 2014. After intense cancer treatment and surgery, Ryan moved to Colorado to officially begin his college and baseball career in January of 2016. In early September, Ryan traveled to Pennsylvania as a volunteer for the Little League Challenger program, a Little League division enabling boys and girls with physical and mental challenges to enjoy the game of baseball. While on the trip, Ryan didn’t feel well. It was soon discovered that Ryan had developed Leukemia, a side effect resulting from the severe treatment required for treating Ewing’s Sarcoma. After six months of treatment, Ryan passed away.

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During his battle, Ryan created 17 Strong, a non-profit with a mission to provide Victory Trips to young adults battling life threatening diseases. We wanted to expand the reach of Ryan’s legacy by targeting the other passions in his life so we created Friends of Ryan Teixeira.