Evergreen Park Native, 'Choose Kind' Activist Honored with Humanitarian Award

Kerry Ryan Lynch, holding daughter, Maggie, 2, and Mary Cate, 4, who was born with Apert Syndrome.

When 4-year-old Mary Cate Lynch glides a paint brush across a sheet of paper with her thumb and three fingers that are missing the middle knuckle, children ask her mom, “how does she do that?”

“I tell them she doesn’t know anything else,” says Kerry Ryan Lynch.

One of the Southwest Chicago’s most well known community awareness organizers, Ryan Lynch has brought her message of choosing kindness to more than 100 schools in the Chicago area, often with Mary Cate in tow, who was born with Apert Syndrome.

Ryan Lynch, who grew up Evergreen Park’s Most Holy Redeemer Parish, graduated from Mother McAuley High School, and today resides in Beverly with her husband and three young daughters, will accept the Venerable Mary Potter Humanitarian Award at Little Company of Mary Hospital Foundation’s Crystal Heart Ball on Feb. 6.

The award honors individuals whose personal and professional accomplishments embody the ideas, vision and mission of Mary Potter, who founded the Little Company of Mary Sisters in 1877.

“I didn’t even know I was nominated,” Ryan Lynch said. “A hospital staff member at Little Company of Mary had been following us on Facebook.”

Kerry and her husband, Chris Lynch, were shocked when they learned that Mary Cate, who entered the world on Dec. 8, 2011 at Prentice Women’s Hospital, was diagnosed with Apert Syndrome, a congenital disorder characterised by malformations of the skull, face, hands and feet.

“I had no idea what Apert Syndrome was,” Ryan Lynch recalled. “Most of the doctors at Northwestern [Memorial Hospital] had never seen it before. Everyone was texting us for pictures of the baby, but she was rushed into NICU. We didn’t have a diagnosis until eight hours later. I sent out an email and let everyone know what was going on. It was therapeutic to get it out there.”

Extremely rare, Apert Syndrome occurs in only one in 160,000 to 200,000 births in the United States. Ryan Lynch earned her warrior mom badge caring for her infant daughter the first year of her life. As she spent her days improving the quality of Mary Cate’s life, she became her daughter’s greatest advocate.

Mary Cate underwent a grueling medical regimen, including more than 50 doctor appointments, 150 hours of therapies, three major surgeries, eight casts, two MRIs, two sleep studies, and hours of excruciating dressing changes.

“The first two surgeries were to separate her fingers and toes, she had a milder form of fusion,” her mother said. “She has a thumb and three fingers on each hand. The middle and ring fingers were super-fused. That’s another part of Apert, the fingers don’t bend because they’re missing the middle knuckle.”

Mary Cate, like other children born with Apert, will have 20 surgeries before she reaches adulthood.

Before people had a chance to ask what was wrong with her baby, Ryan Lynch, a nurse and one-time communications major, found herself explaining her daughter’s condition. She started a blog, My Mary Cate, to educate family and friends on Apert and how their lives were all going to be different.

“In the beginning I was a motor mouth,” she said. “People thought Mary Cate had Down Syndrome. I grew a thick skin and got comfortable talking about it and and answering questions. Our Facbeook page [My Mary Cate] kept getting more and more followers.”

When Mary Cate was six months, the student council at Most Holy Redeemer School raised money for the Lynch family by holding a bake sale.

“I brought Mary Cate with me and went from classroom to classroom to thank the students,” Ryan Lynch said. “I let the kids ask questions. It was awesome.”

Other schools began inviting Ryan Lynch to speak to students about Apert Syndrome and disabilities. She discovered R.J Palacio’s children’s novel, Wonder, about a little boy born with a craniofacial abnormality. Ryan Lynch began incorporating Wonder’s tagline into her talks, that it’s easy to hurt people, but if you choose to be kind, you’ll always be right.

As Mary Cate demonstrated her talent with a paintbrush, Ryan Lynch told their story in classrooms from Beverly to Wilmette. Mary Cate is now in full-day preschool and loves taking care of her younger sisters, Maggie, 2, and 2-month old Brydie. Like her mother, Mary Cate wants to be a nurse, and will no doubt someday be a McAuley girl.

“I always encourage schools to invite parents. Kids are much kinder than adults, and I think adults need it much more than the kids,” Ryan Lynch said. “We all have battles and things that make us different, and some of the things that make us different are on the outside, and some are on the inside. If we can all realize and remember that, we’ll have a much better society.”

Purchase ball and raffle tickets for Little Company of Mary Hospital Foundation’s Crystal Heart Ball at the Field Museum on Feb. 6.