Friends Surprise Louisville Girl Outside Hospital Window Before 48th Surgery

A young hospital patient looked confused Friday morning and then cracked a smile once she realized that her friends planned a special surprise outside her hospital window.

Just 30 minutes before she was set to have her 48th surgery, friends of Ryan Neighbors, who was born with spina bifida, packed onto the ninth floor parking garage of Norton Children’s Hospital to send their well-wishes, WLKY reported.

The crowd held up posters and letters spelling out, “We love you, Ryan.”

“It doesn’t take a lot, and what did we do today? We gave time. We all have time,” organizer De De Cox, a longtime family friend, said.

Cox coached Ryan in beauty pageants, encouraging many of those outside cheering Ryan on to say, “We can’t wait to see you on stage!”

While Ryan is only 11 years old, she had her 48th surgery on Friday. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, it also marked the first time her friends could not enter the hospital to wish her well.

“Before she goes into surgery, she gets to see us, and know there’s people behind her who need her to get well and want her to get well to get back on the stage and be Ryan again,” friend Hannah Robb said.

Ryan has been in the hospital for seven weeks, but friends and family are hopeful that she will return home in time for the holidays if the surgery goes well.