I had heard his story before, but I'm ashamed to say I had never paid to much attention to it. But after watching his episode of E:60 its tough to not fall in love with this guy.
Ryan grew up in Rhode Island and was a life long Sox fan. His dream was to one day play at Fenway. And after being drafted the the Red Sox in the 5th round he was well on his way to accomplishing that.
But last summer doctors discovered a cavernous malformation on Ryans brain stem, after he complained of numbness on the right side of his body. After initially being told he would be fine, it quickly became clear that his life could be in danger.
His condition would require surgery, the consequences of which could be paralysis or even death. But Ryan never thought twice about the procedure.
After the surgery the doctor said it literally could not have gone any better. But by no means did that mean there would be no lingering affects. Even now a year later Ryan still struggles with his vision, depth perception, and balance. But even after going through such a scary life threatening ordeal, he is still firmly set on returning full force and accomplishing his goal of playing at Fenway. He does well in live batting practice, which has a lot to do with muscle memory, but he struggles with more routine activities, like playing catch or even just tying his shoes.
When asked if he thinks he'll ever play again his answer is unwavering.
"Absolutely. And I'll say that until someone looks me in the eye and says Ryan you're not ever gonna play again."
Just a really brave kid. I'm definitely rooting for him and I hope I get the chance to at Fenway Park one day.
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