Ryan Adler Accident 2005

[rainbowgirl28]

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-rev ... 28411.html

Knoch pole vaulter opens eyes, shows signs of progress


By Bill Beckner Jr.
TRIBUNE-REVIEW NEWS SERVICE
Wednesday, April 27, 2005


Knoch freshman pole vaulter Ryan Adler opened his eyes briefly, looked around the room and clenched the hand of a therapist Tuesday morning. But he quickly went back into a deep sleep before doctors inserted a feeding tube down his throat for the first time since he arrived at Children's Hospital nine days ago.

Adler, 15, suffered trauma to his head in a pole vaulting accident at North Allegheny High School on April 18. He stalled midway into a vault attempt and fell awkwardly onto his head and shoulder.

Doctors gradually are taking Adler off medication that put him in a coma to reduce pressure on his brain.

He has started to respond this week.


"He's moving his arms, so we know he's not paralyzed," said Dan Adler, Ryan's father. "He's not moving a ton, but he's moving. He seemed agitated with the feeding tube, but that's a good thing, too.

"They're taking him off the medicine, so he can begin to do things on his own. It's up to Ryan now."

The Adlers know they must be patient with the situation.

"He's giving us signs," said Lisa Adler, Ryan's mother. "He's taking tiny, little steps at a time."

The accident has been difficult for the family, taking them out of their daily routines and draining them both physically and emotionally.

A sleeping room at the hospital has become their campground.

[bvpv07]

This doesn't really have anything to do with pole vaulting, but...

Last Sunday morning, one of our sophomore sprinters got into a car accident when his brother fell asleep at the wheel. They were coming home from church with their two grandmothers. One of their grandmothers was killed (the car crashed into a column) and he is in critical condition with brain swelling. Please keep him in your thoughts as well.

I didn't really know him that well, but, as fellow t&f athletes, let's hope for the best.

Thank you.

[cormanac]

Thanks for putting the contact info up. My thoughts and prayers are with Ryan, his family, and teammates. Keep up posted.

[Aviendha]

"From my understanding, he didn't quite plant [the pole] in the right spot he needed to plant it," said Lisa Adler, whose oldest son, Chris, 19, pole vaulted early last spring as a Knoch senior until his ankle was injured after landing awkwardly near the pit's padded edge. "[Ryan] just fell sideways into the pit. I've seen people fall into the pit before. I said, 'Oh.' But he didn't get up."

No it's not the same situation, but it is his brother, on the same pit, so something must be wrong...

the pit has nothing to do with his brother landing funny on his ankle...he should have known better than to land on his feet!! you could have a pit 40 feet wide, if you land on your feet you're gonna hurt something...so what if it happened to be "near the edge" of the pit, same thing would have happened in the middle of the pit! don't automatically blame the equipment when athlete errors can easily explain it.

[rainbowgirl28]

Photo courtesy of Ryan's mom

Hello~

I believe you emailed my son Ryan Adler at the hospital in pittsburgh. He is the highschool vaulter who was injured vaulting and is in a coma. I am not a registered member of this website, but I wanted to email one of you, yourself and thank those of you who have sent Ryan emails. He has heard from a few of you all over the world. It touches all of our hearts to know there are strangers out there praying for him.  Our Ryan is a wonderful young man and your prayers for his recovery are so appreciated. He is making very small improvements. He still spends most of his time asleep, in and out of a coma and medications. He is beginning to open his eyes a weee bit each day and move his arms and legs a small bit. The journey will be long, but God is good and faithful and we trust in His ability even in our inabilities. May He protect each of you vaulters as you do what Ryan loved to do... vault.

Sincerely,
Lisa Adler


PS. For anyone who would like to know.... His home address is

Ryan Adler
330 Dutchtown Rd.
Butler, PA 16002

Thanks

[desiretogohigher]

Ryan was in my division (KSAC) and I had the pleasure of watching him vault before the accident. Also being a freshman, it was inspiring to watch him excel with such little experience. Our coach happens to be good friends with coach Brahler and stays in close contact with him over Ryan's condition. God knows we've all taken a step back and started focusing on vaulting safer as we vault higher. Just the other day I had a screw up in the air which almost landed me out of the pit.

http://moniteausports.com/images/Track% ... g_6405.jpg[url]

From then on I've learned to focus A LOT more on a straight plant and staying in control in the air.

We're still praying for Ryan's full recovery at Moniteau.

Best wishes to him and his family.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-rev ... 30354.html

Knoch pole vaulter breathes on his own

By Bill Beckner Jr.
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, May 3, 2005

Knoch freshman pole vaulter Ryan Adler proved he could breathe on his own Monday when doctors removed the ventilator he had needed to survive since arriving at Children's Hospital on April 18.
"He's breathing on his own, but he's still in his own little world," said Lisa Adler, Ryan's mother. "He's looking more like the Ryan we know. We know our Ryan is somewhere in that body."

Adler is still in critical-but-stable condition after a serious pole vaulting accident 16 days ago. He had an MRI, but family members aren't expected to get results until today.

Lisa Adler said if Ryan's condition continues to improve, he might be moved to The Children's Institute of Pittsburgh near Squirrel Hill as early as Friday. The Adlers have made a second home in one of Children's Hospital's sleeping rooms as they wait for their son to recover.

"Tests can only tell you so much," Lisa Adler said. "Only Ryan can tell us what we really need to know."

Adler also had a feeding tube inserted into his throat recently. He gradually has been taken off the medication that placed him in a coma to reduce pressure on his brain.

Adler has not spoken since the accident, when he fell awkwardly onto his head and shoulders while attempting a vault. But Adler is responding well, his mother said.

"He yawned (yesterday)," Lisa Adler said. "And that little sound he made was the most beautiful sound in the world.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-rev ... 32169.html

Adler family comes together in time of need


Photo Gallery
click to enlarge
Dan, Lisa, Chris, Ryan and Maria Adler
Submitted

By Bill Beckner Jr.
Tribune-Review Media Service
Sunday, May 8, 2005

Lisa Adler's Mother's Day present came early.
Last week, 15-year-old Ryan Adler, her youngest son who lay groggy and incapacitated in a hospital bed, uttered his first word since a horrific pole vaulting accident placed him in Children's Hospital on April 18.

The one-syllable word was like a neatly wrapped gift, a box of sweet chocolates, a vase of fresh flowers.

Only much better. Much sweeter.





"Ryan said, 'Mom,'" said Chris Adler, Lisa's 19-year-old son. "He waved to my mom and gave her a thumbs-up."

Lisa's face lit up like the smiley-face balloon bobbing off the ceiling above.

"Ryan is doing miraculously well compared to when he got here," Lisa said. "God is very good."

Ryan suffered trauma to the head when he fell awkwardly while attempting a vault during a meet at North Allegheny High School. He was placed into a medicine-induced coma to take pressure off his brain, but he has since come out of the coma and is responding to his surroundings.

Although he isn't walking or moving the way he used to, he was transported to The Children's Institute near Squirrel Hill on Friday where he'll begin rehabilitation.

Life has changed for the Adlers. Along with Lisa and Chris, Dan, their husband and father, and Lisa, their sister and daughter, have been challenged.

But through all of the long, tiring days pacing hospital hallways, eating cafeteria food, sleeping in a hospital room and waiting for Ryan to show even the simplest sign of vivacity, there has been one constant -- the loving bond and faith-filled strength the family possesses.

The Waltons

The Adlers are a rarity in today's fast-food, shop-online, it's-fine-to-skip-church-on-Sunday world.

"We're old fashioned, I guess," said Maria Adler, a junior at Knoch High School and a sprinter on Knoch's girls track team. "We have faith that God will keep us all together. My dad always says, "five alive.'"

"We're like the Waltons," Dan Adler said. "Our whole family is very close."

They eat dinner together at the same time each day. They pass the bread basket. They go to church each Sunday at the nondenominational Northway Christian Community.

Religion is the fabric that weaves this family together. Prayer gets them through the long days.

Lisa uses worship music to relax her in between visits with Ryan.

"I walk around the hospital with head phones around my neck," she said. "The music speaks truths. It helps me replace the ifs and whats with what I know is true. And that's that Ryan is going to come through this."

Dan Adler, vice president of the reputable Adler Tree Service, is sure his son will get his life back.

"You have to trust the Lord," he said. "Bad things happen to good people. The love we have for each other will get us through this."

Most people find it hard to fathom what the family is going through.

"I have a 10-month-old son (Tanner), and I'm having a hard time imagining anything happening to him," said Knoch boys track coach Wess Brahler. "It's hard to imagine what they're going through."

The accident

Lisa took two snapshots of Ryan just before he entered the pole vault competition April 18.

Soon after she placed her camera back into her purse, Ryan came crashing down to the mat.

Lisa doesn't need a Polaroid to remember that moment. It is burned into her mind like an image from an inescapable nightmare.

Ryan, a freshman, tried to clear nine feet. But the pole missed the plant box, and he fell almost straight down, onto his head and left shoulder.

"I sat there watching," Lisa said. "I saw him fall, then I realized he wasn't getting up. I walked over, and he wasn't moving. But he literally was snoring. It was like he instantly went to sleep."

Chris Adler didn't see the accident, but he knew of the dangers associated with pole vaulting. He used to compete in the event at Knoch.

"I missed the mat a few times," Chris said. "And I landed on my back after real high heights. In one of my last meets, I tore ligaments in my ankle.

"That was it for me."

Dan and Chris had to rush home from Thailand when the accident occurred. They were performing missionary work for tsunami victims.

Waiting for a sign

Ryan's progress has been slow, but compelling.

What started as a simple wiggling of his toes, blinking of his eyes and occasional sounds from his mouth have turned into words, even semi-sentences, and acknowledgement of people and objects in the room.

There was plenty of encouragment last week when Ryan breathed on his own after a ventilator was removed.

"If you ask him to put up two fingers, he does," Lisa said. "He's in, and he's out. He's not bright-eyed and bushy-tailed yet, but he's getting there. Things are fuzzy for him, but he's making connections."

According to doctors, the mortality rate for Ryan's type of injury is anywhere from 40 to 50 percent, Lisa said.

"One of the nurses was really worried that Ryan wasn't going to wake up," Lisa said. "She said it's amazing that he can even wave, that he can think at this point."

Said Dan Adler: "Just to see him moving around; he grabbed my little beard, and it was awesome. Little by little he's making progess."

Support in groves

A full meal delivered to their home, a stack of letters from strangers, a rainbow of flowers and balloons -- the Adlers have been bombarded with support the past three weeks.

"A former Center pole vaulter I had never heard of dropped off a plant," Lisa said. "We've had complete meals waiting for us when we've gone home. I bet we've had more than 130 visitors and tons of e-mails."

The Knoch track team had T-shirts made to support Ryan. On the front, "Knoch Pole Vaulters."

On the sleeve, "Adler."

One of the T-shirts was hanging near Ryan's bed last week.

Teachers at Knoch Middle School, where Lisa is a first-year math teacher, have offered sick days to cover the time Lisa has missed.

"Teaching is the least of Lisa's worries right now," Brahler said. "Family is No. 1. Nothing else matters."

[rainbowgirl28]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/m ... =si_latest

Injured H.S. pole vaulter out of coma
Posted: Tuesday May 10, 2005 8:18PM; Updated: Tuesday May 10, 2005 8:18PM

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- An injured high school pole vaulter has emerged from a coma and begun rehabilitation, his family said.

Ryan Adler, 15, a freshman at Knoch High School in Saxonburg, who fell about nine feet at an April 18 track meet, was kept in a medically induced coma for about two weeks to reduce swelling around his brain.

Ryan, who was relatively new to the sport, stalled near the top of his vault and landed on his head and shoulders when he fell into the pit. He was not wearing a helmet but the meet was using a wider pit and extra padding implemented at tracks nationwide after three athletes were killed several years ago.

On Friday, Ryan was moved from the intensive care unit of Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh to the Children's Institute to begin speech and physical therapy.

His parents said he has begun speaking again, can move his arms and legs and regained his sense of humor. But he hadn't opened his eyes and was still eating through a feeding tube.

"He's on his way back. He's mentally aware. How quickly he gets back -- it's up to him now and we like that," said his father, Dan Adler. He said Ryan could stay in rehabilitation for about two months and then go home while resuming rehab about three times a week.

Ryan was one of the first pole vaulters to be seriously injured after the new guidelines went into effect. The NCAA implemented new safety rules in 2002 after Penn State pole vaulter Kevin Dare and two high school athletes were killed. The National Federation of State High School Associations also implemented new safety rules, including a larger landing pit.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/ ... 88733.html

Injured high school pole vaulter speaks publicly after coma
The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - Speaking publicly Thursday for the first time since emerging from a coma, an injured high school pole vaulter said he would like to return to that event, and perhaps start wrestling too.

Ryan Adler, 15, a freshman at Knoch High School near Saxonburg, fell about nine feet at an April 18 track meet. He was kept in a medically induced coma for about two weeks to reduce swelling around his brain.

Ryan, who is undergoing physical therapy, said he can stand with a walker and walk using parallel bars. Doctors at the Children's Institute in Pittsburgh said his recovery could take up to a year.


Ryan stalled near the top of his vault and fell into the pit, landing on his head and shoulders.

He was not wearing a helmet but the meet was using a wider pit and extra padding now in use at tracks nationwide. The NCAA implemented new safety rules in 2002 after Penn State pole vaulter Kevin Dare and two high schoolers were killed.

Ryan was taken off a respirator last week, but didn't move all his limbs or begin talking until he was moved to the Children's Institute last weekend.

[rainbowgirl28]

There's a picture with this one



http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05133/503982.stm

Injured pole vaulter's fast turnaround inspires hope for full recovery

Friday, May 13, 2005

By Chuck Finder, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette
Lisa Adler watches her son Ryan as he answers questions during a news conference yesterday at The Children's Institute in Squirrel Hill.
Click photo for larger image.
Ryan Adler feels so good, he feels like ... singing.

Moments after being given the cue word "oasis" in a cognitive therapy session yesterday afternoon, the injured freshman pole vaulter from Knoch High School broke into the lyrics of the 1974 Maria Muldaur tune, "Midnight at the Oasis."

Heaven's holdin' a half-moon

Shinin' just for us ...

"I feel great," Adler, 15, said at a news conference a few minutes later at the Children's Institute, the Squirrel Hill rehabilitation clinic where this pole vaulter -- who fell on his left shoulder and head in an April 18 meet and remained unconscious for most of three weeks -- has begun a speedy climb back to recovery. "Just got my feeding tube removed. I'm happy."

Speaking in short bursts, something his doctors find remarkable given he was mostly motionless and listless upon arriving at the institute last weekend, Adler announced that he planned to resume pole vaulting someday. His mother, Lisa Adler, grimaced upon hearing that.

"It's fun. It's awesome. It's a blast," said Adler, who has six weeks of pole-vaulting experience.

"Can we talk about that?" his mother softly asked in his left ear.

"Maybe we'll get him involved in something else," added his father, Dan.

The boy not only wants to pole vault again, but wrestle, too. "I just don't want to hit my head again," he said.


Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette
Lisa Adler on her son's recovery: "I think God has a purpose for Ryan. I think he's a walking, living miracle to His power and His goodness. It's just ... amazing."
Click photo for larger image.
Adler sat in a wheelchair, shuffled his sneaker-clad feet and squirmed, displaying restlessness and energy and drive that aid him in his occupational, physical, speech and neuropsychological therapy. He has been standing with the aid of a walker, walking along parallel bars and tossing a medicine ball as part of his rehab.

Whether he fully recovers to pole vault again remains unknown. Doctors project his rehabilitation could take anywhere from six months to a year.

"The rapidity of his improvement, from my experience, has not been typical," said pediatric specialist Dr. Suneet Sahgal, who started caring for him once Adler arrived at Children's Hospital after the injury. "That tells us he's making gains in the right direction."

Doctors initially placed Adler in a medically induced coma to prevent further swelling from bleeding around the entire brain and an overall malady diagnosed as Diffuse Axonal Injury. DAI, the shearing of the brain's connecting nerve fibers (axons), is usually the result of a decelerating traumatic injury and frequently leaves its sufferers in a vegetative state or disabled. Adler began wiggling toes a week after getting hurt at the WPIAL section meet at North Allegheny, then started to utter an occasional word and give a thumbs-up sign the third week in the intensive care unit.

A week ago, he was unable to hold up his head. (His mother described him as "a total rag doll.") So, for Adler to talk, walk with aid and yesterday eat from a plate, is a tremendous leap to his family, friends, doctors, teammates, schoolmates and well-wishers nationwide.

"My hopes for his future are as wide as the outdoors," his mother said. "I think God has a purpose for Ryan. I think he's a walking, living miracle to His power and His goodness. It's just ... amazing."

"A week ago today, then to see him now, I never would have believed he'd be this well, all the tubes out of him..." added his father. "We got him back. I'm just grateful and thankful."

Lisa Adler, who sleeps on a cot in the same room as Ryan, showed him a photo from her digital camera of his first week at Children's, still on a respirator and other machines amid his coma. "That's a lot of tubes," he said in disbelief. He remembers nothing of the April 18 meet and little of his hospitalization.

Adler's accident was the most serious in the sport since sweeping safety precautions were adopted in the aftermath of the 2002 deaths of Penn State pole vaulter Kevin Dare and two high school vaulters. Yesterday, his parents renewed their plea for more stringent procedures, with Dan Adler proposing that matting be shoved into the exposed pit and runway area behind an airborne vaulter.

After any critical athletic injury to the brain or spine, the hazy unknown is how complete a comeback one can make. Penn State football player Adam Taliaferro, for instance, was able to recover from his paralyzing spinal chord injury to function fully at everything -- except football.

"With the Adler family," Sahgal said of Ryan, "I really have faith he's going to do very well."

[altius]

It is great to learn that Ryan is on the mend. Like many on this forum I have followed his story with interest and concern.

However coaches and athletes and parents must learn from what happened. The single photograph we have of Ryan jumping - on top of the bar - suggests that he had really no idea of what he was attempting to do and virtually no control. sadly he was an accident waiting to happen. Unfortunately i suspect that there are many other youngsters out there trying to master this event with little or no effective coaching.

This is not about facilities or about spotting but about applynig some basic principles of instruction - specifically the notion of progression and doing simple things well before moving on. It is clear to me after reading literally hundreds of posts on this forum that the ignorance about the pole vault, even at the most basic level, is mindboggling. Until coach education is improved there are going to be more accidents like this one.