CYPRESS : Drive Helps Pay Injured Youth’s Bills

Neighbors and friends of 19-year-old Ryan Blackburn, who was paralyzed in an accident at Yosemite National Park in July, have started a fund-raising campaign to help cover his medical expenses.

Blackburn, a former wrestling star at Pacifica High School in Garden Grove, was injured while on vacation when he dove off the Stoneman Bridge over a river at the park. Hundreds of people had gathered at the spot to escape the heat.

After five uneventful dives into the Merced River, Blackburn broke his neck on the sixth jump when he hit a rock on the bottom. A nurse and doctor who happened to be near the bridge when the accident happened were able to help him breathe until paramedics arrived.

Blackburn dislocated a vertebra and fractured another in the fall, leaving him paralyzed from the shoulders down.

“I just feel this is something I have to do to help,” said neighbor Kathy Shearin, who is holding a garage sale this weekend to help raise money. “He is a very good kid.”

Since being transported to Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center in Downey, Blackburn has made slow but steady progress.

On Wednesday, doctors began the long process of weaning him from the respirator. This is welcome news to his mother, Rose Anne, who was initially told that he would be dependent on an oxygen machine the rest of his life.

“I just knew he is going to get better,” said his mother, who along with six relatives is taking turns staying with Blackburn in the hospital.

After seeing what he has had to endure in the past few months, members of his family say they worry that other people will be injured by jumping off the bridge. Although signs are posted warning people not to jump, they say the park should do more.

Park officials say they do all they can to tell people about the danger. Besides the signs, they regularly patrol the area to stop people from jumping. “It is a sad situation,” said park ranger Mike Mayer, who was on duty when Blackburn was injured. “The signing is there and rangers try to warn them.”

Besides the rummage sale, neighbor Shearin has also started a fund in the young man’s name. The money probably will be used to help remodel the Blackburns’ home to install ramps and other modifications needed for his eventual return. The garage sale slated for this Saturday and Sunday will be held on Luau Lane, where the family lives.