OFC Ryan Allen's Return Home after Brain Injury

On October 14, 2021 my husband of 8 years, Ryan Allen, went into cardiac arrest at our home due to after suffering anaphylactic shock from a bee sting, with no prior history of a bee allergy. Ryan was clinically dead for 20 minutes, but due to the heroic efforts of EMS they were able to restart his heart. The prolonged period of time that Ryan’s brain lacked oxygen resulted in an anoxic brain injury, which is a devastating brain injury. Despite the odds that Ryan would not survive his injuries, he spent 7 weeks in the ICU (4 of which he was in a coma) and he has spent the last 3 months in and out of various hospital and rehabilitation settings in the hope of recovering both physically and mentally. He is still completely dependent for all activities of daily living and is in what is considered a “disordered state of consciousness,” where he is not aware of his surroundings.

Ryan’s injury has been devastating for our family and the community who have been following his story since his medical event occurred. The fall out has been unimaginable. Ryan is currently an inpatient at Moss Rehabilitation in Elkins Park, PA with plans to come home in the next few months. When Ryan finally returns home, he will require 24/7 skilled nursing care, but our family was recently informed that it is very unlikely that 24/7 nursing care will be approved by insurance. Our family will therefore have to independently fund the remaining hours of skilled nursing care Ryan requires due to his current condition. Our family also needs to build a private space adjacent to our home for Ryan to reside and be taken care of by nursing staff that is accommodating to his disabilities. Any donations received will go toward both providing skilled nursing care to Ryan when he gets home and the private space for Ryan which serves his needs.

Ryan is a loving husband, father to our two boys-Jackson (4) and Leo (1 month), son, and brother. Ryan is also a beloved and well respected K9 officer in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and is missed by both his family as well as the community he has been serving valiantly for the past 9 years.