It was supposed to be a happy Thanksgiving visit in 2015. But for 22-month-old Ryder Wells, the day ended in horror that would change his life forever.
While playing at a family friend’s home in North Carolina, the curious toddler slipped through a dog door into the backyard. There, two powerful Rottweilers attacked. In a matter of seconds, Ryder’s tiny body was torn apart.
When his mother rushed outside, she was met with a nightmare. “His face was just gone,” she later recalled. The toddler had lost his right cheek, part of his eyelid, and three-quarters of his lip. His teeth were crushed, his arm broken, and his lung punctured.
Doctors were blunt: Ryder might not make it through the night.
A Battle to Survive
Over the next ten days, Ryder endured five grueling surgeries totaling nearly 40 hours in the operating room. Surgeons worked tirelessly to save his life—rebuilding his airway, repairing his lung, and attempting to piece back together the little boy’s torn face.
Against all odds, Ryder survived. But this was only the beginning of a long, painful road.
Over the years, he would face more than 40 reconstructive surgeries: skin grafts, bone grafts, muscle transplants, dental work, and jaw reconstruction. Each procedure brought both hope and heartache. Yet every time, Ryder fought back with a courage that left even seasoned doctors in awe.
The Long Road to Healing
By the time he turned five, Ryder had already endured more pain than most people face in a lifetime. And still, he smiled. He learned to eat and drink again, despite having only a handful of teeth. He learned to play, to laugh, and to live as any child should.
His remarkable spirit was rewarded when the Make-A-Wish Foundation sent him to Disney World for his birthday. For a brief moment, Ryder could simply be a child again—running, laughing, and meeting his heroes.
Cruel Words, Fierce Love
But survival came with scars, and not everyone reacted with kindness. Strangers sometimes stared. Other children pointed or whispered. Ryder’s mother still remembers the sting of hearing someone call her son a “monster.”
For a parent, the cruelty was unbearable. Yet she refused to let Ryder be defined by others’ ignorance. “He’s beautiful,” she tells him every day. “Different is beautiful. It’s okay to be different.”
Slowly, Ryder learned to carry himself with confidence. On the soccer field, at school, or climbing rocks with friends, he is just another boy—full of energy, laughter, and dreams.
Where He Stands Today
Now eight years old, Ryder is thriving. He plays sports, goes to school, and enjoys adventures just like his classmates. His surgeries are not over—doctors still plan further procedures to help rebuild muscle and restore function—but his future is brighter than anyone dared to hope on that terrible day in 2015.
His story is not one of tragedy, but of triumph. Ryder Wells is living proof that resilience can rise from the darkest of moments. Against impossible odds, the little boy once given no chance of survival has become a beacon of hope, showing the world that scars do not define you—courage does.
