Family ditches birthday party for birthday parade for boy with spina bifida in Kingsburg

KINGSBURG, Calif. (KFSN) -- Some people wore costumes, while others made signs or held balloons as they drove by down a Kingsburg neighborhood Tuesday to wish 11-year-old Ryker a happy birthday.

"Who knew this idea was a thing people would respond to," says Heather Dunn.

Heather and Jeff Dunn adopted Ryker in 2017 from China, and this is his third birthday with his new family.

The 11-year-old was born with spina bifida and recently had surgery. Amid the coronavirus concerns, he's considered high risk.

Heather and Jeff were worried they wouldn't be able to celebrate until they decided to ditch the party for a parade.

"We thought there'd be a couple of cars, then it spread through social media," Jeff said. "This was our way to keep social distancing but still have some fun."

The Dunns say more than two dozen cars showed up, waving and honking as the family watched from the backseat of the car.

The 11-year-old birthday boy smiled as car after car made its way down the street.

He now hopes to make the birthday parade a family tradition.

"It gave him a chance to have a little bit of happy on his birthday, and it gave other people a chance to have a little happy with everything going on in the world," Heather said.

The family is blown away by the community support.

As Ryker blows out the candles to what he calls the best birthday ever, he's already getting excited for next year.

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