Bryce J. Rafferty

RECENT EVENTS (Also see News & Events for historical updates)

• Current - Working on extra PT, driving testing and follow on details to order a van for extra independence this spring, and networking for a job.
• 1/13 - Wonderful meeting with President Jill Tiefenthaler of Colorado College, formally receiving his BA degree in International Political Economy.  Congratulations Bryce!
• 10/12 - Did some research work for the University of Denver law school recently.  Bryce will be volunteering in the coming months there.
• 8-12 - Bryce entered the driving program at Craig Hospital and is doing additional Physical Therapy there to strengthen his body.  
• 5/12 - Relocated to Denver on 5/19/12.  Living permanently as a Colorado resident at Promenade Place in the Denver Tech Center with roommate who also graduated from Colorado College.  Phone: 203-232-2705.  Email: braff68@gmail.com
• 1/12 - Finished major coursework at Colorado College, 7 months after gratuating class peers.  His degree in International Political Economy approved in 10/12.
• 8/10 - Returned to Colorado College, paralyzed from the chest down, less than one year after his accident on 8/30/09.
• Videos to date: 1) Historical 2009-2010 video on vimeo.com http://vimeo.com/22866712  Hint: If the video stutters, click pause for 10-15 seconds to let the download get ahead, then hit play again.  It’s a large HD file.  2) 2011 Pikes Peak drive/climb.   http://vimeo.com/33085227.
• For Bryce's complete story, see updates below since the beginning.

WHAT HAPPENED?
On August 30, 2009, 20 year old Bryce Rafferty, a Colorado College junior, sustained a severe spinal cord injury upon diving into shallow water in Lake Geneva, Switzerland. As a result of this accident, young, athletic, and active Bryce was paralyzed from the chest down with no use of his legs, and limited use of his arms.  Bryce turned 21 years old on May 7th, 2010.

TREATMENT AND SURGERIES TO DATE:Bryce was immediately airlifted from the accident site in Nyon, Switzerland to the Swiss Paraplegic Center in Nottwil, Switzerland where he required 3 surgeries to stabilize a destroyed C6 neck vertebra. After 45 days in the ICU, a life threatening bout of pneumonia, and 5 months of recovery and rehabilitation at the Swiss center, he relocated on January 18, 2010 to Craig Hospital in Denver for a 7 hour spinal cord de-tethering surgery and additional physical and occupational rehabilitation. Bryce finally returned home to Watertown, CT on May 6, 2010, a long 9 months after the accident. Bryce returned to Colorado College again in August, 2010 to complete his junior and senior years and graduated in 2012.

WHO IS BRYCE?

At the time of the accident, Bryce was an active 20-year-old International Political Economy major at Colorado College on a junior year semester abroad in Geneva, Switzerland. Bryce is a graduate of The Taft School, Watertown, CT, where he played football and participated in track & field. Bryce was an expert skier, accomplished lead guitar player, avid hiker, and taught sailing and swimming at Camp Agawam, Raymond, Maine during the summer of 2009.  He hoped to start a band his junior year at college after successfully writing, recording, and producing a CD of his own rock compositions with fellow musicians at Taft.   Bryce’s mother, Jennifer Zaccara, a Trinity College graduate with a PhD in English from UCONN, is Associate Dean of Faculty and English teacher at The Taft School, Watertown, CT. His father, John Rafferty, a Deerfield Academy, Trinity College, and UCONN MBA graduate, is a SVP in Bank of America’s Global Risk Management - Enterprise Credit Risk group in NYC.

MEDICAL DETAIL AND IMPLICATIONS :

In SCI medical language, Bryce is classified as a C5-6 quadriplegic. Practically, this means he needs personal aide assistance for several hours in the morning to get up, shower, dress, and get into his wheelchair. He primarily uses a manual wheelchair with Emotion battery-assisted power wheels.  He requires additional assistance during the day for range of motion exercises and to get back into bed at night. He will have periodic medical complications common to those sustaining spinal cord injuries and rehabilitation will continue over his lifetime. While insurance covered initial hospital and rehabilitation costs, and Medicaid is currently helping with home aides, once he starts working and earning reasonable income, his Medicaid support may fall away.  His long term care costs exceed $1.0+ million.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

To help with these and other expenses (customized van, home modifications, therapies, and more) a fundraising campaign in Bryce’s honor has been established through HelpHOPELive  - (www.helphopelive.org). Contributions are tax-deductible, qualify for corporate matching gifts, and are administered on behalf of Bryce's injury-related expenses.  If your heart moves you, please consider a financial contribution.

Make checks payable to: HelpHOPELive
Note in memo section: “In honor of Bryce Rafferty”
Please mail to: HelpHOPELive
Two Radnor Corporate Center
100 Matsonford Road, Suite 100
Radnor, PA 19087

For credit card contributions, please call 800-642-8399 or select the DONATE NOW button.

Together we can make a difference for Bryce during this challenging time. Many friends have already offered wonderful verbal, e-mail, and financial support and we thank you all to the depths of our hearts.

John Rafferty          Jennifer Zaccara
203.606.6354         203.232.8535