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October 4th
2006
Lesson learned… time does not stand still. As the minutes, hours and days pass, we realize how long it has been
since Michael’s injury, February 4th 2006. Time is flying
by and Michael has tried to settle into somewhat of a routine. His days consist of physical therapy, driving lessons and his
participation in the FES bicycle study at the Children Hospital in Mountainside, NJ. But, there is one other thing that is
so important in his day, and that is laughter. With all that is going on in his life, he always seems to find the right time
to make someone laugh. He’s got that “sixth sense” to know when laughter will make it "all better". Everyday
when I arrive home from work, I am always greeted with the same expression from my wife, “You wouldn’t believe
what he did to me today”! For example, the other day when they arrived
home from physical therapy, it was pouring out. While Kim got out of the car, and went to the trunk to get Michael’s
wheelchair out, he reached over and locked all the doors. While she struggled with the doors, he was belly laughing in the
front seat, as she frantically checked all the doors to get back in. But of course, he would have no part of that, as the
rain came down and the house door was only 20 feet away, he wanted to see how long it would take for her to keep trying instead
of bolting into the house. After a minute of getting soaking wet, and watching his mother scramble around the car looking
for an open door, she finally made a dash to the house to escape the rain. But, of course, as soon has she got in, the phone
rang, where again she had to sprint up the stairs to answer the phone before it went to the voice mail (4 rings does not give
you much time). When she picked up the phone, who do you think was on the other end…you got it, it was Michael calling
from the car, letting his mother know he’s ready to come in now! Needless to say, she left him out there for awhile
to teach him a lesson. But he didn’t mind, as he put his earphones in and turned up his IPOD, plus he had food in the
car, so he made himself a nice little meal before she finally came out to get him. Of course, both of them were laughing the
whole entire time.
As you can see, Michael’s attitude and spirit may have been bruised,
but they have not been broken. He continues to remain upbeat and face each day with determination and the will to get better.
He refuses to allow his injury stop him from doing the things he enjoys, and he has even attempted things which many of us,
wouldn’t think of doing, like SKYDIVING! Michael and his good friend CJ, have talked about skydiving even before Michael’s
injury, so when the discussion came up again recently, Michael was not going to allow his injury keep him from pursing their
crazy adventure. So off they went to the Sussex County
Airport, located in Northern NJ, and after 30 minutes of
instructions on the ground, they boarded a plane and began to climb 11,000 feet into the air. As I watched the video, I was
more nervous sitting on the edge of my bed, then these two, who were about to jump out of a plane for the first time. They
each had an experienced partner, who was strapped to them, and a cameraman who took video and still pictures on the way down.
When the plane door opened, and they inched toward the edge, the camera man was already out on the wing of the plane capturing
every nail biting moment has they crept closer and closer to the point of no return. As Michael looked toward the camera and
gave a big smile, his tandem partner gave the final push, and out they went, freefalling toward the ground, 11,000 feet above
Michael’s worrisome mother, who was pacing up and down on the airports runway, neck back and chin up, as she searched
the sky for the small little spec racing toward the ground at close to 100mph. Her relief came in two stages, the first being
when she saw the parachute open and then several minutes later when both Michael and CJ landed safely on the ground. Michaels’
tandem partner, who has over 10 years of experience jumping with handicap individuals, couldn’t have been any better.
It certainly was a thrill to remember.
As the summer months have passed, there were several fundraisers held in Michael’s honor. It was a tremendous
outpouring of love and support from all our neighbors, friends, fellow Vernonites and people from the surrounding communities.
As I’ve stated before, we can’t thank everyone enough for all that has been done and we will forever be grateful.
I submitted a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, hoping it would have been published by now, expressing our gratitude.
But unfortunately, the letter has not found it’s way into the newspaper, so I will include a copy in today’s blog:
Dear Editor,
Thank you
for letting us use your editorial column as a forum to reach the people of Vernon
and the surrounding communities, in an effort to express our sincere gratitude. In
the past six months, so many people from Vernon and the surrounding
communities have showered our family with an outpouring of love and generosity, all in an effort of assisting our son Michael,
on his road to recovery from a recent spinal cord injury. It’s been six
months since Michael’s injury and every day we count our blessing that we live in such a caring and compassionate town.
We thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for all the well wishes and financial support that have been bestowed upon
us. From the school fundraisers and Beefsteak/tricky tray to the Golf outing and Swimathon, the support from our friends,
family, neighbors, and classmates has been tremendous. A special thank you needs to go out to all the local business in Vernon
and the surrounding towns, who contributed so much during the recent fundraising events. It was the result of your generosity,
which contributed to such a successful fundraising campaign. Please remember to support your local businesses, for they are
the backbone of our community.
Kudos to ALL
the students and faculty of the Vernon School
system. From the bracelet and tee shirt sale to the collection of soda tabs and
carnation sale, your unequivocal support has been tremendous. Thank you Mr. Dunnigan and the entire Vernon
School faculty, for coordinating and participating in so many fundraisers. The list of fundraising participants, spanning from almost every elementary school,
throughout the High School, is staggering. Thank you Mr. Edelman for spreading
the word thru your vast email network. Your informative emails enlightened so many people who responded in such a generous
manner. Thanks so much.
A special thank you to all of the swimmers of the Wallkill
Valley Swim Conference for selecting Michael as this years fundraiser
recipient. It was a special feeling to witness all of the young faces that helped contribute to such a successful fundraiser.
Their efforts and hard work, both in and out of the water, should be commended and will always be remembered. Thank you so
much!
Thanks go
out to Randy Mills and the Vernon PAL and Vernon
PBA for your generous donations. Add DJ to your repertoire of skills, as you
did a great job entertaining the crowd at this year’s beefsteak dinner. Thanks to everyone who contributed toward these
generous gifts.
A warm thank
you goes out to the local Kiwanis, Rotary and VFW organizations for you generous donations and the continued offering of support.
So many members have took the initiative to contact us, offering their well wishes and expressing their “call me anytime”
attitude. Thanks for being so supportive. We also would like to thank the parishioners of the Church of St. Francis de Sales
and the many Vernon High School teachers, who all donated wonderful home cooked meals during the first few weeks of Michael’s
hospital stay. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts (and “stomachs”).
Thank you
to PAL Coach Carl Flar and Coach Larry O’Neil for coordinating the summer
lacrosse camp in Michael’s honor. A special thank you to all the participants who attended the camp knowing the proceeds
were being contributed to the Michael Ryan Fund. Thank you so much!
Thank you
to Donna & Frank Messina and their fantastic “team” of helpers who held such a terrific beefsteak/tricky tray
fundraiser in Michael’s honor. Countless hours of planning and coordination went into this event and a great time was
had by all. Special thanks to Ed Fava who did a wonderful job in the kitchen and treated everyone to a delicious meal. Thanks
to the wonderful “team” consisting of Doreen, Grainne, Melissa Hoit, Wendy & Phil Perrotta, Kathy Andresen,
Lori Fitamant, the Speziales family, Sue & Ray Crispino, Mary Emilius, Patty Starick, and Jim Walsh. I know we might be
missing someone, so to the “unknown team member”, THANK-YOU.
A very big
thank-you to Joel Schlesinger & Judy Studer for coordinating the 1st Annual Michael Ryan Golf Outing held at
Great Gorge Golf club. This event was a huge success, as there were many golfers and sponsors who contributed to this great
day, and we thank each and every one of you for attending.
To John and
Huoda Ward, of Consignments Unlimited, thank you for selecting Michael has the receipent of your generous month long grand
opening fundraiser. To Sue Jensen and Eva Bonner, thanks for coordinating the
generous fundraising efforts by your friends, family and co-workers. To our dear neighbors,
Lori & Louie, Rich & Ursala, Mary & Barry, Tim, Pete, Mr. & Mrs Gonzales and the Wise family, thank
you for all your support in our home remodeling and for the surprise dinners. Also, thank you to all the individual well wishers
who sent cards and prayers. Your words of encouragement and hope are truly an inspiration. Please let me not forgot Michael’s
friends and classmates, who have been by Michael’s side, every “step” of the way. Besides the “Shred
For Mikey” wristband and T-shirt fundraisers, they have been extremely supportive and have demonstrated the true meaning
of friendship. The daily visits to the rehab hospital from friends, family and classmates, was “just what the doctor
ordered” and has allowed Michael to get this far on his road to recovery. For everyone who came to visit, thank-you
so much, for this is a priceless gift.
As you can
see, the list of people to thank is endless, truly exemplifying the township of Vernon as an extraordinary place to live. Friends, neighbors, family and even strangers have blessed us with kind words and
generosity that will always be remembered. One does not have to search far to find the goodness in this town, as we are very
fortunate to be surrounded by such caring people. Please forgive me, with so many people to thank, I’m destined to leave
someone off the list, and this is for that person: THANK YOU!!
As many of you are
aware of, a portion of the proceeds raised during the recent fundraisers will be donated to the Alan T. Brown to Cure Paralysis
Foundation. The foundation has been a major supporter of scientific and medical research, whose primary goal is to find a
cure for spinal paralysis. In addition, their outreach program has impacted hundreds of individuals whose lives have been
forever changed by a spinal cord injury. We were very fortunate to be introduced to this wonderful organization by Pete &
Sue McGrath, and we will be forever grateful. The ATBF organization was responsible for getting Michael the best care early
in his injury and was instrumental in providing the family with the guiding light that was desperately needed. For additional
information regarding their foundation, please visit www.atbf.org
Unfortunately,
with all the love and generosity bestowed upon Michael, a cure for spinal cord injuries is still in the future, and not in
the present. Much research is still needed to develop a cure. The area of research, which holds the greatest promise, is stem
cell research, offering treatments or even cures for maladies such as Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, cancer, multiple
sclerosis, heart disease and spinal cord injuries. I ask everyone, to please become informed on how stem cells are derived
and of their limitless healing possibilities. As witnessed by President Bush’s first veto, government funding has fallen
short in total support of this life altering research. To those of you who have contributed to this worthy cause, we thank
you from the bottom of our hearts. To those of you who have a family member or knows someone who could possibly benefit from
stem cell research, become informed and vote into office, those leaders who best represent your beliefs.
Until then,
your generosity, love and support will bring Michael closer to his dream of, one day riding his snowboard again. His will
and determination, coupled by the support and generosity of the people of Vernon,
will undoubtedly allow Michael to reach his goals. Please accept our sincere and gracious THANK-YOU for all that has been
done for our family, for it is comforting to know, that we are not in this battle alone.
With much love,
Kim & Mike Ryan
www.ShredForMikey.com
As you can see, Michael
is not in this battle alone and his family and friends will always support him. Michael has recently battled back from a nasty
skin breakdown, which sidelined him for seven weeks. This is just one of the sidebars of a spinal cord injury, as we need
to be cognizant of so many additional health issues relating to his condition. But now that he is back on track, his plans
for California to attend Project Walk, a spinal cord recovery center, are underway.
Again, this was only made possible by the relentless effort of our fundraising committee members and the generosity of so
many people and businesses in our community. We will try to keep Michael’s well-wishers updated on his progress in the
upcoming months. Again, Thank you to all our family and friends for your love
and support.
With much Love,
Kim & Mike Ryan
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