“My baby traded in his broken body for golden wings this morning at 11:27am”
A little over one week ago, the wildly stylish Malibu surfer Lyon Herron wrote a moving goodbye message to friends, to family and to anyone that’d ever spun in his orbit.
I’ve made the decision to move palliative care to hospice care, the suffering and pain has just gotten past the point of being able to handle. For those of you that know me, know that I have a very unique connection with death. I’ve been so close to it so many times and have literally been told that I wasn’t going to make it through the night more times that I can count. I’m so comfortable with the end of this life’s journey that I honestly am welcoming the end with open arms. I don’t want anyone to mourn me when I pass, but to celebrate the life that I lived. I am so blessed and so grateful for the life that I’ve had, I’ve been living on borrowed time for a very long time now and now it’s my souls time to move on. I’m doing it the natural way so who knows how long it will take but I want to thank each and everyone one of you for keeping me going through the toughest of times. Like I said, I am blessed. I love you all from the bottom of my heart and will always be here as a guardian angel to my loved ones. It’s not goodbye, it’s just see you soon. So excited to finally get to see my uncles who have passed before me. Adios friends.
“Your love for humans and your passion for life is so inspiring and is spreading into so many of us. Thank you for sharing your journey and your love. You’re a miracle,” wrote Griffin Colapinto.
Mama to John John, Ivan and Nathan, Alex Florence, wrote: “Thank you Lyon for letting us get to know you a little and showing us true bravery…my heart is so sad reading this.. I don’t have the right words to express.. just want you to know our family is truly grateful to have witnessed such courage and love. A Hui Hou.”
Lyon Herron fought one hell of a battle. Lyon was seven when he was diagnosed with Gardner Syndrome, “a rare, inherited condition where people develop hundreds and sometimes thousands of abnormal growths in their large and small intestines. These growths, called polyps, are noncancerous at first, but some have an almost 100% chance of becoming cancerous.”
A GoFundMe page set up to help ease the cost of his myriad treatments (35k of a needed 75k was raised) detailed his long trial.
It read in part:
FRIDAY JULY 22nd, 2022 UPDATE
Since November 1st, 2019, Lyon has spent 485 days at Cedars Sinai hospital dealing with an intestinal fistula (hole in his intestine), inter-abdominal abscesses, very aggressive fast growing desmoid tumors wrapped around his small intestine and mesenteric artery, sepsis, edema, low hemoglobin and so much more. Since this is the height of the pandemic, he spends most of his admissions in the hospital alone, with no visitors allowed.
In January of 2022 during a procedure to put a new clamp on the fistula, he aspirated in post-op recovery, so his lungs filled up to 80% with vomit and acidic fluid. He was placed into a medically induced coma and put on life support because his lungs started to fail. The doctors gave him a 20% chance of waking up, and miraculously with the prayers of a strong community behind him, within 3 days he started to make a remarkable come back, and within a week after being placed in a coma, he woke up.
Since then, it’s been a long and difficult road to recovery, and although he takes a couple steps forward, if feels like he always takes 3 steps back. He’s been approved for disability, and although he gets a small, subsidized amount to help with living and medical expenses, it’s still not enough to make sure he’s living with no monetary fear. We hope that we can take away any fear of getting by monetarily while he focuses on healing and recovering his body.
BeachGrit readers would’ve immediately been reminded of late commenter Sean Mitchell aka Offrocker’s words as he, too, prepared himself for his “medieval ordeal.”
“Surfing has taught me to not be greedy with my expectations, to take opportunities as they present themselves, to fight and hunt, and the capacity to dine out on those very few peak moments for weeks and months – and that’s just what I need now to get me through this medieval ordeal. I might be dying, but I’m not quitting,” wrote Sean, who died of colon cancer aged thirty-six, three years ago.
Four days ago, Barbie, Lyon Herron’s mama, posted.
Last night I woke up from a dream that I did not want to forget so I wrote it down immediately.
I was waiting for lyon to get out of the shower and I suddenly became weightless like there was an energy that took over me. For a split second I had this fear but then I knew my brothers had something to do with it so I surrendered and became weightless. I danced around the room floating from floor to ceiling with the most beautiful blue light energy trailing me and within me. There was one person sitting on the floor in the room and I danced too close to her and felt the gravity free energy dissipate. I had this smile of warmth in my soul and calm in my body. It was heavenly.
I knew then as Lyon was exiting the shower – but it was as if he was coming out of the ocean instead of the shower- that I was suppose to guide him to that blue light I just embodied. I saw it swirling around us. I caught him as he fell into my arms and I told him to let the light find him and that it was safe and ok and right then he closed his eyes and smiled with a sense of calm and peace then I heard the angels. It was the most beautiful celestial orchestra I’ve ever heard. I can’t even put it into words. As he lay in my arms, I felt his energy shift into the blue light and leave his body as the smile remained.
I just woke up and was still hearing the angels sing.
I needed to write this down so I don’t forget but I know this was heaven giving me a glimpse of what’s to come so that I can help guide him through this portal. This was the full circle moment of my mama journey with him.
Just checked on him… he’s still breathing 🙏🏼
Written at 1:05am
I shared this with him this morning. We are ready for the beautiful blue light.
Earlier today, his mama broke the news her boy Lyon Herron had died.
My baby traded in his broken body for golden wings this morning at 11:27am.
I need a moment to process it all because honestly, I’m not sure how to do life without him.
My mama heart is shattered but at the same time resting in peace with his knowing that the suffering died alongside body.
Thank you all for sharing your tremendous hearts with us.
Again, a roll call of surfing identities sent their condolences including, again, Alex Florence.
“Sending you so much love .. mother to mother,” wrote Alex. “Rest in peace Lyon . we will forever be touched by your sweet spirit!
