Ryan Gray: Part 2 of A Young Man’s Second Lease on Life

By Kurt Langmann – Aldergrove Star

UPDATE: Star readers and community members have responded with an outpouring of offers of assistance to Ryan Gray and his family, since The Star began a series of stories on the family's effort to get him home and in their care. Tradespeople have volunteered their services and began work this weekend on transforming Ryan's home into a wheelchair friendly house, and many others have offered prizes and purchased tickets for the upcoming fundraiser — but more is welcomed by the family. See information at the bottom of the following story.

Video footage of Ryan's ongoing recovery will also be posted on this website by Monday, May 25: Ryan Gray's ongoing recovery from a near-fatal road accident on October 13, 2007 has been a miracle. The 27-year-old Aldergrove man was not expected to survive serious head injuries he received after his employer's truck hit a moose near Blue River. As it is, Ryan still has a long way to go before he can live the normal life he and his family are striving so hard for. Ryan is still, technically speaking, in a coma. On the Glasgow scale of zero to 15 — with zero being completely unconscious and 15 being that of ordinary people — Ryan is still in the middle area of about 8. It is thanks to the dedication of his parents, Terry and Rob, and siblings, Tanya, Rob and Rodney — and his beloved niece, Tanya's daughter, Taylor — that Ryan has emerged at all from the darkness of his coma. Terry and Rob have regularly and routinely worked his muscles so that they didn't atrophy during his prolonged bed stay. They have fed him with a feeding tube.

They have ensured that he receives the best care possible, including speech, occupational, hydro and physiotherapy, as well as "hyperbaric" oxygen treatments and acupuncture. He also has the support of a large group of friends and supporters — there are more than 700 members on the Facebook page "Get well Ryan Gray" — who have contributed in their own way to his recovery. Some of these therapies, along with his care and treatment in the "Connect" care home in Langley, are provided by Workman's Compensation Board (WCB). However, some such as the "unproven" hyperbaric oxygen treatments are not covered. Terry says it was a meeting with a Port Coquitlam man, Michael Coss, that convinced the family to undertake the hyperbaric treatments at their own expense. "Michael Coss is 40 years old and his accident left him in a fetal position but he's now home, walking and talking — he's my inspiration," says Terry.  "He swears by the hyperbaric treatments for his recovery. He told Ryan that when he can talk and eat again they're going out to the Keg together for steaks." The trips to the hyperbaric treatment chamber required ambulance paramedics and fire fighter assists, and the total costs were over $400 for each trip. The family quickly racked up $13,000 in bills for these treatments, but Terry says there was significant improvement. She's working off the bills and intends to continue the treatments once the account is settled, and possibly even buy an oxygen tent for treatments in their home.

Getting Ryan back into his own home in Aldergrove is now the family's first priority. The family is prepared to continue to provide Ryan with in-home care, but are looking for a commitment from WCB to continue to support the ongoing recovery and treatments for Ryan. They did manage to bring Ryan home this past Christmas for a few days, but for day-to-day living there will have to be some major renovations to accommodate his wheelchair and provide safe bathing facilities. This is where his friends have stepped up to the plate. A wheelchair lift van was donated by a friend at Ryan's former workplace, Costco. Another supporter donated a lift for the house. 

Last year his friends held a fundraiser that collected about $16,000 for his medical expenses, and they're aiming to repeat that success next month with another fundraiser to help pay for conversion of his house to a wheelchair-friendly home. This "pub night" will be held at the Fox and Fiddle, 19530 Langley Bypass on June 18, starting at 6:30 p.m. Friends are also seeking donations of goods, money and labour to help with this home conversion. If anyone wishes to volunteer anything that could help they should call Bonnie Stewart at 604-856-1812. There is also a trust account at the Aldergrove branch 276 of TD Canada Trust, number 6275144, for the public to donate cash to Ryan's rehabilitation. Ryan is able to type and mouth words and his left side is getting stronger.  "He can raise his arms to pat and hug us," says Terry. "And the other day he stood up for two minutes on his own, once he was raised to his feet. "We want him home; he needs his family." With so much support behind him Ryan has a good chance of making a full recovery, as he continues to show that he is making real progress. "The love and support keeps everyone going," says Terry. "You don't realize it until it happens to you."