Liam Lyon's Memorial Service Video Taken Down (Statement From Shawn's Anomaly)

Liam Lyon's family has been extremely generous with their privacy to allow the world in and become aware of the little "Lyon Heart's" conditions and journey, so it was no surprise that they wanted everyone around the world to have the opportunity to take part in the memorial services.  I, Matthew Murphy, felt very honored that I had the knowledge to be able to broadcast the service live via my laptop and a couple of webcams that I owned.  It was a beautiful service, and I know that many people were able to witness this because we live in a great world of modern technology.

Unfortunately the family's generosity was taken advantage of, and several unauthorized pages started to pop up on social media sites that took screen shots of the memorial service.  Some of the pages were not created in a malicious manner but others were to take advantage of grieving supporters of Liam.  Since that time, we, at Shawn's Anomaly, have made every effort to help the family prevent any future abuse by taking down the link to the memorial service video.

I can, however, tell you by statistics that nearly 30,000 people were able to watch the memorial service.  That was very encouraging to me considering that Liam's continued legacy to touch hearts was still being carried out.  We received several emails and messages of appreciation from all over the world.  I will continue to always remember that and never let the negative jade the journey of Liam Lyon.

Liam's story is about triumph, overcoming adversity, and proving that miracles do happen.  Liam is a very special child in all of our lives.  Without one word spoken, Liam, had all of us captive.  Although he was born with half of a heart, it was larger than anyone else's I have ever come to know.  He truly was an angel among us during the 18 months of his life.  He will be missed physically, but his legacy and memory will continue to be carried with us for eternity.  As Elton John has so eloquently sung so many times, "The candle burned out long before, the legend ever will."

Nanci Tankersley (Liam's Grandmother) has expressed interest that she plans to help me, Matthew Murphy, honor Liam and others during my 2013 attempt to complete every full Ironman in the US plus 2-1/2 Ironman distances to build awareness for congenital anomalies, but only after she, and the family, have had time to decompress from being on the amazing journey they have been on.

I ask to all that you please now take the time to honor the family's privacy until they are ready to speak out and continue Liam's Legacy.  There obviously needs to be a time of grief for all of us, but it needs to be a time of private and individual grief instead of public grief.  In the meantime I encourage you also to do as a supporter, Donna, has done and explained in her own words:

Thank you for running the Ironman for Shawn and others and thank you for sharing your Ironman adventure. It has (pushed) me off my couch and onto the walking trail (something I have needed). You and Liam have become the catalyst to take me from my fear of exercise (due to severe joint and muscle pain) to a desire to move past that pain to a healthier me for my grandchildren and myself. I walked my first mile today

Thank you so much for your continued support of the Liam Lyon family and Shawn's Anomaly, and we hope that we can continue to provide support, encouragement, and awareness to others all over the world.

In Memory of Liam Lyon

William Elijah Lyon (Liam)
2/18/2011-9/3/2012

We just received the sad news that Liam Lyon is no longer with us.  We received the message from the family tonight just before 8:00pm CST.

Liam, was born with half of a heart 18 months ago, and he spent most of his life in several hospitals.  The condition is known as hypoplastic left heart syndrome.  It is a rare congenital condition where the left side of the heart doesn't develop properly.  Although Liam was born 5 weeks early, he was the perfect size weighing 6 lbs and measuring 19 inches long.  

At six months old Liam underwent a heart transplant that gave him the best chance for survival, but a series of complications occurred following his transplant.  He showed several signs of recovery and was even released once in March of this year, but he unfortunately was rushed back to the hospital only a few days later to be intubated.  

We were introduced to the family in June with hopes to help him get transferred to Texas Children's Hospital from Tulsa St. Francis. Unfortunately, the transfer never came through for him, but there was one doctor in Cincinnati that was willing to give the "Lyon Heart" one more chance just recently.  Sadly, the transfer came too late, and Liam's body was already in the process of breaking down.

Liam's story had been followed by thousands of people and having more Facebook friends than most people would meet in a full lifetime.  His story helped all of us become aware of his condition and other congenital anomalies.  He was a fighter, he touched all of us, and we are all better for knowing him. 

Liam's story will be one of the stories highlighted in the Shawn's Ironman 365 USA Challenge in 2013 and one of the Ironman competitions will be in his memory.  We are all saddened to hear of Liam's passing, but we know that his name and story will continue on!

For those who would like to contribute to Liam's funeral expenses go to the following link:

http://liamlyon.chipin.com/liam-lyon

Update from Liam Lyon's Family:

Many of you are searching for a way to help our family through donation for (Liam's) Celebration of Live Services.  There is an account established for Liam at:

Simmons First National Bank In Ft. Smith, AR where donations can be accepted.  This can be done by a direct donation to any Simmons Bank in Arkansas to the William Elijah Lyon acct.

For wire transfer the routing number is: 082900432

Direct checks can be sent to Paul Tankersley (Liam's Great Grandfather):

23443 Shoup Rd

Cameron, OK 74932

Donations can also be made via PayPal: iloveliamlyon@yahoo.com
Please mark the Pay Pal donation as a personal gift

Thank you,

The Family of Liam Lyon

Update 9/8/2012:

Please remember that the Liam Lyon Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be broadcast live via www.shawnsanomaly.org on Sunday, September 9th, 2012.  To watch click on the Liam Lyon Memorial Celebration of Life Memorial Service Tab.  In the meantime we have recently added a tribute video for your viewing.

Update 10/10/2012:  Liam Lyon's legacy and story will be continued to be told through Matthew Murphy's challenge complete every Ironman in the US in 2013.  Matthew has dedicated the Ironman Texas on May 18th to tell Liam's story.  To support this effort go to www.indiegogo.com/im265usa1

An Interview With Team SA's Garrett Oakley

In the past Garrett Oakley completed many triathlons, 5k's, etc.  Every time he trained for these events all of his energies were for himself, whether it be for beating a goal he set or beating the guy running next to him, but by his own submission, "Its always been about me.  Now that I am apart of Team Shawn's Anomaly my attitude has changed from me to them.  Granted I still will train for PR (personal records) and getting better, I now have a true reason to race."

Check out his interview about his experience: