Rayanne Rysinger was just your average child growing up in Wurtsboro, N.Y. She was always trying to stand out and be the center of attention. She was definitely a social butterfly: even won the ribbon for camp flirt when she was five! Rayanne was involved in many athletic endeavors and did well in school. But, when she was eleven her whole world changed. She was having double vision and began feeling ill. The doctors soon discovered that she had a brain tumor pressing on the brain stem. Emergency surgery was performed.  Although the tumor was removed, Rayanne was left severely disabled. She had to relearn basic functions.

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 After six grueling months in the hospital, where she had  physical, occupational  and speech therapy daily, along with intensive radiation, she was deemed well enough to go home. Rayanne had to have home nursing care and got sick often. This  lasted a year and a half, but she improved. During this time most of her “friends” basically abandoned her and she felt very much alone. But she always had the support of her family.

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     As time went on, though pretty happy but somewhat depressed and with a feeling of no direction, she got motivated. Rayanne started moving forward.  Country music and dance lessons  were a big part of this. Well, country music really gave her the first push and then she started dancing! Dancing and performing just helped everything: her confidence grew tremendously and she grew physically stronger and more balanced.

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  In the past several years she honed  her dancing skills, started a photography business and began writing country music. She also became an accomplished author. In fact, Rayanne just finished making her first cd with the help of Debbie Major and Zylofone Inc. and it was an amazing experience. It felt so empowering to have her lyrics put to music so everyone could hear. She just finished writing her first children’s book using her own photos and also published a coffee table book on barns. Rayanne recently received an award for Inspirational Artist from the Orange County Arts Council. It was a huge honor to be recognized by her peers.