Ryan Shepherd Needs Our Help

On Thursday, June 27th, Ryan Shepherd fell unconscious and was rushed to the hospital in Sousa, DR.  He suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage due to a ruptured aneurysm.  To get the treatment needed, he was transported via ambulance on Saturday to another hospital 5 hours away.  On Monday, July 1, he underwent an intravascular procedure to put a coil around the aneurysm to stop the bleeding in his brain.  Since then has been heavily sedated to allow healing.  The extent of the damage will not be known until he regains consciousness.  His recovery is a huge unknown as he could be looking at weeks to months of treatment.  With the cost to get him the treatment he needed and the unknown costs associated with the anticipated lengthy recovery time, the medical bills are mounting.   The family has learned he has little to no insurance to count on.

For those of you who don’t know Ryan’s story…. After experiencing the loss of a good friend and coworker several years ago, it hit home how short life is and that it was time to live his dream.  He left his job in the steel mill in Oak Ridge, TN and moved to Sousa, Dominican Republic in 2016, a place that just felt like home to him. Without any background in the hospitality business and limited ability to speak the native language, he bought the Britannia, a local pub in the heart of Sousa.  He has created a place that both locals and expats love to patron and more importantly found ways to give back to his community.  Through weekly trivia games at Britannia, he has raised thousands of dollars that go directly to local charities such as Sousa Kids and Dominican Aid. 

Please keep Ryan and his family in your thoughts and prayers for a recovery that will allow him to continue to live his dream, to be a father to his 2 children and to meet his granddaughter who he does not yet know he has.  She was born July 2nd and Ryan is a grandfather for the first time.

Here is Ryan with his daughter Marley and son Brett.

Together we can help ease the financial burden that he and his family will be left with.  Your generosity is greatly appreciated and we thank you in advance for making a difference!  Thank you and please share this message.

 

The funds will be managed by Ryan’s brother Greg to help pay his medical bills and to see that he gets the recovery treatment he will most definitely need.