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.