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Feel free to click on any of the links; I have it so they will open a separate page/tab in your browser and keep this post in place.
- Grace Singers. In the first concert of their series, held at Hamlin United Methodist Church (Hamlin, WV), $1,000 was raised for Ryan’s Special Needs Trust Fund. The next scheduled concert is November 10th at Belle Meade United Methodist Church. A third, yet to be scheduled, is planned for the host church, Community of Grace (Huntington, WV). This one will be streamed live online! You can read about the concert series here.
- About Ryansrally.org page. I updated this page over the weekend with some interesting information about the website and you, the readers. I’m really proud of this website and recognized that it has evolved because of all your suggestions and criticisms. I hope you realize by now that I read every comment (I also read them to Ryan… well, most of them). Sometimes I just want to know you’re still here… still keeping Ryan relevant in your life… that you haven’t forgotten. I know tons of people visit each day, but it’s those 0.4% — yes, only four-tenths of one percent — that take the time to comment on any given average day. I crave this feedback.
- Sue. It meant so much to both Sue and myself to read all the kind comments on last Friday’s post, Her Turn to Cry. As an update, her migraine that started on Thursday morning finally began to let go on Saturday afternoon. Turns out, she had a sinus infection at the same time. She went on medications Monday evening and was feeling somewhat better by last night.
- Deck. It’s done, for the most part and I’ll post pictures soon. Thank you Blue Moon Construction (see their ad in the right sidebar) for your continued generosity and kindness! It’s just so amazing what they do for us! They are a top-notch company that cares about the community they serve. Unfortunately, with Ryan’s allergies in full swing, we had to put off using it. The rain we had Monday did wonders for him and the coughing isn’t nearly as much. Now we are just waiting for a day with warmer temperatures since the tickle in his throat is gone. Last night I didn’t hear him cough once and the nurse confirmed it. A good read is how Sue described our wish to add the deck, We Never Leave Home. The next project they are helping me with is adapting our garage into a “Man Cave” for Ryan. The theme? Sports, women, and dogs… because that’s what he likes (in no particular order). Yes, it will be called a Man Cave, but it will be multi-purposed. For one, I will relocated Ryan’s Rally LLC office space to it. I was able to get that lease for (next to) nothing, but only for one year. I love taking Ryan to work with me and I never want this to end. Second, it will become his therapy area where I can move all the bulky and loud equipment. Third, it will remain a garage (when needed) and allow me to experiment with contraptions for Ryan’s recovery. Fourth, it will be a special place for the two of us to run around in our boxers and generally be offensive, away from my wife’s virgin ears. No women allowed (unless inappropriately dressed)!
- Mega Yard Sale. Unfortunately, it won’t be held this year. Our hope is this will happen in the spring, but I’m more-than-worried. This nationally recognized event (Oprah’s O Magazine) has been the single largest fundraising event each year and helps offset the $2 million needed annually for Ryan’s care, comfort, treatment, and recovery. Missing it hurts… a lot. It brings in significant money ($25,000) but I also view this as a huge public relations event to keep Ryan relevant.
- Wikipedia. I’d like to create an entry for both Ryan and this website. Does anyone have experience with setting this up and would be willing to take it on as a project? Actually, the more that can help, the better. I really don’t believe it will be difficult since the information is available on this website. If you think this is something you can do then you can let me know by completing the following form. Oh, and for your assurance, no one else can see the information you type in the form… just you.
Wikipedia Contact Form
[contact-form subject='[Ryan%26#039;s Rally: We Got This’][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Telephone’ type=’text’/][contact-field label=’Wikipedia Experience?’ type=’radio’ required=’1′ options=’Yes,No’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]————
- Overnight Nursing Coverage. September put a whoopin’ on us with several vacant nights. October seems like it might be completely covered (one night is possibly not). Again, I place most of the blame on a failed — and ever-failing — health care system and national policy over many a decade. Nurses and their agencies are being squeezed. Sadly, for those who want their loved ones at home, it is the patient (or family) that picks up the slack.
- Upcoming Appointments/Last Occurrences. Over the next few months I’ll be taking Ryan in for two assessments: 1) Sleep Study, and 2) Bone Density Test. Another procedure we’re exploring is getting Ryan’s eyelids relaxed a tad more (i.e., opening the eye) by taking a stitch out from each partial-tarrsorraphy. As a reminder, Tarsorrhaphy is a surgical procedure in which the eyelids are partially sewn together to narrow the opening. For Ryan, we had this done to protect his cornea and save his eyes; since he never closes his, the dryness was scarring them. As far as the last time Ryan had any sort of infection, it’s coming up on one year in late-Novemeber. That was the last time he suffered a urinary tract infection (UTI) that were once chronically affecting him! In December it will be three years since his last respiratory infection; where he suffered pneumonia and was hospitalized for weeks over Christmas. Yes, my friends, he is in pristine physical health.
- Spa Lift Fundraiser. The goal of $4,000 was
reachedexceeded yesterday ($4,100)! Thank you so much for making this happen for Ryan. Believe me, a day doesn’t go by where I am not thankful for having such caring people looking out for my boy. What would I ever do without you? He is in such wonderful condition because of you. You know that, right? You give him comfort every second of the day. This latest act of kindness will not only give his muscles therapy and relaxation, but also will give him back something he loved so much! I immediately started the process to get this in place by having the supplier take measurements. I’m hoping the order will go in next week and it’ll be installed by the end of this month. I’ll post pictures (or video) when this becomes a reality, I promise. - Anniversary. Next month, on November 7th, marks the fourth anniversary of the night Ryan was brutally beaten (by Austin Vantrease and Jonathan May, both of Newark, Delaware) into oblivion. That day hurts like unholy hell. Time does not heal all pain… trust me on that one. Please remember him on this anniversary, if none other. I’m kicking around the idea of doing something special… you know, to help take the edge off and refocus my mind. An easy thing would be to ask for people to consider a recurring monthly donation that begins on that day (and continues on the seventh of each month). The thing is, I’m worried how it might look if I did. Another (perhaps crazy) idea is to pool people together to buy a block of lottery tickets. I need to think this through, but it just might work! If nothing else, it would be fun and exciting. What do you think, is it worth trying? The winning(s), if any, would be split among the participants and a certain predefined percentage to Ryan.
There you have it. Ten things that I hope you find interesting that are happening in Ryan’s life now. I’m interested in what you’re thinking about any of the topics. If you think there are others who would appreciate catching up too then please share this post on your social media. As they say, sharing is caring! What they don’t say is that it drives readership and increase search rankings; considered gold by website administrators.
Before I wrap it up today I want to tell you how much I appreciate you. Thank you for coming back and checking on Ryan. Someday, hopefully, Ryan will know just how much you have done for him. If not in this lifetime, perhaps another? Thank you for loving my son. There is no way possible that I (or my family) could do this on our own. Ryan is well taken care of by so many people I might never met. People who aren’t looking for personal gain. People who surrounded us, protected us, and carried us through the pit of hell.
Please, don’t ever leave.
Please.
Love and prayers every day to you, Ken, Ryan, Cari and Sue–you ALL are my family too–i appreciate so much your sharing everything with us. It is important to us all thay you keep it up. I am sad to learn about bloom this year. It would have been nice if they had returned that call and let us know that they would not be available. Just sayin’ . I was looking forward to sending some things for the auction. Look toward spring for this! Happy about the spa lift-YAY! I continue to keep you all in my prayers every single day, for strength, renewal, courage and comfort to carry on.My love always, NGA SHSP, Annie
Ken, I would love it if the Grace Singers could come to this area; I’m sure many of us would go to hear them sing!! It would be another great way to remind our community that Ryan is still depending on us to help him as he continues to work hard to get better.
Ryan has progressed so much from when this horrible pain was inflicted upon him and your family. Look at him — he’s gorgeous, healthy and strong — and little by little, he’s showing us “hey, I’m here!!” So very different from several years ago. You, Sue and Kari have kept your commitment to Ryan to do everything possible to help him recover, and it shows. The love your family shares is inspiring and motivating. Thank you for letting us be a part of your lives.
Please always remember that although at times we might be quiet, we’re still checking the blog, thinking about Ryan and your family and contemplating ways to help. I say all this to remind you that even on the dark, lonely days, I am here — still here, still praying — and I always will be.
Please give Ryan some big hugs for me and tell him I am thinking of him. Tell him to think about strolling on the beach and the boardwalk, listening to the seagulls, throwing a Frisbee, flying a kite, watching the waves and dipping his feet into the ocean. Sometimes it helps to dream the dream on the way to making it a reality.
Love, hugs, prayers abiding…Paula
Love reading the updates! Ryan has an amazing father! Keep up the great work, both of you ;).
I was lucky to get 2 of the Penguins tickets that you auctioned (thank you, Mr. Maletta for donating them and keeping Ryan relevant). The tickets were for my son, who lives in Pittsburgh and is a Pens fan. I hope that by bidding on those tickets, I was able to do something for your son as well as mine. Ryan is only a few months older than my son, and I think they would have been friends if they had known each other ..sports, women, dogs…yeah, that sounds about right. And the Man Cave is an awesome idea – Ryan will love it.
Some of us may not comment often, but don’t worry, we are here, we care, we believe.
Happy to hear it’s approaching one year since Ryan suffered a urinary tract infection and hope he never has another one! I pray for God to continue helping Ryan and your family.
That’s a shame about Bloom not allowing use of their space for the Mega Sale this year. They are missing a HUGE opportunity in the PR department. The site was perfect, the sale was well organized and attended. Thanks to Jane and her team of workers for the past several sales. Hoping for a site owner to step up and donate space. So glad the spa lift goal has been met.
Can’t believe it has been 4 years since the attack.
Such amazing works in progress, starting with Ryan himself. I personally love honoring him on the 7th of every month and would encourage you to promote that option for Team Diviney’s support. And I am in awe of the huge efforts of the Mega Yard Sale (Decllutter) volunteers the past two years (thank you, Jane and Christine, Mary, Kim and many others) — we will do all we can to help promote and make your next fundraiser another great success for Ryan and his family. Oh, and I’m not sure how I feel about the Man Cave yet, but I guess we ladies will just have to learn to respect your special space. Love you guys and always praying over Ryan’s recovery. Stay strong, Divineys.
I really appreciate the enormous amount of planning and hard work that go into the Mega Yard Sale. Next year, God willing, I hope to spend some time at a nearby hotel so that we can help out. There must be others who would like to join us. We look forward to this as a highlight in our Golden Years. Retirement is nice!
Here every single day. Always wish I had the words and means to support you more…but I am here.
Ken, your strength absolutely amazes me. I will continue to donate to help ease some of the financial burden.
I came across Ryan’s story accidentally and since then, I have followed your blog and Ryan’s progress. My thoughts and prayers are with you, Ryan and your family. I hope they never let that animal out before his time is up. P.S. The billboards idea is pure “awesome.”
Hi Ken,
I feel bad that we can’t find a place to hold it this year. I know its a great event and I enjoyed helping to organize it! I was unemployed last year during the event planning so it was good time spent for me. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out this year. And yes, I”m unemployed again. ugh!
My thoughts and prayers are always with you and the family!
Mary
First, *waving fevorishly* HI RYAN, HI, HI, HI, HI, HI!!!!!! Ken you said you read them all to him, so wave like a crazy person and tell him we said HHHHHHIIIIIIIIII! Ryan, I don’t know you personally but I know you because of your family. I had a dream about you again last night. I don’t remember a lot of it but I hope you are dreaming lots and can’t wait to read about your sleep study to see how active your dreams are. 🙂 Enjoy your man cave with Dad, you boys need places for your stuff. You should decorate it with puppy photos, just puppy photos! 😉 LOL
Ken and family, this list is so awesome, CONGRATS ON THE SPA LIFT! So amazing, so excited for you all. CONGRATS ON NO INFECTIONS FOR SO LONG, coming from someone who has taken care of a quad, this is amazing. It just means Ryan is healing.
Regarding his anniversary, (I try hard to find positive in those horrible anniversaries but I do remember them all and they are bad days) I know you have a hard time with some of this, but what about a moment/lots of moments of conscious thought for Ryan from people around the world at the same time. The idea for example: everyone who reads the blog at 3 PM Eastern Time stops what they are doing and we all have the same conscious thought of Ryan waking up and being healed, or whatever you want. Then we focus on the exact same thought for however long, 5 minutes. What it does is changes the consciousness of the Universe and makes change happen. It’s along the same lines that when one person creates/invents/thinks of something, another person in another part of the world is doing the same exact thing. It’s odd, very far out thinking but if it changes the Universe and makes a direct ripple affect on Ryan to wake him up and heal him more rapidly, then the weirdness factor doesn’t matter. 🙂
Keep up the good work!
Those of us who follow you all will always keep Ryan relevant and want nothing more than for all your lives to be happy again, wish I could just reach out and hug you all. Glad that Ryan is in good shape.
Keep up the good work. I’m sure it’s not easy. Sending you all love from our house to yours
Ken
Thank you for reminding us to keep Ryan front and center.
Deb OKane
Ken, thanks for the update. Ryan will always stay relevant and your family will always be in my heart. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about all of you and pray for all God’s blessings for Ryan and Team Diviney. Mom & I just drove through Morgantown this weekend on the way to visit my aunt. While I have such fond memories of WVU and Morgantown, I have a different feeling about the home of my alma mater in these past few years. Know that we are always here, even if you don’t hear from us as often. Always here, NGA!
Ken, Sue, Kari & Ryan –
HUGS!! Love the Top 10. I have kept up with your website for a couple of months now and feel invested in hope for Ryan’s recovery. I have shared with many people including my 19 year son and 17 year daughter. Wishing for a full recovery for Ryan and daily achievements for everyone. It’s the little things that can keep us going 🙂
Prayers and hope – Susan & Dan Newberry
Always here. Always praying for OUR RYAN’s progress and healing… PLEASE GOD. AND always, always amazed at your fortitude, insight, ingenuity,dedication and perseverance. I give immesaurable thanks to GOD for giving RYAN each of you and for giving each of you to us.
With love and in prayer,
Always, Forever and Until.
Keri, MY C.F. FRANKIE and Family
Thanks for the update, Ken! We continue to care and pray for Ryan’s recovery.
I’m so happy your goal has been reached for the Spa Lift. Aside from the health benefits, I’m thrilled that Ryan will have something back in his life that he loved to do. There has been so much stolen from him. Although I don’t comment everyday, I do read and check the blog daily. It’s an icon on my iPad, laptop and desktop oh and my phone!! Just know that no matter what, I will remain a supporter of Ryan and your family and am not going anywhere. Can’t wait to see the new deck and spa lift. I hope you are able to relax Ryan’s eyes by removing a stitch, it must be frustrating for him not to be able to see you. Have a nice day! Hugs to Ryan.
Hi Ken… you guys are always in our thoughts and prayers. My family constantly checks your blog, shares updates, and passes on new information to each other when we see it pop up on our newsfeeds. We still reminisce about the Thunder days when Kyle and Ryan used to ball together – and of course Kyle remembers almost every score of every game they ever played. Still here.
Katie
I came across a post by your daughter almost a year ago, and finding your story through her perspective really hit home for me because I also have an older brother whom I’ve idolized since I was a child.
Since then I’ve followed your story, though I’ve never commented because I really have never known what to say. This morning, however, I read this post and decided that “I don’t know what to say” wasn’t a good excuse anymore!
The first post I remember ever reading (after your daughter’s) was about your routine keeping Ryan clean and well-groomed.
All I can say is that it takes very special people to rise above the situation your family was thrown into. I’ve always been reminded by my mother that family is the most important relationships you’ll ever have. Though I’ve learned that some peoples’ families aren’t necessarily blood related, it’s still our support system and what gives us our initial purpose in life and the strength to gain new purposes as we grow, like a job or a cause. Some people forget that family is a purpose for which everyone is always responsible.
Though a terrible person almost took Ryan’s life, he is very blessed to have his family beside him. I can’t tell you how much my heart goes out to all of you for everything you’ve endured. It takes a strong family to do so in the way you have.
Please know that you’ve kept Ryan relevant for me and I’ll keep looking in and sharing his story. Your family is in my thoughts. Please stay strong 🙂
-Kristin
Kristin, thank you for taking the time to share a well written comment. I know there are others, like you were, that haven’t. I just wish I could find the right words to let people know how much I appreciate it.
<3 to you, Kristin.
Kristin Fink, are you in West Virginia? I know the Fink name from Preston County. You should post a hidy ho to Ryan every so often. I loathe that the top posts/top commented posts are about scumbags. 🙂 Well said!
Thanks Ken !
Great idea for keeping us up to date on Ryan.
Like the sound of “man cave”:) Glad all the rain helped with Ryan’s allergies
And amazing he hasn’t had any UTIs or other infections in so long .Such GREAT LOVING care .Lottery idea sounds good and hoping Ryan gets in the hot tub real soon .Give him a hug from me
Love Gail
Ken, Your entire family is loved! I’m sorry the Mega Yard Sale didn’t take place. Do you mind sharing what prevented it?…Wondering, especially since it has been such a help on Ryan’s behalf. Please do a Tim Tool Man grunt once yours and Ryan’s Man Cave is complete:0)
I think it was too much (because of its success, ironically). I believe available indoor (warehouse) space was one reason cited, but I’m thinking this is solvable.
I would think it’s solvable as well. Almost anything has a solution with the right amount of creativity, determination and know how. Why did the thought of an On Line Yard Sale pop into my head?
Ken (and Jeannette),
The Mega Yard Sale was not any more “too much” this year than it was last year. You are absolutely correct that it is a huge undertaking, but we were willing to take it on as we had in April of 2011 and September of 2012. The reason, not one of the reasons, but THE reason we are not holding the Yard Sale this fall is because I did not find out in time that Bloom would not allow us to use their space again. Of course this is “solvable,” but in the past, it has taken a significant amount of time to find a suitable space, get a contract negotiated and signed, obtain liability insurance, solicit donations, take possession of the space early enough to take donations for two weeks and then hold the sale. (All of this is in addition to advertising the event, soliciting raffle prizes, organizing volunteers, etc.) I do not believe we could repeat our previous successes holding the event so late in the year, especially approaching the holidays. I was expecting to have the contract with Bloom signed early this year and was excited about the prospect of extra planning time and thought it would translate into a better event. Instead, I did not hear from Bloom at all for over a month, and had to contact the property manager to be told that their policy had changed and they would not be allowing us to use the space at all. I am sorry to have disappointed you, as I was disappointed as well.
Whoa… don’t take blame at all. Crap happens and there are other places to have it, what about an empty place at the mall? Black Friday is coming….
I was hoping you would have it because I need a toaster and I was wanting some camping equipment.
Hi Ryan again, hope you had a great day!
What, did I sound defensive? 🙂 Just wanted to fill in the blanks on why it wasn’t happening this fall. I wish I could help you with the toaster and camping equipment!
Apologetic. Never feel that way it doesn’t help you or Ryan or his family.