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Published: November 7th 2010
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On April 13, 2005, Sgt. Eddie Ryan, a United States Marine, was shot twice in the head while on a rooftop in Ramadi, Iraq. As he wasn't expected to survive, doctors in Germany advised the Marine Corps to send for his parents.
When Chris and Angie Ryan arrived in Germany they were told their son would not live. The doctors requested the family consider organ donation, but the Ryan family refused to lose hope. They kept a constant vigil by Eddie's side day and night, talking to him and praying for a miracle.
By the third day the doctors told the Ryan's that if Eddie did pull through he would never remember anyone or anything that had ever happened in his life and he would be paralyzed for the rest of his life.
By the fifth day he was stable enough to fly from Germany to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, but even at Bethesda the doctors were not hopeful. Prayer chains that had begun days earlier in their own community of Ellenville, New York went nationwide and 3 1/2 weeks later Eddie finally began waking up from his coma and was taken off life support.
Weeks
Debbie and Eddie
At the Pasta dinner the night before the marathon. later he began following people around the room with his eyes and began moving his head back and forth, and on one very special day a few weeks later when a fellow Marine friend stopped by for a visit, Eddie smiled. A few weeks later he began to speak, recognizing his parents with the words "Mom" and "Love you too, Dad." Finally, after 16 long months in several hospitals, Eddie went home.
Defying all medical prognosis, Eddie Ryan did recover and though still not able to walk, Eddie has the full use of his left arm, which is very strong...the arm that coincidentally has the tattoo of an American flag with the words "Land of the Free, Because of the Brave."
In 2007, Eddie was featured in an HBO Documentary called Alive Day Memories, Home From Iraq. During the interview, Eddie was asked if he would ever be able to walk again. Eddie responded by saying "I'm going to run!" Watching the interview was my friend, Bryan Purcell, who determined at that moment to make Eddie's dream of running again come true.
On April 1, 2010, Bryan visited the Ryan family in Ellenville, NY offering to be
An epic start!
Last minute mechanical issues with the racing chair caused a delay which required a sprint to the starting line with 10 seconds to spare. Eddie was lifted off the ground by surrounding Marines, turned 180 degrees and 3 seconds later we were running. Eddie's "legs" for the upcoming Marine Corps Marathon. They enthusiastically agreed and Eddie and Bryan spent the next 6 months preparing for the marathon.
On October 31, 2010, Sgt. Eddie Ryan and Bryan Purcell, along with a support crew of 7 runners including Captain Kyle Nordfers, Lt. Col. Erik van Weezendonk, Col. Clarke Clodfelder, Staff Sergeant Andy Guise, Mark Potempa, Penelope Prior and myself, completed the Marine Corps Marathon. Running with this elite group of runners was quite a thrill and we all found the miles to go by too quickly.
Several events stand out as truly memorable. Several times Eric, Clarke and Kyle all stepped out of formation to assist the hand-cycle participants. One had lost a chain and they stopped to repair the cycle, only catching up to us after the hand-cyclist was once again on her way.
Another moment that we all recognized as truly significant was when the elite runners came flying by us so quickly in a pack so tight it was difficult to recognize anyone. One of the elite runners, a Marine, slowed his pace, losing valuable seconds, just so he could lean down and offer a show of support and
And We're Off!
Sgt. Eddie Ryan being pushed by former Staff Sergeant Bryan Purcell. Those running formation included Staff Sergeant Andy Guise, Captain Kyle Nordfors, LtCol Eric VanWeezendonk, Colonel Clark Clodfelder and "honorary Marines for the day" Mark Potempa (Eddie Ryan's personal trainer), Penelope Prior and Debbie Wallace. an "Ooh-rah!" to Sgt. Ryan.
Another special moment was when the Sgt. Major of the Marine Corps, Carlton Kent, a friend of Bryan's, came running up behind us and shouted "SGT. EDDIE RYAN!" stopping for a few seconds to say hello to us all. As he is a friend of Bryan's, everyone had already met him and so seeing him again on the course was really fun!
The crowd support as well as the runner support Sgt. Eddie Ryan received during the entire race lifted his spirits and carried us all for miles and the miles seemed to fly by. It seems as if every few seconds a runner would pass us shouting "Semper Fi!" or "OohRah" or "Betio Bastards Rule!" and when most of the Marines were far ahead of us, we heard "Great job, Wheels!" Eddie loved every minute of it and so did I.
At a celebration dinner later that night, Bryan Purcell raised his glass and toasted Sgt. Eddie Ryan's team, telling those of us who are civilians that we were "Honorary Marines for the day." It was the highest form of praise he could have given. The 2010 Marine Corps Marathon was
the run of a lifetime and an experience that will forever remain one of the highlights of my life.
Eddie continues to require extensive therapy and treatments for his ongoing care and I attached the website to the bottom of this page for those who would like to make a PayPal donation to this very special Marine. The last update I received from Bryan indicated Eddie and his family were enormously grateful for their Marine Corps Marathon experience and want to do it again. I feel the same way and the 2011 Marine Corps Marathon cannot come fast enough!
http://www.helpeddieryan.com
http://www.buddyruns.com/team413
http://www.woundedwarriorproject.com
http://www.quantico.usmc.mil/Sentry/StoryView.aspx?SID=4654
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Rrlando Thomas
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What a wonderful blog !!!
Hahaha, first of all, I've been reading the entries on your blog for a couple of days now, I started on the year 2006. Besides that, I'm from Nicaragua, I was looking for some news about the Nicaragua- Costa Rica border and your blog came up on google. It was very interesting to read your point of view about my country, obviously a lot of things have change in the past years, but you will be happy to hear that the goods things are still the same. I enjoyed reading about San juan del sur, and laguna de apoyo, by the way I went to Monkey Hut in 2006 but only for a couple days with some friends, we also love the place , it's just great. I had a good time reading about how a bird pooped on you and they told you that it was good luck, actually I've always had the feeling that is the person who got pooped the one saying that is good luck, but that's just me. By the way sorry about malone, she seemed like a great dog, my dog passed away on november 3rd so it was comforting in some way to read a bout someone who misses her buddy as much as i am. It seem like you haven't come back to Nicaragua in a while, you should come back, and try to visit Selva Negra (Black JUngle ) it is a nice mountain hotel in the central region, the weather there is really cold so you are going to enjoy it, also I can recommend you a trip to Mombacho volcano, it's great and there's a rain forest on top of the volcano. Maybe I'm just bragging a little about my country, well, it was a nice journey so far, and I'm waiting for the next entry. Read you later !!!