For 23 years, Janet Dean fought vigilantly against breast cancer, but the grandmother of five lost her battle against the disease last August. As she fought against it, her grandson Ryan Lingelbach watched, taking in the weight of the battle she faced.
Now thirteen year old Ryan is making it his mission to help those who are fighting breast cancer by raising money for research. "We had to go to the hospice house, and when we were driving down, I was thinking about, 'What could I do for grandma?' So me and mom got to talking and we were like, 'How about we start a golf tournament.'"
Ryan says the money raised at his golf tournament will go towards breast cancer research that is being done at the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at Nebraska Medicine. He says his grandmother was able to get an extra year, and meet her granddaughter, thanks to research drugs.
Ryan's mother Julie Lingelbach says it is incredible to see her young son want to dedicate all the time and energy to others. "It's wonderful, and just to know that he wants to help his community and the breast cancer research community, it's like 'Well we're doing something right as parents.'"
The Lingelbachs say they are still in search of donors and players for the June 13th fundraiser. The tournament will be played at Indian Creek in Elkhorn and the price includes a day of golf and food with proceeds going to cancer research. Ryan's hope is to raise $5,000 for the cancer center. You can register find more information here.