Johnston boy’s dream helps sister and others

A ten-year-old Johnston boy’s desire to help his sister has led to a project that’s made a big impact. Kyle Soyer’s sister Hannah was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a disease without a cure that affects the signals sent to muscles, a year-and-a-half ago. His mother Michelle says Kyle read a story that offered a way to help out.The story involves the legend that making one thousand paper cranes and praying can lead to a miracle. She says Kyle sought to have people sponsor each crane.He sent out letters asking for a five-dollar donation for a crane that would be made to honor anyone the donor chose. Soyer says the letters spread across the country to people who were familiar with the disease, and the effort ended up raising 12-thousand dollars for research.Kyle was excited by the response, and had to recruit classmates and family members to handle the mail. The story says the cranes and prayers will bring a miracle, and Soyer says Kyle believes it will happen.She says they’ve always believed it’s important to do everything they can and have been positive that something would happen. Soyer says things are happening.She says there are now drug trials looking for a treatment for the disease, something they didn’t have when her daughter was diagnosed. Kyle’s cranes will be on display at Blank’s Childrens Hospital in Des Moines beginning