Take a bow Ryan, your wish has come true
Sixteen years after Jeremy Mansfield made Ryan's first wish come true on 94.7 Highveld Stereo, he did it again, on Hot 91.9 FM.
Ryan Bow’s wish has always been to become a paramedic, and through the efforts of Hot 91.9 FM and Destination Medicine this wish finally came true in January.
Ryan was born at Park Lane Hospital in 1977, and according to his mom, Liz, they immediately knew something was special about Ryan. “We immediately noticed markedly different behaviour,” Liz said. Ryan and his family initially lived in Krugersdorp, and when Ryan was two-and-a-half years old the family moved to Durban where they would live for the next 10 years.
Liz and her husband Jeff have always tried to keep Ryan in ‘normal’ schools, but simply in a special class. During their time in Durban, Ryan attended Open Air School as well as Northdene Preparatory School. The Bow family made the move back to the West Rand in 1990, when they moved to Weltevreden Park – where they’ve lived for the last 29 years – and enrolled Ryan in Casa do Sol, a special education school, for the remainder of his school career.
Despite their best efforts, Ryan has never been able to aquire the ability to read and write, but he has become something of an expert when it comes to picking up on visual stimuli. “Ryan can remember any face, and any logo and recognise it immediately the next time he sees it,” Liz said. “He’ll often see a neighbour’s car at the shopping centre and say, ‘Look, it’s the car from the house with a green roof’.”
Ryan had his first wish granted way back in 2003 when Jeremy Mansfield – who was host of The Rude Awakening breakfast show – and his team at 94.7 Highveld Stereo arranged a trip with the Flying Squad for Ryan’s Christmas Wish. This year, Jeremy once again helped Ryan out – this time with Hot 91.9 FM – as they granted his Christmas Wish to be a paramedic with the help of Destination Medicine.
Destination Medicine arrived at the Bow household on 24 January to Ryan’s surprise, to take him out on a day with them. He was treated to a ride in their ambulance, visits to Destination Medicine’s base, as well as the opportunity to treat a patient as part of a mock accident set up for him.
Ryan and Simon Leisegang, Destination Medicine’s medical director, ‘responded’ to a call near Monte Casino and took the patient to Sandton Clinic for treatment. Ryan was eventually taken home close to 4pm, after an awesome day out.
“I am absolutely grateful for the experience, it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done,” Ryan said.
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