Help and Hope Happen Here

Jonathan Cottor will talk about his son Ryan who passed away when he was 17 years old in 2018 and what he has done as a National figure to promote Pediatric Palliative Care Advocacy with his Children's Respite Homes of America.

Season 6 Episode 471

Jonathan Cottor and his family were living in England when his son Ryan was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy when he was 9 months old in 2001. Ryan was not expected to live past his 2nd birthday but lived 15 years longer than expected, passing away in December of 2018. While in England , Jonathan and his wife Holly saw a Respite Home that was common in England but was unheard of in the United States. Jonathan moved his family to his original roots in Phoenix Arizona in 2003, where he and Holly created the Ryan house, which was similar to the home that they saw and that Ryan lived in on occasion in London. After Ryan's passing, Jonathan has dedicated his life to coming up with programs that would lead to the building of these Palliative Care Respite homes across the United States and hopes to have 50 programs completed and 50 houses built, one in each state within 5 years.