* Riley Run 2018 *

* Register Now for 2018 Riley Run *

It's time for the fourth annual Riley Run. 

When: April 21, 2018 @ 4 pm

Where: Starts at Brittan Acres Elementary

Who: Runners, walkers, skippers, scooters, and hoppers are all welcome. 

T-Shirts: Register before March 30 in order to get your very own Riley Run t-shirt with this year's mystery Riley quote on the back. 

Cost: $25 fee will be donated to the Children's Heart Foundation and Camp Taylor, a free summer camp for kids with heart defects. 

Register by email: rileyrun1101@gmail.com

Riley's Handprint Memorial 2015

I am truly humbled by all of the people who came over to participate in our memorial. It was healing for me to see that so many people are still thinking about Riley and to be surrounded by so much love on this especially painful anniversary. We made a time-lapse video to capture the transformation of our garage door. Watch it, and let your heart soar.

Remembering Riley on the First Anniversary

#CentralTeamRiley

The first anniversary of Riley's death is October 20, and we invite you to join us in honoring and remembering him with the following activities:

* October 20: Handprint Memorial
We have turned our garage door into a memorial, and we want your help. Come add your handprint. We will supply the paint and the soapy water for clean up! Bring your whole family. 4-6 pm at Riley's house: 1082 Lupin Way.

* October 20: Evening Lantern Lighting
Pick up a lantern and battery-powered candle from 4-6 pm at Riley's house (1082 Lupin Way). Before dusk, decorate your lantern, then place it and battery-powered candle in your front yard at dusk. If you can, share a photo with Riley’s mom by either tagging her (Suzanne Galante) on Facebook, by posting it on Twitter (#CentralTeamRiley) or by emailing her: suzanne at galante dot org

* November 1: The Riley Run
Join us for a 5K walk/run around San Carlos in memory of Riley. Everyone is welcome. Proceeds from the $25 registration fee will be split between Camp Taylor and The Children’s Heart Foundation. The deadline to get a t-shirt has passed, but you can still register by sending an email to: rileyrun1101 at gmail dot com

* Ongoing: Riley geocache token
When you pick up your lantern, you'll also get a wooden Riley token for your next geocaching adventure. Or take photos of it at cool places like AT&T Park or Burton Park and share them via Twitter (#CentralTeamRiley). Another option is to just keep it somewhere special and think of Riley often.

With gratitude, Riley’s family
#CentralTeamRiley

Run, Riley Run – Sunday, Dec. 7

T-shirt girls will be wearing!

In honor of Riley, a student from Riley’s class at Central Middle School conceived an idea to do a 3-mile run with two friends to raise money for Camp Taylor (the free summer camp for kids with heart defects) and The Children’s Heart Foundation (an organization that exclusively funds congenital heart defect research). She has raised more than $700! Their run begins at 4:30 pm at the corner of El Camino and San Carlos Avenue in San Carlos. Our family will be somewhere along their route wearing green, cheering them on. Please join us and encourage your neighbors to come out too, so that we can all cheer for them as they run past, cheer for their hard work, and cheer for Riley! Here is their route info:

At 4:30, rain or shine…
A) START: Corner of El Camino & San Carlos Avenue, heading South.
B) Right on Brittan.
C) Right on Tamarack.
D) Right on Alma.
E) Right on Cordilleras.
F) Left on Arroyo.
G) FINISH LINE: corner of Arroyo and El Camino.

San Carlos route for "Riley Run" on December 7th

Thank you Cassandra! Thank you parents for supporting her idea! Thank you community for donating to her fundraiser! And thank you community for loving Riley and all of us along the way.

Celebration details...

Riley's dad created a website with the details for celebrating Riley's life. Find it here.

Celebration of Riley

We are planning a Celebration of Riley's life on Saturday, Nov. 1 in San Carlos, CA. Details will follow, but just a few things to consider:

1. If you have a picture of your child with Riley or a picture of Riley from a school event, please find it to bring with you, as it will be taped into a memory book. 
2. We are hoping students will be willing to share feelings/stories about Riley, so please help/encourage your children prepare/practice if they are interested in doing so.
3. Children/friends/siblings/parents will have an opportunity to walk a lap in honor of Riley. For each person who participates, Riley's family will donate $5 to Camp Taylor.

Thank you.

UPDATE: You can find information and directions to the event at the Celebration of Riley's Life website.

Eleven and a half

Despite the very special team of doctors and nurses helping him, Riley died yesterday afternoon, Monday, October 20, 2014. I am heartbroken for my family and I am heartbroken for all of the people, especially the children, who know Riley. I wish I could scoop them up and protect this from this horrible truth.

Hopeful with siblings before surgery.

Riley went into surgery scared, but hopeful. He looked forward to running, flying on airplanes without oxygen, and going to the mountains--something he could not do because of his low oxygenation. I like believing that he died still feeling hopeful for those things, and I imagine him running and running and running. I feel grateful that he died while being soothed by his mother, father, and two bonus parents and not in an operating room. He is no longer in pain, no longer suffering, no longer struggling. For this I am also grateful. Afterward, I noticed a vertical beam of light pressed against the wall near the closed blinds at the end of his bed. He is free.

We know you all want to do something and we appreciate your love and support. In lieu of flowers or other gifts, please consider donating in Riley's honor to Camp Taylor, which is a free summer camp for children with heart defects and their families. Also, please donate blood, not just now, but again and again. Riley lived as long as he did because of the generous donations of countless, nameless, and selfless individuals. His corneas will be donated to help others.

At some point, there will be a celebration of Riley’s life, and we will post details here. In the meantime, I wanted to share a poem that Riley wrote last month for a class assignment:

Gracious Green
By: Riley Norton 9-16-14 

Do you know what my favorite color is? Green! 
He is: nature; earth’s greatest gift, 
the leaves that sometimes drift, 
an Exit sign glowing on the wall, 
and a brand new tennis ball 

My color sounds like the wet grass when you step in it 
He tastes like a salad with some vinaigrette 

My color feels like a warm, soft pillow 
Green is the smell of a tree called a willow 

Green looks like a sour apple ripping on a tree
he is someone's favorite color and that someone is me! 
IS YOUR COLOR GREEN TOO??? 

Thank you for loving him, and us, through the years.
Suzanne, Ken, and family

UPDATE: Donate to Camp Taylor in Riley's memory here: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/rileynorton/donate

Waiting...

I wish I could say that there was a clear path on which Riley was moving, but there is not. He continues to be critically ill on life support. It is difficult for us to even comprehend the size of the mountain that he needs to climb. And so we wait. And wait. And wait.

To read what Riley's mom is thinking about, go here.

Riley still critically ill

Riley continues to be on life support. He is still critically ill. Please continue to hold him in your hearts.

Downward spiral

Riley's condition has spiraled downward and I cannot even comprehend, yet alone begin to explain, how horrible things are. He has lost circulation in his legs, they are performing an extremely risky procedure on them now. That is on top of the clusterfuck of the ECMO circuit. He may lose his legs, he may bleed out. To say that everything, EVERYTHING has gone wrong is an understatement. He is gravely, gravely ill. There is nothing else to say. So this is my last post for the foreseeable future.

That said, thank you for all of your love and concern and support.