Rydon, age 6, was ready for school and outside in the yard with the family’s beloved dogs when the unthinkable happened. The two puppies, excited by passersby on the other side of the fence, leaped at Rydon, injuring him, and yanking off a large portion of his scalp.
Quick thinking by Rydon’s big sister Aubrey, then 9, helped get the dogs under control and the family on the way for medical help. Aubrey summoned her mother, who was getting ready for work, and together they calmed the dogs and prepared to take Rydon to the hospital. When the perimeter driveway gate malfunctioned and would not open as the Palm Beach Gardens family attempted to drive to a hospital, Aubrey alerted a neighbor, an employee of Jupiter Medical Center (JMC), who drove them to the Mastroianni Family Pediatric Emergency Department at JMC. The pediatric emergency department is a collaboration between JMC and Nicklaus Children’s Health System to enhance children’s healthcare in Palm Beach County.
“Aubrey and Rydon were amazingly brave,” recalls their father, Ryan, who got off work as a firefighter that December 2022 morning to see a barrage of calls and texts from his wife, Krystal, a lieutenant with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. He joined the family at JMC where the clinical team was working to stabilize Rydon.
Rydon was in the care of Dr. Michael Rizkalla, Medical Director of the Pediatric Emergency Department and Inpatient Pediatrics at JMC, who shared with the family that about 40 percent of Rydon’s hair and scalp had been torn away. Ryan then contacted his brother, also a firefighter, who returned to the home and was able to recover the missing portion of scalp.
Dr. Dana Goldberg, a facial plastic surgeon at JMC in coordination with Dr. Aaron Berger, a pediatric plastic surgeon at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, operated to reconstruct the scalp. Afterwards, Rydon was then transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital for further management and monitoring. As part of the arrangement with JMC, children in need of a high-level of pediatric intensive care receive treatment at Nicklaus Children’s.
Several weeks later, the grateful family visited staff at the Mastroianni Family Pediatric Emergency Department to express appreciation for the care Rydon received. “We are so grateful to Dr. Rizkalla and the entire medical team for being there for us when we needed them,” said Ryan. “We wanted to take a moment to express our appreciation.”
It was a gesture that was warmly received. “It was great to see Rydon in such good spirits. He is a remarkable young man,” said Dr. Rizkalla, who is employed by Nicklaus Children’s Pediatric Specialists.
Today, Rydon, now 8, is living his best life, playing on a baseball team, and enjoying school and activities. He wears a baseball cap most days, as he continues to receive medical treatment to support regrowth of hair on his scalp.
“Krystal and I are so proud of Rydon. He isn’t letting this hold him back,” said Ryan.
Meanwhile, the family worked with a canine rescue facility to intervene with the two puppies. Once rehabilitated, they were rehomed to households without children. Rydon and family now have a new puppy named Bailey, a mini pomsky doodle.
