Ryan Solek Marfan Syndrome Awareness Benefit

300 Meetinghouse Road,Jenkintown PA 19046

07 August, 2021

Description

Help us to raise awareness about Marfan Syndrome, and to help our friend Ryan get back on his feet after a series of unfortunate events. What is Marfan Syndrome? Marfan syndrome is an inherited disorder that affects connective tissue — the fibers that support and anchor your organs and other structures in your body. Marfan syndrome most commonly affects the heart, eyes, blood vessels and skeleton. Ryan's Story - Written by a friend. Our Friend Ryan Solek did not choose to have Marfan Syndrome. Marfan's was genetically inherited. Due to this horrible disease, Ryan has dealt with underlying conditions his entire life and every day that goes by is a fight. On Friday October 23rd, 2020, Ryan's battle with Marfan's syndrome became real and life changing. While working at his new position with UPS, he began to feel extreme chest pains. These chest pains weren't your typical heart burn. The severity of the pain was extreme and radiated throughout his entire body with sudden shortness of breath. Ryan suffered from a life threatening tear in his aorta on this day. That's right, the thing they call your main artery responsible for transporting oxygen rich blood from your heart to the rest of your body (yup that one). As you could imagine, this is a big F-ing problem. During this time of year, Ryan was riding high with big life goals. New career, moving out, and a proposal/fiancé on the horizon. Unfortunately, life sometimes smacks you in the f-ing face and has different plans. As Ryan was in the hospital fighting for tomorrow, life was fighting back and Ryan became a victim of bad timing. Unfortunately, during this time, Ryan was between jobs and insurance coverage. His new insurance denied coverage and left Ryan with six figures in medical bills. (F insurance companies). Fast forward six months and Ryan's battle continued on. This time, he required life altering surgery. Our friend went under the knife on Monday, June 28th and underwent several hours of surgery and a 2nd emergency operation. Ryan had a large portion of his descending aorta replaced. Ryan woke up on Wednesday night June 30th, nearly 3 days later. The procedure was a successful one and we are grateful for the team of doctors at UPenn that kept our friend alive. The journey to recovery has begun. Luckily, this time around, hospital bills were covered by insurance. However, 4 months of consistent income is NOT. It's times like this when friends and family need to step up and help good people. In today's world, sadly, we do not see this enough. It's life, I get it, people fall on hard times everyday. By no means does Ryan want any sympathy- He's a tough cat with way too much pride. BUT F that, when one of us falls, we all fall. It's time to help each other get back up. Please join us and help celebrate our friend's road to recovery because that is what life is all about... Family, friends, food, and (better) alcohol. ****Door prizes..raffle baskets..50/50...cornhole..food and fun… (Early Bird $40 plus fees, GA $50 plus fees, $60 at Door).**** P.S - Fuck Marfan's