WYANDOTTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — When a Wyandotte mom posted on Facebook about her son not having many friends, she was hoping for a few birthday wishes, but they received an outpouring of love and support from the community.
“I thought maybe if 20 people said happy birthday and he could see it, that it wasn’t just from his mom,” Anne Rodack said.
Rodack was trying to cheer up her 33-year-old son Ryan, who has special needs. Anne Rodack said the older he gets, the more alone he feels.
Hear more from Ryan Rodack in the video player below:
“When your son looks at you and says do you know what it feel like to wonder if anyone is ever going to love you for who you are besides your mother, and you don’t have any way to answer that,” Anne Rodack said.
Within minutes of posting a message to the private group Downriver and Friends, Rodack says thousands of people started wishing Ryan a happy birthday.
“And then it went from 1,000 to 2,000 to 3,000. We were all in shock,” Rodack said.
Then people started asking if they could send cards and gifts.
“That changes his life for a minute where he’s not so depressed and feeling so alone,” Anne Rodack said.
Ryan Rodack says he’ll remember this birthday for the rest of his life.
“It felt like I was wanted and I was needed in this life, in this world, and it really made me feel really special and very included,” he said.
Just one of the many who wished him a happy birthday was Chelsey Hernandez and her two boys.
“I just happened to stumble upon Anne’s post about her son Ryan and thought to myself it might be a nice thing to do and a nice teaching moment for my children,” Hernandez said.
The three of them decided to drop off a Detroit Lions T-shirt and some candy for Ryan Rodack to enjoy.
“I just wanted to be kind to him because I felt like he was going to be sad, so we gave him a gift,” Hernandez’s son said.
“We’ve put him in our calendar to remind us every year of when Ryan’s birthday is and we’ll be making sure to have a stop and have a gift for him every year,” Hernandez said.
Still blown away by all the kindness her son’s receiving, Anne Rodack wants to remind people that there are many others like Ryan who just want to be accepted.
“Just have kindness, have acceptance, reach out. A hug, a smile, a word can make the world, can take a child who is in a mental dungeon out for a day. It matters and I appreciate it really much,” she said. “Even just the happy birthday messages have meant more to us than you’ll ever understand.”
“I am a genuine, unique, special person with special needs that needs love in this world because I’m a really good person,” Ryan Rodack said.
