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ENLARGE
Cameron Ryan, shown here carrying the ball during his senior season at Nevada Union, is now recovering after a bacterial infection threatened his life.
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ENLARGE
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Cameron Ryan
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ENLARGE
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Brian Hamilton
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When Holly Ryan sent her son off to Yuma, Ariz. for his freshman year at Arizona Western College, he couldn't have been in better physical shape.
As he embarked on a college football career, Cameron Ryan had put in the work necessary to have himself ready to toe the line with bigger, faster and stronger athletes than he'd faced as a star player at Nevada Union High School.
But when she arrived in Arizona nearly two months later, her boy was embroiled in a battle with the stakes much higher than any football game he had ever played.
“I'm relieved that Cameron is alive,” she said. “It's scary. He almost died.”
To rest the concerns of Nevada Union fans right away, Cameron Ryan is back home with his family in western Nevada County and life seems to be slowly, but steadily returning to a sense of normalcy.
But just weeks ago, the family was living a nightmare it could have never envisioned.
After all, it was merely months before that Cameron had helped carry Nevada Union's football program back to its status as a perennial prep powerhouse in the Sacramento area. He led the 2008 Miners in rushing with 945 yards and in scoring with 13 touchdowns.
And when he opened fall camp with the Matadors in Yuma, the 6-foot, 3-inch, 220-pound freshman was preparing for the season at linebacker.
But just a couple of months later, with football almost forgotten, Holly and Robert Ryan were simply hoping their son would survive an infection that had found its way to his brain.
“He had actually had a skull fracture that happened sometime in mid-September and he was having excruciating headaches,” Holly said. “But he didn't see a doctor at that time and then he got really sick.
“If he didn't have the skull fracture from football, it wouldn't have been this bad. That fracture allowed the bacteria to get into the brain and affect him. That's what the neurosurgeon told me.”
Holly said although his coaches told him to see a doctor, he didn't do so until he became even more ill. And while the Matadors were off to New Mexico for a game, he was alone in his room suffering from a 104.5 degree fever and vomiting due to what was diagnosed as a sinus infection.
“A nurse went to check on him and found him in his room,” Holly said. “Basically, had she not gone to check on him, who knows what could have happened.”
The bacterial infection caused swelling in the brain, as well as blood clots and his condition continued to deteriorate, and he eventually became paralyzed on the left side of his body and suffered seizures. Doctors and his family feared that he had suffered a stroke and that the paralysis would possibly be permanent.
He was flown by helicopter from a Yuma hospital to Barrows Neurological Institute in Phoenix. Cameron was “pumped full of antibiotics” and a “very large portion of his skull, the whole right side” was removed to relieve pressure from the swelling.
“When he lifted his fingers for the first time, I was so happy,” Holly said. “We didn't know if he would move again.”
But he did. And now he's walking, talking and even regaining his sense of humor.
“He's getting back to somewhat normal,” Holly said. “He was joking that when they put in a prosthesis (to replace the portion of removed skull), that he wants titanium.
“The scary part of all of this is that he just had no personality when I first saw him. He didn't even act like he recognized me. And he was like that for three weeks. Eventually he started making jokes with me and I knew he was coming back.”
Cameron got a big boost to his morale during his hospitalization when longtime friends and former Miner teammates Chris Griffin and John Wivholm paid him a visit. Wivholm's father, Dallas, also made the trip.
“That was really special for Cameron,” Holly said. “It made him feel loved and supported.”
Though things are certainly looking up for Cameron, there is still the surgical procedure in January to replace the removed skull material. For the time being, he wears a custom-made helmet to protect his brain.
“It's a shock the first time you see him because his head is caved in on the right side,” she said. “He has 104 staples in his head. There was some real danger initially because there was a 50 percent mortality with this kind of infection and then he has the blood clot and that's still kind of a danger.
“But because he's 18 years old and in such great health, he's responded well to the treatments. But it's still going to take awhile.”
His high school football coach was certainly shocked to hear Cameron's story, but he's not surprised by the fact that his former star is fighting back for what now expects to be a full recovery.
“Sometimes we seem invincible as human being, especially young strong guys like Cameron,” said NU coach Dave Humphers. “And then suddenly something like this happens and you find that our lives are not so invincible but certainly precious.
“Cameron is a wonderful young man. I loved coaching him and I enjoyed him being a teacher's assistant for me in his senior year. He was like a big brother to the younger kids. He's really a neat, caring guy. We're just all really glad he's expected to make a full recovery.”
Brian Hamilton is sports editor at The Union. Contact him via e-mail at bhamilton@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4240.
As he embarked on a college football career, Cameron Ryan had put in the work necessary to have himself ready to toe the line with bigger, faster and stronger athletes than he'd faced as a star player at Nevada Union High School.
But when she arrived in Arizona nearly two months later, her boy was embroiled in a battle with the stakes much higher than any football game he had ever played.
“I'm relieved that Cameron is alive,” she said. “It's scary. He almost died.”
To rest the concerns of Nevada Union fans right away, Cameron Ryan is back home with his family in western Nevada County and life seems to be slowly, but steadily returning to a sense of normalcy.
But just weeks ago, the family was living a nightmare it could have never envisioned.
After all, it was merely months before that Cameron had helped carry Nevada Union's football program back to its status as a perennial prep powerhouse in the Sacramento area. He led the 2008 Miners in rushing with 945 yards and in scoring with 13 touchdowns.
And when he opened fall camp with the Matadors in Yuma, the 6-foot, 3-inch, 220-pound freshman was preparing for the season at linebacker.
But just a couple of months later, with football almost forgotten, Holly and Robert Ryan were simply hoping their son would survive an infection that had found its way to his brain.
“He had actually had a skull fracture that happened sometime in mid-September and he was having excruciating headaches,” Holly said. “But he didn't see a doctor at that time and then he got really sick.
“If he didn't have the skull fracture from football, it wouldn't have been this bad. That fracture allowed the bacteria to get into the brain and affect him. That's what the neurosurgeon told me.”
Holly said although his coaches told him to see a doctor, he didn't do so until he became even more ill. And while the Matadors were off to New Mexico for a game, he was alone in his room suffering from a 104.5 degree fever and vomiting due to what was diagnosed as a sinus infection.
“A nurse went to check on him and found him in his room,” Holly said. “Basically, had she not gone to check on him, who knows what could have happened.”
The bacterial infection caused swelling in the brain, as well as blood clots and his condition continued to deteriorate, and he eventually became paralyzed on the left side of his body and suffered seizures. Doctors and his family feared that he had suffered a stroke and that the paralysis would possibly be permanent.
He was flown by helicopter from a Yuma hospital to Barrows Neurological Institute in Phoenix. Cameron was “pumped full of antibiotics” and a “very large portion of his skull, the whole right side” was removed to relieve pressure from the swelling.
“When he lifted his fingers for the first time, I was so happy,” Holly said. “We didn't know if he would move again.”
But he did. And now he's walking, talking and even regaining his sense of humor.
“He's getting back to somewhat normal,” Holly said. “He was joking that when they put in a prosthesis (to replace the portion of removed skull), that he wants titanium.
“The scary part of all of this is that he just had no personality when I first saw him. He didn't even act like he recognized me. And he was like that for three weeks. Eventually he started making jokes with me and I knew he was coming back.”
Cameron got a big boost to his morale during his hospitalization when longtime friends and former Miner teammates Chris Griffin and John Wivholm paid him a visit. Wivholm's father, Dallas, also made the trip.
“That was really special for Cameron,” Holly said. “It made him feel loved and supported.”
Though things are certainly looking up for Cameron, there is still the surgical procedure in January to replace the removed skull material. For the time being, he wears a custom-made helmet to protect his brain.
“It's a shock the first time you see him because his head is caved in on the right side,” she said. “He has 104 staples in his head. There was some real danger initially because there was a 50 percent mortality with this kind of infection and then he has the blood clot and that's still kind of a danger.
“But because he's 18 years old and in such great health, he's responded well to the treatments. But it's still going to take awhile.”
His high school football coach was certainly shocked to hear Cameron's story, but he's not surprised by the fact that his former star is fighting back for what now expects to be a full recovery.
“Sometimes we seem invincible as human being, especially young strong guys like Cameron,” said NU coach Dave Humphers. “And then suddenly something like this happens and you find that our lives are not so invincible but certainly precious.
“Cameron is a wonderful young man. I loved coaching him and I enjoyed him being a teacher's assistant for me in his senior year. He was like a big brother to the younger kids. He's really a neat, caring guy. We're just all really glad he's expected to make a full recovery.”
Brian Hamilton is sports editor at The Union. Contact him via e-mail at bhamilton@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4240.
