Holiday Community Event to benefit Ryan Ford

On Dec. 10, from noon to 5 p.m. at the Candor Fire Station, a Holiday Community Event will benefit Ryan Ford, an Ithaca resident who was involved in a mountain bike accident in the Shindagin Hollow State Forest in Caroline this past August. 

Following the mountain bike accident, Ford was airlifted to a trauma center and remained in the Intensive Care Unit in critical condition for two weeks. He suffered a major break in his skull, as well as over 15 breaks and fractures in his skull and a break in his upper jaw and nose. He also suffered the loss of his peripheral vision and has very limited frontal view vision. 

Ford was transferred to Unity Rehabilitation Center for treatment once he was declared medically stabilized by Robert Packer Hospital. But after three days at Unity, Ford was diagnosed with an infected cyst in his head and sent to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y. where he spent two months and endured multiple brain surgeries and procedures as they attempted to stop a spinal leak, clear the cyst, perform facial reconstruction, and address other medical concerns. 

Ford finally came home in October, and continues to make improvements medically and physically. According to updates provided on a GoFundMe page set up for Ford, he has come a long way and still has more surgeries and obstacles to overcome in the near future. 

But Ford is determined, and appreciates the support of his family and friends. The benefit on Dec. 10 will be an extension of that support.

During the event, which is a chicken and biscuit dinner, there will also be a Chinese Auction, a gun raffle, activities and games for children, music, and much more. Presale tickets for the dinner and gun raffle are available by calling Sabrina at (607) 237-7917.

For more information on Ryan Ford and his road to recovery, you can visit his GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/Ryan-Ford or the event page on Facebook, “Holiday Community Event ~ Proceeds Benefit Ryan Ford.”