By Claudia Richter
After loss, a family dedicates themselves to raising awareness for organ donation and the services to help others in similar circumstances.
When the Katy Community came out in support of the Smilin’ Rylen Foundation last April for its inaugural fundraising run, it touched many hearts. None more so than the Cowan family. They lost their son Rylen, only 13.5 months-old, in June of 2017 to bacterial meningitis and through the devastating loss were able to save the lives of five others through organ donation.
This year, the Second Annual Smilin’ Rylen Run will take place on April 27 in the Cane Island neighborhood. The event and the foundation as a whole are extremely important to the work the Cowan’s have dedicated themselves to over the past two years. “The foundation has helped me grieve,” says Rylen’s mother Kristen Cowan. “It helps share his story and by helping families that find themselves in the same situation, it brings something great out of a tragedy.”
Several charities will once again benefit from the funds raised, including The Ronald McDonald House Houston, LifeGift, Donate Life Texas, Emma’s Hugs, and Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. “It is amazing to see where we started and how far we have come,” says Cowan. “We were hoping for 250-300 runners for a first time event and ended up having to cut off at 631. This year is expected to top that”. The 2019 race will have new features including bibs with tracking and special medals donated by Quorum. The Title Sponsor will once again be Shipley Do-nuts and also playing supporting roles are HEB, Papa Murphy’s, Chick-fil-A Katy Mills, ER Katy, and Karbach to date. “Our hearts are so full from how much our community has helped us. We are so proud of Rylen. I think of him every day, every minute, all the time,” says Cowan. “Who would have ever imagined this happening, but it is what you do with it, how you impact others. Rylen’s story is still unfolding and we can share what his life has continued to do.”
