End of a Dream … The Beginning of Life - Brief Article

Combat Edge, Sept, 2001 by Jerry McDermott

I have two sons. Both are alive and for that I am grateful -- especially after what happened on a Saturday evening in 1997. My older son Ryan was away at college while the other was home and a junior in high school. Ryan was the number two draft pick for the Cleveland Indians. Then, everything changed ...

My wife and I had gone out in the early evening to a local Mexican restaurant and were really enjoying each other's company. I remember conversing about how blessed and fortunate we were. We were boasting to each other about our genuinely great life. When we left the restaurant, I noticed the weather was perfect. The temperature was in the low 80's, and the evening sky was filled with billions of stars. The Big Dipper and the Constellation Orion seemed so close you could touch them. It was a wonderful evening.

At 12:30 a.m., the chilling sound of the phone ended our peaceful evening. It was the type of call that all parents feat A young hospital nurse told me that my older son Ryan had been in an accident and was hurt. I asked how badly. The nurse said she could not tell me over the phone, but urged me to come to the hospital right away. After a lot of coaxing, the emergency room nurse finally told me that my son had been hit by a car and was in a coma.

At that point, everything blurred. My wife and I drove the 65 miles to the hospital in what seemed to be slow motion. I did not know how to think or even pray. It was the longest trip I have ever made in my life. When we arrived at the hospital, we immediately went into the emergency room and saw Ryan lying on the emergency room gurney, strapped down with a respirator allowing him to breath. He was still dirty from the accident. The room was filled with gauze and other remnants from his emergency care. There were bloodstains on the floor.

At 4:00 a.m., Ryan was transported to an Army Medical Center and placed in high-level intensive care. The next few days were a roller coaster of good and bad news.

The following evening the doctor made our family leave and get a hotel room to sleep. He promised he would call if there were any changes. When I awoke the next morning, I sat on the bedside, depressed, scared and hopelessly wondering "what if." My younger son sensed my mood, put his arm on me and said, "Dad, it's going to be alright. They didn't call." Wow! What a bolt of lightning! I just received inner strength from my youngest son.

Ryan came out of his coma 4 days later and had a lengthy recovery. Today he is back in school and will be a junior majoring in biochemistry. He no longer plays basketball and will never make it to the Cleveland Indians as a player; however, those things are all minor. He's alive!

I wanted to share this story, because of how the accident happened. Decisions were made that day that will affect the rest of Ryan's life. The consequences of those decisions happened in the blink of an eye. That is why it is so important to assess the risks of the decisions we make before we implement those decisions. This accident did not have to happen. I hope by retelling it here, others can benefit.

That night Ryan decided to stop and help the victims of an earlier accident. While he was helping the injured out of their car, another car struck the wrecked car and bounced Ryan across an interstate. The scene was not secured; it was evening time and the driver that hit the wrecked car simply was not paying attention.

My son did not realize the risks that night when he stopped to help the victims of the earlier accident. If you ever find yourself in a situation like Ryan did, there are safety precautions that you can take to keep yourself as safe as possible. You can wait for the police to arrive, put out flares or use another person to flag down and warn oncoming traffic. Never assume that other drivers will see you. It is important for all of us to realize the risks. Every time you make a decision, you accept risks that might affect your family more than you can ever imagine. Take nothing for granted and make good decisions.

As the Chief of Ground Safety at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, I have investigated too many fatal mishaps and hundreds of lost time mishaps. Before Ryan's accident, I always thought I felt bad about what happened to other people. Now I know there is a "whole new" level of bad. Every siren I hear comes in loud and clear, and I immediately do a mental check trying to account for every family member. I no longer take anything for granted.

The next time you see an accident, think about your decisions and make sound ones -- your family is depending on you. My son has been given a second chance. You might not be so lucky.

After the accident, Ryan, number 52, returned for a time as a power forward for the New Mexico State Aggies basketball team. As a pitcher, he was the number 2 draft pick by the Cleveland Indians in the 1996 Major Leage Baseball draft. With his sports days behind him, Ryan now hopes to attend medical school.