Georgia Magazine - September 2019 - 34

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MCKENNA HYDRICK

Right: Brothers, from left,
Sawyer and McCall Hydrick now
lead healthy, active lives and enjoy
most foods without reaction.
Their younger brother, Beckham, did not
have the esophageal disease.
Continued from page 30

DAVID STEMBRIDGE

Below: Sawyer and McCall
Mr. Byne had no idea this
walk among the bushes at the Bynes'
kid in North Augusta was
farm, which produced the berries
literally being sustained by
that proved critical in saving
what he grew."
their lives.

Passing it on

The experience with
her sons prompted
McKenna Hydrick to
launch her blog, threebittybirds.com, as
a way to offer encouragement, healthyliving tips and allergen-aware recipes to
help others battling allergies and chronic
illness. Check out the current recipes,
featuring blueberries!

For more information about Byne blueberries,
visit byneblueberries.com.

34

Georgia Magazine

September 2019

It took time and surgical procedures to test the effects on Sawyer's
esophagus to confirm blueberries were
safe and his body could digest them. Later,
McCall was cleared to eat them as well.
"We were going to Whole Foods
and buying all these blueberries," says
Hydrick, recalling their $40-per-day blueberry needs. The boys ate quart after quart
of those Georgia Grown blueberries-to
the point their hands were stained blue.
McCall and Sawyer ate blueberries instead
of popcorn as they watched movies and
even left their favorite fruit for Santa at
Christmas. Their brother, Beckham,
now 7, did not have the disease.
Byne learned of his impact during a
chance meeting in Whole Foods one day,
when he was dropping off a shipment.
Hydrick, who had taken a job there as a
healthy-eating coordinator, jumped at the
opportunity to meet the farmer who saved
her children unknowingly.
"I will never forget that look of
appreciation," Byne says, recalling his
amazement at her story. "To know they
survived on one food, and it was the food
I produce. It gave humble a whole new
definition for me."
Byne, whose blueberries are sold in
six Southeastern states, has been cultivating blueberries for nearly four decades
with help from his wife and four daughters. He says the encounter changed his
perspective entirely.

"I felt like I was just a farmer until
that point," he says. "Then she shared that
her boys were alive because of something
I did. Now, when I ride out to my farm, I
see something totally different. There's a
motive behind it. I see health and making
people's lives better."
The two families formed a bond that
strengthened them both, and they have
kept in touch.
In the five years since the worst of
their illness, the boys have been able to
test and clear new foods, enduring more
than 40 surgical procedures between
them. Rounds of treatments last year enabled them to experience foods that most
children take for granted-like Chick-fil-A
meals and french fries-for the first time.
Sawyer is in complete remission from the
disease, with a handful of food allergies
now as his only dietary hurdle. McCall is
nearing remission as well; the Hydricks
hope a medical procedure this fall will
reveal he no longer needs medication.
In the midst of this journey, the family moved from North Augusta, S.C., to
Nashville, Tenn., so Hydrick could pursue
her goals as a musician. But they won't
forget Byne and his blueberries.
"We had to go to Whole Foods in
Nashville, and the first thing I saw when
I walked in the store was a display of Mr.
Byne's blueberries," she says. "Seeing that
display brought a sense of small-town
comfort and served as a reminder of this
man who helped us."
Anne Marie Kyzer is a freelance writer
and real estate agent in Burke County who
loves sharing about her community.
http://www.threebittybirds.com http://www.byneblueberries.com
Georgia Magazine - September 2019

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