Corinne Derenburger: Up For Any Challenge
“I’ve lived through three strokes and October marked my seventh year as a cervical cancer survivor. If I can live through that I can live through this. All of my doctors say I am a medical mystery, and I should have been dead long ago. God is keeping me here for a reason.”
If I had to pick one word to describe Corinne Derenburger it would be champion. She is a wife, mother of five children and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ryan’s Ranch International, formerly known as Ryan’s Hope. Their mission is to pioneer innovative inclusive opportunities for those with disabilities and their families. Since 2003, they have done some amazing things to educate and assist families with special needs children and it seems the best is yet to come.
It was the birth of their second son, Ryan, that started Corinne on this journey. Now fifteen, Todd and Corinne Derenburger’s fourth child, was born with his umbilical chord wrapped around his neck. He was originally diagnosed with cerebral palsy and mental retardation. Then at age two, they were told he was autistic and by three he was having life-threatening seizures. If that weren’t enough, at age nine they were told Ryan had a terminal brain disorder the Derenburger’s can’t pronounce or spell and it was causing his brain to shrink while filling up with fluid-filled cysts. Doctors said they couldn’t drain the cysts because the brain needed the fluid to operate, and Ryan’s brain would shrivel up into nothing and one day he wouldn’t wake up. That was six years ago and by the grace of God Ryan is still alive and doing relatively well. He can’t speak, has profound mental disabilities and must have assistance to complete daily activities. Although he is limited, Ryan loves all things sports, from football to NASCAR. He loves pretty girls and giving hugs to those pretty girls. He also enjoys movies, music and horseback riding. He attends special classes at Collierville High School, and thanks to his mother, Ryan has become a symbol of hope and the inspiration for an award-winning organization and its programs.
As I tried to wrap my mind around what a day for their family was like, Corinne shared with me some of their challenges. "One of the biggest challenges is not being accepted in the community. We would go to the playground where other children were playing and Ryan would have to sit in his wheelchair and watch. Going to Disney World was a challenge because there was nowhere to change his diaper because he weighed more than 30 lbs. There is no place that has an adult size changing area, so we couldn’t be out in public for that long. He likes to scream and squeal and he laughs a lot so we have to get in and out of restaurants in 30 minutes or else everybody is staring at us. We can’t vacation or do recreational activities like other families.
Taking care of Ryan is very much a family effort. Ryan has a condition called pica where he likes to fling, play in and eat his own feces. We may get up in the middle of the night and there’s poop everywhere. My daughter, Jessica, starts running the bath water, my other daughter, Hannah, gets his supplies, Todd gets out the steam cleaner and I’ll give him a bath. He doesn’t sleep normally. So he’s up a lot and we go many, many nights without sleep. We take shifts staying up with him. The girls have to deal with people picking on him and them at school. They get teased for having a “retard” as a brother,” reveals Corinne.
It would have been so easy to just accept things as they are and focus all of their energy on their family but instead the Derenburgers became spokespersons for other families dealing with similar issues. What began as a support group for families with children with multiple diagnoses has grown into a loud community voice that not only yells for more accessible opportunities but creates them. One of their major undertakings was the erection of Ryan’s Playground, the first universally accessible playground in the Mid-South specially designed for physically challenged children. Whether in a wheel chair, a walker or walking with a limp, all children have the opportunity to play and enjoy the joys of being a child. This monumental achievement was built in Collierville, Tennessee and received a four star recreation award from the state. Since then, nine more have been built in areas such as Jackson, Arlington, Oklahoma and Mississippi. They also have other programs. Ryan’s Haven creates places where caregivers of developmentally delayed children can find respite and stress relief. Ryan’s Miracles are specially trained horses and instructors who offer soothing equine (horseback riding) therapy which has been proven to increase social skills in disabled children. Ryan experienced great success with this type of therapy. He learned to sit up, balance and walk while riding a horse. There are currently three places in close proximity to Memphis that offer this service, one in Lakeland and two in Germantown, Tennessee.
The most impressive of all their accomplishments will be the completion of Ryan’s Ranch. In 2009, Ryan’s Ranch International was donated 63 acres of land in DeSoto County, Mississippi to house the first resort that specifically caters to families with members with developmental disabilities. It will provide families a place to rest, recreate and rehabilitate together. It will also serve as home to several horses trained for equine therapy. The organization is busy raising $45 million to make it happen. Corinne beams with pride while talking about the ranch. “There will be all kinds of recreational therapy for the families. We’ll have two lakes, a welcome lodge, 24 cottages and everything will be universally accessible. There will be medical staff available 24/7, sensory rooms to help calm children when they are upset and a dining area that caters to special dietary needs. The people who did our feasibility study at The University of Memphis and the people at Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality suggest that once the prototype is done, we do 10 -12 nationwide and then go global. It’s a big undertaking.”
However, Corinne’s biggest undertaking may not have anything to do with Ryan or his namesake organization. In June 2009, during an insurance physical, doctors detected that something was wrong. She was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and quickly began combination therapy to combat the disease, which was already in its progressive stages. Her liver is severly damaged and She has been given a 50/50 chance of survival. “According to the biopsy I must have had this 25 to 30 years undetected, and I also have the toughest genotype to fight. The doctors say if I live to see this time next year it will be a miracle,” shares the 40 year old.
Corinne doesn’t make such a statement with tears in her eyes or even sadness in her voice. Her behavior is as upbeat as it was the day I met her, five years ago when she won the K97 Peace Achiever of the Month Award. She still flashes a wide grin, cracks jokes and laughs often; even though the illness coupled with her treatment causes her constant fatigue, pain and nausea. The drugs Corrine is taking, interferon and ribavirin, are also used to treat leukemia and AIDS. Sadly, her doctors have told her the treatment doesn’t seem to be working but for a stroke and cancer survivor, Corinne is up for the challenge and remains optimistic that things will take a turn for the better. She has asked her home church in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Christ the Rock in Memphis, where her family now worships, and all of the partner churches of Ryan’s Ranch to pray for her. She hasn’t given up hope and has no plans of doing so.
“I’ve lived through three strokes and October marked my seventh year as a cervical cancer survivor. If I can live through that I can live through this. All of my doctors say I am a medical mystery, and I should have been dead long ago. God is keeping me here for a reason,” she laughs. “I’ve had the range of emotions. I went through the why me, the why not me and the if it’s gonna be anybody it might as well be me. I went through the anger and the sadness. Then there are times I’m happy about it. In heaven there’s no more pain, sadness and tears. I’ll see all these people from my past, and I don’t have to deal with anything down here.”
When I called to ask Corinne to do this interview, centered around gratefulness, I had no idea Corinne was ill. I was floored when she told me, and after spending time with her, I am emblazoned with awe at her strength and her ability to retain and emit ample amounts of joy. She doesn’t want anyone’s pity, and she was more than happy to share why she’s grateful.
“I’ve learned not to take any day for granted, and I’m grateful for each day I have to spend with my family. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad day. I’ve had good days and I’ve had best days. I’m grateful for the food we have. I know that sounds kind of cheesy but I am. Even when my husband lost his job we never went hungry. I’m grateful that my husband now has a good job that has allowed me to be able to focus on Ryan’s Ranch. I’m grateful for my kids. Two, Matthew and Sarah, are grown and out on their own. They are all very unselfish and they’re not self-centered, that comes from helping with Ryan. I’m grateful that people continue to give to Ryan’s Ranch. Most of our supporters are people who don’t have a family member with a disability, which amazes me because they have the compassion to help others who don’t share their same life circumstance. I have an awesome board of directors. They have helped me recruit the right staff and now it’s really neat that I can just oversee things, focus on the programming piece of the ranch and just rest. They’re not happy with the doctor’s prognosis right now. They’re kind of living in denial and so are my kids.”
Their children may be in denial but Corinne and Todd are not. The high school sweethearts are praying for the best but preparing for the worst. They have a running joke that Corinne can’t leave because misery loves company and if Todd has to stay here and suffer she does too. But all jokes aside, Corinne is busy getting her business in order. She has finished the sequel to her first book, Raising Ryan, and it’s currently in the editing stages. This year, she distributed the preview issue of her new magazine, Hope & Dream, and is making plans to release the premier issue next year. It is geared toward the same target audience as Ryan’s Ranch and is designed to raise funds for the nonprofit. She has promised the staff that she will have a year’s worth of articles completed by the end of November. She and the board of directors have selected an executive assistant who is fully capable of taking Ryan’s Ranch International to the next level in her absence. Corinne has even made a bucket list and is carefully checking off each thing she wants to experience before her life ends. As I write, she is lying on a Florida beach with a friend, enjoying a girls getaway she had previously never allowed herself to have.
At the end of the month, if her treatment still doesn’t seem to be working, Corinne’s doctors have said they will take her off the medication and let nature take its course. With her family by her side, Corinne is bravely facing the future--whatever it may be--with her spirits high, her sense of humor in tact and gratefulness in her heart. Perseverance, the true mark of a champion.
For more information or to make a donation to Ryan’s Ranch visit www.ryansranch.org.
This article was originally posted in October 2009 and we are pleased to report that as of now, November 2010, Corinne is still with us and doing relativily well. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.
If I had to pick one word to describe Corinne Derenburger it would be champion. She is a wife, mother of five children and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ryan’s Ranch International, formerly known as Ryan’s Hope. Their mission is to pioneer innovative inclusive opportunities for those with disabilities and their families. Since 2003, they have done some amazing things to educate and assist families with special needs children and it seems the best is yet to come.
It was the birth of their second son, Ryan, that started Corinne on this journey. Now fifteen, Todd and Corinne Derenburger’s fourth child, was born with his umbilical chord wrapped around his neck. He was originally diagnosed with cerebral palsy and mental retardation. Then at age two, they were told he was autistic and by three he was having life-threatening seizures. If that weren’t enough, at age nine they were told Ryan had a terminal brain disorder the Derenburger’s can’t pronounce or spell and it was causing his brain to shrink while filling up with fluid-filled cysts. Doctors said they couldn’t drain the cysts because the brain needed the fluid to operate, and Ryan’s brain would shrivel up into nothing and one day he wouldn’t wake up. That was six years ago and by the grace of God Ryan is still alive and doing relatively well. He can’t speak, has profound mental disabilities and must have assistance to complete daily activities. Although he is limited, Ryan loves all things sports, from football to NASCAR. He loves pretty girls and giving hugs to those pretty girls. He also enjoys movies, music and horseback riding. He attends special classes at Collierville High School, and thanks to his mother, Ryan has become a symbol of hope and the inspiration for an award-winning organization and its programs.
As I tried to wrap my mind around what a day for their family was like, Corinne shared with me some of their challenges. "One of the biggest challenges is not being accepted in the community. We would go to the playground where other children were playing and Ryan would have to sit in his wheelchair and watch. Going to Disney World was a challenge because there was nowhere to change his diaper because he weighed more than 30 lbs. There is no place that has an adult size changing area, so we couldn’t be out in public for that long. He likes to scream and squeal and he laughs a lot so we have to get in and out of restaurants in 30 minutes or else everybody is staring at us. We can’t vacation or do recreational activities like other families.
Taking care of Ryan is very much a family effort. Ryan has a condition called pica where he likes to fling, play in and eat his own feces. We may get up in the middle of the night and there’s poop everywhere. My daughter, Jessica, starts running the bath water, my other daughter, Hannah, gets his supplies, Todd gets out the steam cleaner and I’ll give him a bath. He doesn’t sleep normally. So he’s up a lot and we go many, many nights without sleep. We take shifts staying up with him. The girls have to deal with people picking on him and them at school. They get teased for having a “retard” as a brother,” reveals Corinne.
It would have been so easy to just accept things as they are and focus all of their energy on their family but instead the Derenburgers became spokespersons for other families dealing with similar issues. What began as a support group for families with children with multiple diagnoses has grown into a loud community voice that not only yells for more accessible opportunities but creates them. One of their major undertakings was the erection of Ryan’s Playground, the first universally accessible playground in the Mid-South specially designed for physically challenged children. Whether in a wheel chair, a walker or walking with a limp, all children have the opportunity to play and enjoy the joys of being a child. This monumental achievement was built in Collierville, Tennessee and received a four star recreation award from the state. Since then, nine more have been built in areas such as Jackson, Arlington, Oklahoma and Mississippi. They also have other programs. Ryan’s Haven creates places where caregivers of developmentally delayed children can find respite and stress relief. Ryan’s Miracles are specially trained horses and instructors who offer soothing equine (horseback riding) therapy which has been proven to increase social skills in disabled children. Ryan experienced great success with this type of therapy. He learned to sit up, balance and walk while riding a horse. There are currently three places in close proximity to Memphis that offer this service, one in Lakeland and two in Germantown, Tennessee.
The most impressive of all their accomplishments will be the completion of Ryan’s Ranch. In 2009, Ryan’s Ranch International was donated 63 acres of land in DeSoto County, Mississippi to house the first resort that specifically caters to families with members with developmental disabilities. It will provide families a place to rest, recreate and rehabilitate together. It will also serve as home to several horses trained for equine therapy. The organization is busy raising $45 million to make it happen. Corinne beams with pride while talking about the ranch. “There will be all kinds of recreational therapy for the families. We’ll have two lakes, a welcome lodge, 24 cottages and everything will be universally accessible. There will be medical staff available 24/7, sensory rooms to help calm children when they are upset and a dining area that caters to special dietary needs. The people who did our feasibility study at The University of Memphis and the people at Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality suggest that once the prototype is done, we do 10 -12 nationwide and then go global. It’s a big undertaking.”
However, Corinne’s biggest undertaking may not have anything to do with Ryan or his namesake organization. In June 2009, during an insurance physical, doctors detected that something was wrong. She was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and quickly began combination therapy to combat the disease, which was already in its progressive stages. Her liver is severly damaged and She has been given a 50/50 chance of survival. “According to the biopsy I must have had this 25 to 30 years undetected, and I also have the toughest genotype to fight. The doctors say if I live to see this time next year it will be a miracle,” shares the 40 year old.
Corinne doesn’t make such a statement with tears in her eyes or even sadness in her voice. Her behavior is as upbeat as it was the day I met her, five years ago when she won the K97 Peace Achiever of the Month Award. She still flashes a wide grin, cracks jokes and laughs often; even though the illness coupled with her treatment causes her constant fatigue, pain and nausea. The drugs Corrine is taking, interferon and ribavirin, are also used to treat leukemia and AIDS. Sadly, her doctors have told her the treatment doesn’t seem to be working but for a stroke and cancer survivor, Corinne is up for the challenge and remains optimistic that things will take a turn for the better. She has asked her home church in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Christ the Rock in Memphis, where her family now worships, and all of the partner churches of Ryan’s Ranch to pray for her. She hasn’t given up hope and has no plans of doing so.
“I’ve lived through three strokes and October marked my seventh year as a cervical cancer survivor. If I can live through that I can live through this. All of my doctors say I am a medical mystery, and I should have been dead long ago. God is keeping me here for a reason,” she laughs. “I’ve had the range of emotions. I went through the why me, the why not me and the if it’s gonna be anybody it might as well be me. I went through the anger and the sadness. Then there are times I’m happy about it. In heaven there’s no more pain, sadness and tears. I’ll see all these people from my past, and I don’t have to deal with anything down here.”
When I called to ask Corinne to do this interview, centered around gratefulness, I had no idea Corinne was ill. I was floored when she told me, and after spending time with her, I am emblazoned with awe at her strength and her ability to retain and emit ample amounts of joy. She doesn’t want anyone’s pity, and she was more than happy to share why she’s grateful.
“I’ve learned not to take any day for granted, and I’m grateful for each day I have to spend with my family. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad day. I’ve had good days and I’ve had best days. I’m grateful for the food we have. I know that sounds kind of cheesy but I am. Even when my husband lost his job we never went hungry. I’m grateful that my husband now has a good job that has allowed me to be able to focus on Ryan’s Ranch. I’m grateful for my kids. Two, Matthew and Sarah, are grown and out on their own. They are all very unselfish and they’re not self-centered, that comes from helping with Ryan. I’m grateful that people continue to give to Ryan’s Ranch. Most of our supporters are people who don’t have a family member with a disability, which amazes me because they have the compassion to help others who don’t share their same life circumstance. I have an awesome board of directors. They have helped me recruit the right staff and now it’s really neat that I can just oversee things, focus on the programming piece of the ranch and just rest. They’re not happy with the doctor’s prognosis right now. They’re kind of living in denial and so are my kids.”
Their children may be in denial but Corinne and Todd are not. The high school sweethearts are praying for the best but preparing for the worst. They have a running joke that Corinne can’t leave because misery loves company and if Todd has to stay here and suffer she does too. But all jokes aside, Corinne is busy getting her business in order. She has finished the sequel to her first book, Raising Ryan, and it’s currently in the editing stages. This year, she distributed the preview issue of her new magazine, Hope & Dream, and is making plans to release the premier issue next year. It is geared toward the same target audience as Ryan’s Ranch and is designed to raise funds for the nonprofit. She has promised the staff that she will have a year’s worth of articles completed by the end of November. She and the board of directors have selected an executive assistant who is fully capable of taking Ryan’s Ranch International to the next level in her absence. Corinne has even made a bucket list and is carefully checking off each thing she wants to experience before her life ends. As I write, she is lying on a Florida beach with a friend, enjoying a girls getaway she had previously never allowed herself to have.
At the end of the month, if her treatment still doesn’t seem to be working, Corinne’s doctors have said they will take her off the medication and let nature take its course. With her family by her side, Corinne is bravely facing the future--whatever it may be--with her spirits high, her sense of humor in tact and gratefulness in her heart. Perseverance, the true mark of a champion.
For more information or to make a donation to Ryan’s Ranch visit www.ryansranch.org.
This article was originally posted in October 2009 and we are pleased to report that as of now, November 2010, Corinne is still with us and doing relativily well. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.
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