High school athlete paralyzed after injury suffered during match
Ryan Joseph, a high school sophomore from Pleasant Hill, California, is paralyzed after sustaining an injury during a wrestling match, per SFGate.com.
Joseph, 16, is a wrestler and lacrosse midfielder on the College Park High School junior varsity teams.
The injuries were sustained to Joseph’s neck during a match last week and have left him unable to breathe on his own, school athletic director Jim Keck said.
Joseph is being treated at the ICU of John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.
By all accounts, Joseph is a beloved student and teammate.
“He’s one of the most positive kids, a joker, fantastic sense of humor,” Keck said. “He’s always trying to make other people smile.”
“Everyone likes him. He’s outgoing and everything,” one of Joseph’s friends, Adam Samhan, told KGO-TV in San Francisco.
“He’s a nice dude — like all the teachers love him. Smart guy, always never showed off in front of others. He was just a nice guy overall,” Samhan added.
The injury occurred during a wrestling competition Jan. 10.
Samhan recounted the scary circumstances surrounding the injury.
“[Joseph’s opponent] took him down and put him in a hold, and then the ref shook him off and he shook his head like, ‘I can’t get up,’ so he just laid there and the ambulance had to come and take him,” Samhan said.
Joseph was a first-year junior varsity wrestler and captain of the JV lacrosse team as a freshman, per CBS San Francisco.
According to Keck, Joseph comes from a long line of athletes.
Tom Joseph, Ryan’s father, was inducted into the De La Salle High School Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as a wrestler and football player.
Ryan’s uncle, Mike Halket, used to coach wrestling at Dublin High School.
A GoFundMe page has been started to help Joseph’s family with medical expenses.
The funds will also help with rehabilitation and home accessibility.
At the time of this writing, over $73,000 has been raised for Joseph — well short of the $500,000 goal.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
