Ryan's Recovery

*This post has been updated to reflect the information we have since found out* 

On July 28th, our world completely stopped spinning. Ryan- our fun-loving, always adventurous, larger-than-life son, partner, brother, & friend, had a medical emergency at his house.

Randi, Ryan's amazing partner, was able to call 911 as Ryan had a heart attack at their home, which caused a seizure and subsequently a really horrible fall. EMTs were thankfully there within minutes. Immediately upon getting into the ambulance, Ryan went into cardiac arrest. EMTs were able to shock his heart back into rhythm and rushed him to the nearest hospital. Once there, they were able to stabilize him and put him on a ventilator to transfer him to a larger hospital better equipped to handle all his body was going through.

Once at ORMC, it was determined Ryan has an abnormal heart which led to the heart attack, which led to the "heart seizure" due to his brain being without oxygen from the heart attack. Thankfully due to Randi and EMTs' quick actions, he was not without oxygen long enough to cause brain damage.

When Ryan had his heart attack and seizure, he was in the bathroom and fell into their shower. The fall, unfortunately, also broke his back in 4 places, and his neck in 2. The worst break, his T12 vertebrae, was pushing up against his spinal cord, and doctors worried one wrong move would cause Ryan to become quadriplegic. ORMC was able to perform back surgery on Ryan and straighten the broken T12 to relieve the pressure on the spinal cord to prevent paralysis.

Ryan was put on a ventilator, sedated, and seen by both a neurosurgeon and cardiologist. Neuro was able to do all they could for Ryan’s back and neck, and he thankfully was- by a miracle- not paralyzed. Once we know more about what caused the weakened heart, they will fix that from there. Currently, Ryan remains in ICU while they work through these last few hurdles to recovery.

Anyone who knows Ryan knows how loving, giving, gentle, kind, funny, and incredible he is. He is the first person to give you the shirt off his back, make you laugh in the worst of times, and be a listening ear when you need him. From his friends he makes at the Coheed concerts he frequents to a random person on the street- Ryan has never in his life met a stranger. The medical bills he and Randi will be facing after this- between him missing work for at least three months, all the tests and treatments he has needed, and an ICU stay- are more than we can imagine currently.

That brings us here, to you all, to ask for any help you can possibly provide. Randi, Ryan, and the rest of our family could never have imagined this would happen to such an active, healthy, young guy like Ryan. We want to relieve this burden from them in any way we can and make sure Ryan has all the time and resources he needs to get the best possible recovery.

We know Ryan has touched the lives of so, so many and we are hopeful that his community will rally behind him through this unimaginable time. Any and every donation helps, and we all know Ryan will be more than willing to offer his infamous "free hugs" to anyone who supports this cause. We cannot wait to see him smiling, laughing, and back to his old self again; we thank you all for your help in getting us there.