July the 20th 2006 was a life-changing day for Ryan, his family and friends. At the youthful age of 16 Ryan tragically broke his neck in a swimming pool accident, sustaining a compression fracture of his 5th and 6th cervical vertebrae causing tetraplegia, paralysis from the chest down. Ryan is unable to walk and has limited reach and dexterity due to the use of his arms being severely impaired. Before his accident Ryan was a dynamic individual, with a passion for cooking and sailing. One minute he was fit, active and healthy, the next minute he was paralysed, unable to move and in need of 24/7 care for the rest of his life.
Ryan is an incredibly brave and courageous young man and has aspirations of representing Great Britain by Target Shooting at London 2012. Ryan has been selected for the GB Talent Squad for target shooting and has represented Great Britain in the Polish World Cup and he brought home Gold, Silver and Bronze for Team GB. You can visit www.paralympics.org, and search for target shooting/news where Ryan gets a mention in the press release.
In the 45 months since his accident Ryan’s plans for the rest of his life, his career, future relationships, and quality of life, have changed dramatically. The facility to pursue his passion of cooking is essential, but would require an adapted kitchen costing between £15,000 and £17,000. Becoming a chef would have been Ryan’s career choice but unfortunately this is no longer possible. Ryan can also learn to drive, however just the mere cost of tuition and the price of buying a specially adapted car exceeds the standard “Motability” allowances, where the magical DLA is said to be an endless pot of money according to the authorities, however we know different; general household bills as an example are escalated as Ryan can suffer from Hyperthermia and has to be kept warm at all times.
Ryan is now 20 years old and he is determined to walk again. We are also raising funds to send him to Project Walk in California for intensive rehabilitation. This is a centre especially for spinally injured people, and its pioneering research and rehabilitation programme does get them walking again. We are also raising funds for travel equipment for Ryan to assist him when he goes away, a travel hoist and shower chair are on the “essentials” list, as these will provide Ryan with the basic amenity of having a shower, which we just take for granted. Not all hotel rooms cater for disabled or wheelchair users and some just provide the bare minimum to tick the box.
All the things we take for granted in life have become major hurdles for Ryan with major financial cost implications. We need to raise considerable funds to help Ryan achieve his goals and help provide equipment that would greatly help Ryan become more independent. All of your support really will help to do just that. If you require any further information or can help out in any way, please don’t hesitate to contact Ryan and his family on 0121 358 5208.
Click here to view The Ryan Cockbill Trust Promotional Video
Click here for a downloadable Official Trust Fund Statement (.PDF format)
