‘WE ARE JUST BLOWN AWAY’
More than $120,000 raised for beloved Loyola teacher who has Stage 4 brain tumour, writes René Bruemmer.
An online fundraising campaign for a popular Loyola High School teacher with a brain tumour diagnosed last week has already surpassed its $100,000 goal and elicited an outpouring of love and support from students and parents. It has become the current No. 1 fundraiser in Canada on the GoFundMe website, with $120,000 raised as of Monday evening. “The response has been incredible,” his wife, Nathalie Fauteux, said Monday from Sean Ryan’s bedside at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital. “All day we look at the comments and we are just blown away. I knew Sean was an amazing husband and father of a 15-month-old, but now this.” Ryan, 34, who has taught English and media studies at the private school in western Notre-Damede-Grâce for 10 years, had been suffering memory loss and dizziness since July. He and doctors assumed it was concussion-related symptoms linked to a minor injury he suffered playing baseball in May. A CT scan taken of his brain at the time didn’t reveal any signs. Ryan met with several doctors later on as symptoms, including pain behind one eye, persisted, but no one asked to do an MRI. Fauteux said she wishes now that doctors had investigated more thoroughly. A smaller tumour could have been removed, she said. On Thursday night, while asleep at home, Ryan suffered a grand mal seizure and was taken by ambulance to Lakeshore General Hospital in Pointe-Claire. Doctors couldn’t diagnose the problem, so he was transferred to the neurological institute. An MRI scan revealed a “huge tumour,” Fauteux said. “It was a shock.” It was a Stage 4 glioblastoma multiforme brain tumour, highly aggressive. The size and location prevent surgery, Fauteux said. It is the same form of brain cancer that took the life of United States Senator John McCain in August. Fauteux hadn’t even heard of the fundraising website before Friday, when friends suggested she create a page to raise money for alternative treatments, if necessary, in the U.S. or elsewhere. She named it Save Mr. Ryan. “My husband Sean Ryan (or Mr. Ryan to his students) is a wonderful human being going through a terrible time,” she wrote. “This week he was diagnosed with a Stage 4 brain tumour with limited prospects. He and our beautiful boy, James, are everything to me and I am writing to let you know that he needs our help. He is fighting for his life and needs our help and support. We are working with the best neurologists in Canada and looking at options for viable treatments wherever they may be found.” The funds flowed in from friends, family and mostly students, current and former, who expressed their admiration for a teacher they said always had a smile and time for them. “Mr. Ryan is one of the greatest teachers I’ve ever had,” wrote Grade 10 Loyola student Trevor Ennis. “He made English class fun and informative at the same time. He made sure to include everybody and got so many kids to come out of their shells and be more confident around others. “It’s amazing how big this has become, people on my hockey team know about it and I’m the only one who goes to Loyola. My coach gave me $40 to donate.” Many leave the names of surgeons or treatment centres that
Sean has always been so proud of his role as a teacher. It goes to show that if you’re a giver, you might just get back.
may be able to help. “It’s really a community at Loyola,” Fauteux said, her voice cracking. “We’ve got the mothers’ group and the church and the parents. It’s just bringing everybody together right now.” “I think it says a lot about Sean and about how much he has meant to the community, but it also says a lot about the community as a whole and the kids and their amazing desire to support and be with Sean as he goes through this, and his family,” said Paul Donovan, president of Loyola High School. Ryan’s medical team will meet Wednesday to discuss the results of the biopsy of the tumour and whether chemotherapy or radiation treatments are an option. Ryan, who plays baseball, hockey and ultimate Frisbee football, was in good physical health and showed no signs prior to last summer. In addition to his teaching duties, he coached swimming, ran the debate club, organized student plays and was head of the humanities department. Ryan said he was moved by the outpouring. “Your words of strength and your support during this difficult time have motivated me to continue this fight,” he said. Even if no money had been donated, his family would have been buoyed by the many comments, said his mother, Evelyn Rodinos. “Sean has always been so proud of his role as a teacher,” she said. “It goes to show that if you’re a giver, you might just get back.” A student who left only his first name, Patrick, wrote: “Mr. Ryan, at every available opportunity you showed us compassion, love and kindness. You were always there for us so now, we got you. You’re never alone. Always remember that.” Sean Ryan’s Gofundme page is at www.gofundme.com/savemrryan.