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On the evening of Thursday, September 14th, 2023 Mike was out flying his
Ultralight plane near Liberty, Mo. He had been up in the air for over an hour and
was coming back towards his hanger for landing when he experienced an inboard
fire. A fireball came out from under the dash catching him and the plane on fire.
Mike, while on fire, landed his plane in a cornfield about ½ a mile from his hanger.
He was able to roll out of the plane and put himself out, roll down a hill, climb up
a steep embankment, and walk down the road heading towards his hanger. At
that time a neighbor had saw smoke and drove towards the area and saw Mike
walking on the road significantly burnt with no shoes and hardly any clothes left
on his body. He picked Mike up and drove him to the hanger where the
ambulance met them.
Since the accident has taken place Mike has remained in the ICU in the burn unit
at KU hospital. He has 3rd and 4th degree burns on 65% of his body. Due to the
nature of the burns, Mike has had to have both of his legs from below the knee
down amputated as well as all of his fingers on both hands. He has had to
undergo multiple other surgeries as well for debridement and extensive skin grafts. We
have lost count on the number of surgeries, but it is well over 15 and he will have
multiple more surgeries in the coming days/weeks/months.
He will need prosthetics for his legs and fingers once he is to that point in his recovery.
If you know Mike, you know how independent and active he was! He would never
ask anyone for anything but would give you the shirt off of his back if you needed
it. Now it’s time for us to show him how loved he truly is in his time of need.
The entire Ryken family would like to thank you all for the love, support, and prayers during this time. Please continue to pray for Mike has he has a very very long road to recovery ahead of him.
#FightLikeMike
