The Ryan Cantwell Fund
Hi everyone,
This GoFundMe page has been set up for Ryan Cantwell, who at just 23 years old, suffered an ischemic stroke (blood clot in the brain) following a day-case routine shoulder operation on the 26th November 2020.
Ryan spent 2 months recovering in the Cork University Hospital and initially he was confined to bed and struggled to communicate with the hospital staff. He was the youngest patient on the stroke ward in what must have been a very traumatic experience for him. To make matters worse, Covid restrictions made it very difficult for his family to visit him. Under the excellent care of CUH Ryan started to make small incremental improvements. He began to communicate by drawing words on his phone and his physical ability improved slightly. He still couldn't walk independently but he was very determined to try, as can be seen in the video above of Ryan attempting to walk with the assistance of the physios.
Ryan came home for a month during which time he received treatments via video-call, due to Covid -19 restrictions. He then went to the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dublin where he was an in-patient for 3 months and under the excellent care of the NRH he made encouraging progress.
The stroke has left Ryan with both cognitive and physical impairments. He has been diagnosed with expressive and receptive aphasia, meaning that he has trouble with saying and understanding spoken words. The right hand side of his body is partially paralysed with limited function of the right arm, hand and foot. This incident has changed his life and many challenges lie ahead, not least the fact that he will need a specially modified car which he can drive using his left hand and left foot only.
Born and bred in Cork, Ryan went to St Anthony’s BNS in Ballinlough and he completed his secondary education in St.Francis College , Rochestown . His interest in the sciences led him to study Nutritional Science in CIT before progressing to a Masters in Food Microbiology at University College Cork in September 2020.
Despite the traumatic experience of suffering this brain injury, Ryan is determined to return to education and to complete his Masters degree at UCC.
Away from education, Ryan was an active young man and a proud member of the Blackrock National Hurling Club. A towering figure of 6ft 4in and a natural lefty with a sublime touch and strike, it was a common sight to see Ryan pluck the sliotar from the sky and drive it over the bar from 70 yards with sniper-like precision. He won a Cork u14 Feile, an u16 Premier county, two U21 Premier counties and an Intermediate county championship. Ryan also represented Cork at u17 level.
This fundraiser will support Ryan in his rehabilitation including on-going physiotherapy, the purchase of a suitably modified car and getting his life back on track. In order to regain his independence, Ryan will need to adapt his way of living and continuously work on improving his physical, mental and cognitive health.
Under current Covid restrictions, we need to start here and will look at community fundraising when safe to do so. We therefore ask you for your kind support to help Ryan to make the best recovery that he possibly can . On behalf of Blackrock Hurling Club and Ryan's family, we thank you very much !
The goal of the fundraiser is to raise €50,000
