Family and friends raise £130,000 in Ryan's name
03.06.11
THE parents and sister of talented Ryan Bresnahan have raised nearly £130,000 in his memory – the most any family has ever collected for the charity Meningitis UK.
Ryan, 16, died from meningococcal septicaemia in March 2010, just hours after falling ill.
His family and friends were devastated at the sudden loss of the fit and active teenager and hope the fundraising efforts in his name will help save thousands from falling ill with meningitis in the future.
All the money raised through the family's appeal, A Life for a Cure, will go towards Downend-based Meningitis UK's Search 4 a Vaccine campaign, which aims to raise £7 million to fund vital research into developing a vaccine against all forms of the disease.
Although major advances made in the last 20 years have led to vaccines against some forms of meningitis, there is still no protection from the most common form in the UK, meningitis B, which claimed Ryan's life.
But scientists funded by Meningitis UK believe a vaccine for the strain can be developed within the next few years if enough money is raised to support the progress being made.
Ryan, of Leigh Woods, was a student at Clifton College. He had been doing press-ups in the family lounge the night before he died.
He had been to the gym earlier in the day and there was no indication of anything wrong with him until the next morning.
But Ryan was fighting for his life within an hour. A rash spread over his body and his heart stopped.
The shock of the tragedy spurred his family to do all they could to find a way to prevent others suffering in the same way.
A programme of events and activities has continued since, involving Ryan's parents John and Michelle, his 15-year-old sister, Charlotte, and many friends and relatives.
John has run the Bristol Half Marathon – joined by an army of other supporters – and the London Marathon, while a second annual memorial hockey tournament was recently held at the Clifton College sports complex in Abbots Leigh. The complex is home to a new international standard hockey pitch, which has been dedicated to Ryan in recognition of his success in the sport.
More than 30 mixed teams turned out in fancy dress, with the final played on Ryan's pitch.
Michelle recently took part in a "fitness lunch" at the Coombe Dingle sports complex, along with more than 100 other women.
The calorie crunching session was run by fitness instructor Jen Woolfson, who also ran in the London Marathon for the cause, and the women's efforts alone raised £5,000 for the appeal.
Michelle said: "The support was overwhelming. There were four fitness instructors putting us through our paces but made sure we enjoyed ourselves.
"It was a brilliant atmosphere and amazing to have so many people there to help raise such a huge amount for the appeal."
The exhausted women later tucked into their well-earned lunch, sponsored by Lloyds TSB.
Michelle said: "In a couple of weeks, with the money raised from the recent events, we should have raised nearly £130,000.
"When we had the first hockey tournament, it was just after Ryan had died and it was a bit of a blur. Ryan was a very keen sportsman and very good at hockey, as well as football. He was not unwell, which made the speed and severity of the meningitis such a shock.
"If it hadn't happened to him, I would never have believed how quickly it developed. He had been at the gym the night before and if he hadn't been feeling right, he just wouldn't have gone there.
"Until Ryan died, I had never been responsible for any fund raising, but we've found people have been amazing. A lot of it is down to Ryan being so popular but there is also that feeling that it could have been them.
"A lot of people didn't realise that meningitis could affect young people of Ryan's age. People often associate meningitis with younger children."
Meningitis UK was founded by Steve Dayman, of Alveston, near Thornbury, whose 14-month-old son Spencer died in 1982 of meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia. The charity funds research projects, with the total value of its current programme standing at more than £1.128million.
The Bresnahan family have already decided where their first lot of funds will go and now they have set themselves an ambitious target of collecting £1 million. Anyone who wants to help them can visit www.ryanbresnahan.org for details.
MeningitisUK · Registered Charity No.1076774
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