But up until a couple weeks ago, the nine-year-old, Ryan, had never heard of Twitter. He does, however, have brain cancer, which he's been fighting since the age of three. The trend began with a tweet from a friend that asked people to pray for Ryan.
A Twitter representative reportedly told the boy's mother that #RyanKennedy stayed in the top 20 trending topics last weekend in the U.S. and Canada, and a top ten trending topic in Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, Spain, the U.K. and the Netherlands.
His mother told a local news station in Clarkston, Michigan that Ryan and his family have been grateful for all the prayers around the world.
“He is touched. He breaks down and cries and says, 'I can’t believe so many people love me and care about me,'” Ryan’s mother Kim Karp told reporters at WXYZ station in Michigan. “'It just brings joy to my heart,' he says through his tears.”
After his last treatment paralyzed one side of his face, Ryan told his mother he wanted to be done with treatments. Now, he sleeps 23 hours a day and has a difficult time talking and drinking liquids. Doctors reportedly said he likely won't make it to his 10th birthday on May 24.
The trending topic brought attention to the issue of brain cancer on Twitter, with Ryan's hashtag trending worldwide.