WALTHAM — 5 year old Liam Ryan of Lexington is dealing with a very rare disease. It is called Juvenile Myositis. It is so rare that only 1 in 500,000 children get it. It can also be deadly.
Liam's dad Luke and mom Liz and their family have gone through a lot but on Friday night in Waltham they were treated to a very special evening. Luke signed papers and was drafted by the Bentely Falcons football team and Head Coach Billy Kavanaugh.
"Over the last month or so we've gotten to know each other," said Kavanaugh. "It's been an awesome experience. I know we're just starting to grow this relatonship. We're going to all learn a lot from it."
For Liam's dad Luke, this experience has been amazing. "What an incredible experiece with Bentley and Bentley football. The team has completely embraced Liam. He feels completely a part of this team," said Luke.
This night and this relationship was put together by TEAM IMPACT. "Liam is one of 1700 kids now who have been drafted onto college teams across the country. We're really excited about Liam and his family joining the football team here at Bentley. It's going to be an amazing experience. They are going to have a lot of fun together"
Liam had tons of fun on this night. He even got to drop the ceremonial first puck before the Bentely vs Holy Cross hockey game.
To learn more about Liam please click here and watch Boston 25's Daniel Miller's touching feature on the Ryan family.