Tylan Hibbard is a polite, outdoorsy guy who can usually be found with a fishing pole in his hand. Every fisherman needs a good fishing shoe, so he designed his SB Zoom Stefan Janoski with all kinds of nautical details. The laces emulate the ropes used to tie boats to the dock, while a school of trophy fish swim against a deep blue background.
Age
15
Hometown
Eugene, Ore.
Diagnosis
Truncus arteriosus (congenital heart defect)
Shoe
Nike SB Zoom Stefan Janoski
Tylan also included his own personal mantra on the tab of the shoe: be kind. That’s the theme of his very own YouTube channel, which he created to help other people feel better. “At the end of every video, it says ‘be kind’ because you never know what someone else is going through,” he said. “That’s why you want to be the best you can be to them.”
Tylan was born with truncus arteriosus, a rare heart defect that is fatal if not corrected. But while his heart may not function perfectly, it’s full of love for his family. In fact, he calls up members of his extended family every single night just to tell them that he loves them. “They’ve always been there for me, even when things get tough,” he said.
“Everyone at Doernbecher was amazing, from the PICU nurses to his cardiology team. They lifted us up and let us cry on their shoulders when we needed to. We consider some of them family now.”
Heather, Tylan’s mom
That gratitude extends to his medical team as well, starting with his cardiologist, Dr. Misty Carlson.
As his mom, Heather, explained, “Everyone at Doernbecher was amazing, from the PICU nurses to his cardiology team. They lifted us up and let us cry on their shoulders when we needed to. We consider some of them family now.”
Tylan was so inspired by his experience with his Doernbecher child life specialist Jan Crider that he says he’d like to be a child life specialist too someday.
“I’d like to help younger kids like she does,” he said. He also aspires to make a career out of his YouTube channel. (He has 64 subscribers and would love to have more!)
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