Bryon Riesch graduated from Marquette University with a degree in Information Technology and Marketing. Bryon had a tragic accident in 1998, as a 19 year old college student Bryon competed with his friends on who could go further on a slip and slide, at the end Bryon’ chin hit the ground and he could not move any longer. Bryon spent three months in a hospital with 27 days of being in ICU, he also had to attend rehab to learn how to talk, and learn how to act being paralyzed from the chest down.
Bryon explained how he still though he was lucky because he still had one muscle working in his lungs so he is able to talk but if it was level up he wouldn’t be able to breath and would have to do it through machines. Now Bryon has feeling in his toes, shoulder, and biceps and spends his time in what he calls “Pinto” chair.
In 2001 Bryon founded The Bryon Riesch Paralysis Foundation with a goal in mind to find a cure for paralysis through funding medical research and providing assistance to individuals who suffer from neurological disorders.
After Bryon started feeling better he was inspired to go back to school so for his first two semesters he tool Spanish then proceeded to take couple classes in summer and that following fall he had a full load. He was able to graduate in five years with a degree in information technology and marketing. After graduating from Marquette he got involved in Goodwill Industry and worked as the Ability Connection helping individuals with disability. Bryon talked really highly of Goodwill Industry stating that it was due to their help he was able to learn how to be comfortable, how to market himself and act around other people with disabilities.
After Goodwill Bryon went to work for Northwestern Mutual for five years as the coding person then proceeded to work for RNA Insurance as the project manager. Brian spends a lot of his tile on his foundation, organizing fundraising events. He stated that so far they have raised little over 2 million dollars and donated some to Wisconsin Medical College to help with research for a cure.
It was very interesting to listen to Bryon talk about the impact that technology had on his life, he even showed us how his chair goes backwards and was telling us about different kinds, what was really shocking was that Bryon said cost of a wheelchair can be around $30,000 but he said even though all the technology is very expensive it makes his life much easier. Using Help 2000 which is an Environmental Control Unit that he can just talk to and it does things around his house. Bryon also said his van has all computer system and he has been able to drive all around but do to his spasms he tries not to drive.
Bryons story was so inspiring and touching, he had a great sense of humor, he joked about his hair loss, about his gloves and how girls “dig” them, he talked about his trips to Vegas and how he goes to football games and tries and enjoys life just as much as everyone else. Even though Bryon agrees he is no different than anyone else he did state that he feels as he lost self-dignity and his struggle for independence increased.
Some of my friends and co-workers are in a wheelchair and I have learned how to communicate with them. Sophomore year in high school I was in a wheelchair for 9 weeks and as many times I heard doctors say “there is no hope” I still hopped, I sent my results and scans all over the world to different doctors till someone didn’t come up with a solution. This really made me think of Bryons statement “You always have to have a dream and you have to have hope that it will happen” and that was me, even when I had a little feeling of giving up I still hopped and pushed through till the feeling in my legs didn’t come back.
It was great to hear Bryon share that it is okay to ask people with disabilities if they need help, he said the worse thing to do is to walk away. He also said it is important to talk to the person not their assistant or the dog assistants and a big thing to keep in mind was to talk to everyone the same and not to constantly apologize for using every day words.
Bryon explained how he still though he was lucky because he still had one muscle working in his lungs so he is able to talk but if it was level up he wouldn’t be able to breath and would have to do it through machines. Now Bryon has feeling in his toes, shoulder, and biceps and spends his time in what he calls “Pinto” chair.
In 2001 Bryon founded The Bryon Riesch Paralysis Foundation with a goal in mind to find a cure for paralysis through funding medical research and providing assistance to individuals who suffer from neurological disorders.
After Bryon started feeling better he was inspired to go back to school so for his first two semesters he tool Spanish then proceeded to take couple classes in summer and that following fall he had a full load. He was able to graduate in five years with a degree in information technology and marketing. After graduating from Marquette he got involved in Goodwill Industry and worked as the Ability Connection helping individuals with disability. Bryon talked really highly of Goodwill Industry stating that it was due to their help he was able to learn how to be comfortable, how to market himself and act around other people with disabilities.
After Goodwill Bryon went to work for Northwestern Mutual for five years as the coding person then proceeded to work for RNA Insurance as the project manager. Brian spends a lot of his tile on his foundation, organizing fundraising events. He stated that so far they have raised little over 2 million dollars and donated some to Wisconsin Medical College to help with research for a cure.
It was very interesting to listen to Bryon talk about the impact that technology had on his life, he even showed us how his chair goes backwards and was telling us about different kinds, what was really shocking was that Bryon said cost of a wheelchair can be around $30,000 but he said even though all the technology is very expensive it makes his life much easier. Using Help 2000 which is an Environmental Control Unit that he can just talk to and it does things around his house. Bryon also said his van has all computer system and he has been able to drive all around but do to his spasms he tries not to drive.
Bryons story was so inspiring and touching, he had a great sense of humor, he joked about his hair loss, about his gloves and how girls “dig” them, he talked about his trips to Vegas and how he goes to football games and tries and enjoys life just as much as everyone else. Even though Bryon agrees he is no different than anyone else he did state that he feels as he lost self-dignity and his struggle for independence increased.
Some of my friends and co-workers are in a wheelchair and I have learned how to communicate with them. Sophomore year in high school I was in a wheelchair for 9 weeks and as many times I heard doctors say “there is no hope” I still hopped, I sent my results and scans all over the world to different doctors till someone didn’t come up with a solution. This really made me think of Bryons statement “You always have to have a dream and you have to have hope that it will happen” and that was me, even when I had a little feeling of giving up I still hopped and pushed through till the feeling in my legs didn’t come back.
It was great to hear Bryon share that it is okay to ask people with disabilities if they need help, he said the worse thing to do is to walk away. He also said it is important to talk to the person not their assistant or the dog assistants and a big thing to keep in mind was to talk to everyone the same and not to constantly apologize for using every day words.
~Inspiring A Shared Vision~
