Huddy’s Buddies

Huddy’s Buddies Hudson was diagnosed at 4 months old with Sotos Syndrome. He passed away at age 4 from a seizure in his sleep.

Tonight was the lighting of the lights here in Ingersoll.We went to visit Huddy’s light and we noticed that he’s had som...
11/21/2025

Tonight was the lighting of the lights here in Ingersoll.

We went to visit Huddy’s light and we noticed that he’s had some work done. 🤣 He now has a nose, and his outline is all white with just yellow stripes on his pjs, which is great! Plus they fixed his one ear, too. It looks awesome this year. He has been moved a bit further away from the Grinch now, but only 3 away and he’s kind of in the middle of that area so it’s a great spot.

I hope that more people in town will recognize Huddy from Jon and I sponsoring all 4 Blastball teams this year. Every little jersey had Huddy’s logo on the back, and our logo was also on the 2025 sponsors banner at Victoria Park main diamond.

When Blastball finished, we had each player sign the back of one of the extra jerseys we had so we can hang it in our office to remember the first year we sponsored Blastball. Jon was the one who brought the idea of Blastball to the IMBA board 3 years ago, and it has been his baby ever since. He is the TBall/Blastball Convenor for Ingersoll Minor Baseball, and at our annual general meeting last month… I was voted in as the Local League Convenor… so hopefully we can get some more great programs up and running here in Ingersoll in Hudson’s memory.

If you go through the lights and take a picture with Huddy’s light - tag us! Or use !

💜

I woke up this morning; Thanksgiving morning here in Canada, and all 3 of the kids were in my bed. Jon on the left, then...
10/12/2025

I woke up this morning; Thanksgiving morning here in Canada, and all 3 of the kids were in my bed. Jon on the left, then Sissy, then me, Harry to my right, and Hayden on the right side. Like 5 bugs in a rug. But then an overwhelming sadness came over me.

There is someone missing. It should be even more cramped in this bed. There should be squealing and flapping and stimming. Happier kids with more to be thankful for; who didn’t have their whole lives flipped upside down 2.5 years ago. There should be happier parents here in this bed; not so easily overstimulated and angry. Still wondering what the hell happened that night - years later.

I sat in my bed and I cried. I never just cry. I never allow myself to fall apart because I fear I would never be able to get it back together. But today I cried because I had all of my babies and my husband on one spot but Hudson was missing.

Harry said “I’ll be right back!” And ran out of the room… I knew he was going to get the Huddy pillow, so I yelled “Huddy is in the dryer!” (Because I washed him last night.) Harry brought him in and I hugged him and cried.

We talked about how we think life would be if he was still here; and what a beautiful picture we painted.

Still, there is someone missing today. I guess every special moment in our lives from now until forever will be a little bit happy and a little bit sad for all of us.

Here’s our last Thanksgiving picture as a family of 6. 🦃🍗

As another baseball season comes to an end, Jon and I are so proud to have been the sponsors of this year’s Blastball te...
08/27/2025

As another baseball season comes to an end, Jon and I are so proud to have been the sponsors of this year’s Blastball teams. It’s wild to see the picture of Hudson that Loryn Brantz drew on this list of sponsors. I’m hoping that someday Hudson and his little yellow balloon will be so easily recognized that people in Ingersoll will see it and say “Oh there’s Huddy”.

Year one of many!

Thanks to all of the parents who signed their kids up for blastball. Can’t wait for next season.

Today is Bereaved Mothers Day.Sending all of my love to all moms who are missing their babies today.Today was a VERY goo...
05/05/2025

Today is Bereaved Mothers Day.

Sending all of my love to all moms who are missing their babies today.

Today was a VERY good day for us, as we finally saw one of our dreams for Hudson’s legacy come true.

All of this year’s Ingersoll Minor Baseball Association - IMBA blastball league was sponsored by Huddy’s Buddies. Thanks to our families for helping us make this dream a reality. Every single coach and every single player in Blastball will have Huddy on the back of their shirts, and we couldn’t be happier.

Thanks so much again to Loryn Brantz Books and Illustration for our beautiful illustration of Hudson and the permission to use it. And to my Uncle Bruce for creating our Foundation logo for Huddy’s Buddies. 💜

The long-term goal of the Rare Disease Day campaign is to ensure equitable access to diagnosis, treatment, healthcare, s...
02/27/2025

The long-term goal of the Rare Disease Day campaign is to ensure equitable access to diagnosis, treatment, healthcare, social support, and opportunities for those affected by rare diseases. Please sport your stripes tomorrow to raise awareness for Rare Disease Day. Over 300 million people worldwide have a rare disease. Education and inclusion are key. 🌈💖🌎🦓

Celebrating Huddy’s Buddies’ 5th year on Facebook. Thank you for your continuing support. We could never have made it wi...
01/28/2025

Celebrating Huddy’s Buddies’ 5th year on Facebook. Thank you for your continuing support. We could never have made it without you. 🙏🤗🎉

Today is the day.Today is the day I’ve been dreading for the last nearly two years since Hudson died.The day one of my c...
11/29/2024

Today is the day.

Today is the day I’ve been dreading for the last nearly two years since Hudson died.

The day one of my children outlived their older brother.

Today, Hayden is 4 years and 5 days old. The exact age Hudson was when he died.

Every single day after today, he will continue to outlive Hudson.

When I’ve mentioned this to people, they always tell me that Hayden will never “outlive” Hudson, because Hudson is always here. But he’s not here. He’s not physically with us and that is the pain I’m talking about. Watching one of your kids overtake another, whether it is with milestones or anything else… is hard for any parent. But imagine the daily reminder that the child who died is being left behind. Slipping through the cracks of your memories and of your mind.

Someday the youngest of our 4 children will outlive him too. I know that is a fact. I know that there is no getting around it. Only through it.

I went searching through my photos of the last photo I had of Hudson and Hayden together before his death. The last photo I had was of our double stroller - sissy in front, Hudson in back for more leg room, and Hayden sitting in front of Hudson on his snack tray. 😂 I remember this day clearly. I had taken all 4 kids by myself to Independent grocery store, and Hayden got tired of walking. He was upset because he had to walk and there were only 2 seats in the stroller.

So I did what we always did. Adapt. I sat him on the snack tray to give his tiny little legs a rest, and Hudson was so happy to have him so close that he was tapping on his back and stimming with excitement. Flapping and squealing right in the middle of the grocery store.

I miss that happy flapping and the squealing. You never had to wonder how Hudson felt. He was sure to let you know with almost every part of his body. If his hands weren’t flapping, his feet were kicking or his head was going side to side. He would pluck his lips like a banjo and make funny noises as he did it.

Some days I feel like I’m already forgetting him and it kills me. I forget the sounds of his excitement and his lip banjo. But then nights like last night happen where one of the kids say something and it stirs up so many memories. Last night it was Sloane saying “a-da!” Hudson said “a-da” every single time Jon left the house. Any time he wanted dad but couldn’t see him. He would squeal it in excitement or drag it out with frustration. “Aahhhhh-da!!” “Ah-daaaaaaaaaaa”, and other combinations.

They say grief comes in waves, and I can say with 100% certainty… these waves will continue to crash over me for the rest of my life. 😓

Sloane has been talking about Hudson a lot lately. She worked so hard to bring this Huddy pillow up from downstairs by h...
06/24/2024

Sloane has been talking about Hudson a lot lately. She worked so hard to bring this Huddy pillow up from downstairs by herself and was so proud to show it to us. She said his name about a hundred times and Jon and I both got teary eyed thinking about how much he would have loved her at the age she is now.

I’m sure he would have been able to stand along furniture by now and she would have kept him on his toes running all around him and motivating him and loving on him.

They would have snuggled up together and eaten their bear paws and timbits together.

I’m sad for Sloane. I’m sad that she’ll never have all that love he could have given her.

Life is so not fair.

Today we picked up part of Jon’s Father’s Day gift. I ordered a Huddy’s Buddies mascot for the rear view mirror of both ...
06/20/2024

Today we picked up part of Jon’s Father’s Day gift.

I ordered a Huddy’s Buddies mascot for the rear view mirror of both of our vehicles. 😂😂 I love them!!

Crochet by Chrissy did a fantastic job as usual!

I remember a lot of times during Hudson’s life saying and thinking “but what about when he’s not so babyish and not so c...
05/13/2024

I remember a lot of times during Hudson’s life saying and thinking “but what about when he’s not so babyish and not so cute and little anymore?”

I wish we had the opportunity to outgrow the cute and fiercely protect, advocate and encourage him. You can bet your bottom dollar I would have gone to war with the whole world to make it a bit easier for him to belong here.

When he outgrew cute
The looks changed from compassion to concerned
Towards him
And towards those who supported him.
And sometimes disgust
Overshadowed concern
As he stubbornly clung to his ways.

When he outgrew cute
The calls increased
Calls desperate for help
Desperate for summer options for a 16 year old in diapers
Desperate for respite
Desperate for adaptive equipment
Desperate for anything that would assist a non verbal teenager
Or anyone
And the voices were silent
Or they whispered –
Sorry.
Sorry.
Sorry.

When he outgrew cute
His movements were no longer celebrated
But instead feared
Violent head banging
Aggressive pulling
Dangerous optimism
With the strength of a man
And not that of a child.

When he outgrew cute
The damage began
Damage to walls
Damage to others
And damage to himself
And this damage
Wreaked havoc on more than just objects
It wreaked havoc on psyches as well.

When he outgrew cute
The walls caved in
And the house became a tomb
And the isolation suffocated those within
As they desperately yearned to belong
To something
Somewhere.

When he outgrew cute
Milestones were no longer encouraged
And his future grew dim
And symptoms of PTSD set in
For those who loved him & had been
Rattled by his screams for years.

When he outgrew cute
Mood altering drugs were doled out like candy
One option after another
For him
And also
suggested for his caregivers.
Drugs to dull the pain
Drugs to pacify
Drugs to silence the demons

When he outgrew cute
She outgrew herself
As every ounce of strength was poured into him
And she got lost in the daily grind
Lost in the sleepless nights
And invisible behind the never ending tasks

When he outgrew cute
She outgrew silence
And she raised her voice
To join the cacophony for change
And her battle cry rose –
A better tomorrow!
For him
And for those who loved him.
Because when he outgrew cute
He outgrew society
And that’s simply not an option.
For anyone.
Anymore.

When he outgrew cute
She found the strength to move forward
To move towards advocacy
And move towards hope.
She found the strength
To keep going
And keep growing
And she found the strength
To just keep livin.

Written by Jess Ronne

Today is bereaved Mother’s Day. “I am wearing a pair of shoes.They are ugly shoes.Uncomfortable shoes.I hate my shoes.Ea...
05/05/2024

Today is bereaved Mother’s Day.

“I am wearing a pair of shoes.
They are ugly shoes.
Uncomfortable shoes.
I hate my shoes.
Each day I wear them, and each day I wish I had another pair.
Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can take another step.
Yet, I continue to wear them.
I get funny looks wearing these shoes.
They are looks of sympathy.
I can tell in other's eyes that they are glad they are my shoes and not theirs.
They never talk about my shoes.
To learn how awful my shoes are might make them uncomfortable.
To truly understand these shoes you must walk in them.
But, once you put them on, you can never take them off.
I now realize that I am not the only one who wears these shoes.
There are many pairs in this world.
Some women are like me and ache daily as they try to walk in them.
Some have learned how to walk in them so that they don't hurt quite so much.
Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before they think about how much they hurt.
No woman deserves to wear these shoes.
Yet, because of these shoes I am a stronger woman.
These shoes have given me the strength to face anything.
They have made me who I am.
I will forever walk in the shoes of a woman who has lost a child.” Author Unknown

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Ingersoll, ON

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