Canadian Remembrance Day Message

Hello Canadians and American neighbors,
I am a proud Canadian and proud to be an ally to the United States. We're lucky to live in a country that is well protected by the Canadian Armed Forces and to have support from the United States. But we have lost soldiers and allies in wars to protect us and allow us to live in a democracy that is here to help Canadians live life without worrying about countries taking Canada away from us. No matter what, we should always support Canadian soldiers and their allied soldiers. We should be thankful that there are soldiers that have sacrificed their time or life to stand by their country to protect rights and freedoms we deserve to keep. This allows us to enjoy sports, entertainment, culture and enjoying the outdoors. Tomorrow Canadians should take time to salute the soldiers who have sacrificed their time or life for Canada. Thanks again to the Canadian soldiers and American allies for making this possible.
Thank you, Stephen Rysen

2014 Muscular Dystrophy Walk Fundraising Campaign

Hello everyone, I am Stephen Rysen and I am a 31-year-old living with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and a huge supporter of first responders. I got diagnosed at the age of five. The symptoms that caused concern was that I had problems climbing out of boxes if I sat in one, walking, climbing stairs and inability to ride a bicycle. I needed steroids, ankle foot orthotics, leg braces for standing and eventually a wheelchair. I stopped walking around the age of nine and eventually at the age of 11 with leg braces although those were meant for standing. I also had to get back surgery because of scoliosis which was pretty bad because I had a L-shaped spinal cord. My feet were operated on to allow me to wear shoes without wearing ankle foot orthotics. I have had 2 power wheelchairs and I am in my third power wheelchair. I have lived on heart medication since 2000. I was on the medication because there was deterioration in the heart. Luckily the pills I am taking decreased the deterioration That was the way they won a show right back in 1980 2 by 50% and because of my aggressive doctor. I have been on the BiPAP machine for ventilation since 2003 for sleeping or lying in bed. Since 2011 I have a daytime ventilator that I am using right now. I have had no deterioration of my lungs because of respirators and ventilators. I also do breathing exercises by getting pumped up by a medical bag to give me a stacked breath to breathe out a big volume of air or cough out and I also do it without the medical bag the caregivers use by inhaling small breaths to give me a bigger breath just like the medical bag. I can also do it with the machines too. It is pretty tough but I got positive mental toughness. But 2007 I got some devastating news, lost a close friend with the same condition I have. It was still bugging me until I had the idea to increase awareness and build rapport with firefighters by visiting them while they were fundraising for Muscular Dystrophy. It boosted morale, the firefighters said it's good to see people in wheelchairs out in the community and it provided me a chance to recover from the tragedy. One firefighter gave me back my positive mental toughness that I lost from the tragedy. The firefighter said that I looked healthy aside from having the disability, said we are here for you, we are not giving up and we are happy to help. The tradition of firefighters helping people with muscular dystrophy is a great partnership that has provided strength for people fighting muscular dystrophy. It is kind of like saving a life as a firefighter. Firefighting is a tough job but fundraising for muscular dystrophy can help deal with the stresses firefighting deals with by giving positive energy to deal with tough situations. I also support firefighters through social media and have also garnered support from firefighters from Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ontario, Western Canada and Georgia and other places in North America. My parents were in law enforcement and are pretty fortunate that their fellow first responders from the fire department have been helping people with muscular dystrophy for 60 years. Thank you for reading this story and if you would like to donate please visit this page https://muscle.akaraisin.com/ui/WalkRollMDC26/p/1234
Thank you and all the best, Stephen Rysen

Remembrance Day Canada and Veterans Day USA

Canada and USA have selfless people who fight to keep democracy. If we did not have these selfless troops we would not have democracy, human rights and have a hard time handling terrorism. It is important we remember why we have to always be thankful for the Armed Forces. Canada had people ready to go to Afghanistan to represent Canada in assisting their USA neighbors after the terrorist attacks. That follows the footsteps of Canadian soldiers who represented Canada to assist their allies in Europe to prevent Nazi ruled Germany from taking over Europe. Dutch people are thankful for Canada and USA troops in World War II. Today is not about politics but to be thankful for soldiers assistance to protect democracy and protecting Canada and the USA. I salute the Armed Forces for their selfless service.
As a Proud Canadian and Ally to the USA, thank you very much, Steve

Week 2 NFL predictions

Patriots, Falcons, Ravens, Bills, Bears, Packers, Texans, Colts, Chiefs, Eagles, Lions, Saints, Broncos, Raiders, Seahawks, Bengals

it is that time again for week one NFL picks:
Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants, Houston Texans, Washington Redskins

How I Live with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Hey everyone my name is Stephen Rysen and here is my story:

At the age of five I was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in 1988. Today they are able to diagnose the patient at the age of two. Hopefully one day it will be done sooner to get the treatment going more rapidly. Before I was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy there were signs I was born with it. I could not walk properly, could not climb out of boxes if I sat in one, climbing stairs, losing my balance, could not drive a tricycle and getting tired easily. Between the age of 5-13 I needed equipment for my feet, for standing, for mobility and a lifting system. Ankle foot orthotics were used to keep my feet stretched to allow me to wear shoes. Leg braces were used for me to stand up and to allow me to walk when I could not walk anymore. It was also used for posture in my back. The steroids were used to gain some strength and prolong the weakening of muscles. I stopped walking at the age of nine and at the age of 11. I got power wheelchair a couple months before my 14th birthday. Ended up getting my feet and back operated on a few days before my 14th birthday. The scoliosis was repaired by the back surgery making it 100% straight and the feet being repaired allowed me to wear shoes in the future without wearing ankle foot orthotics and to go without ankle foot orthotics. The final years of being a teenager I ended up on heart medication to improve my heart and to prevent further deterioration. My heart deterioration was repaired by 50% with the heart medication. I ended up on nighttime ventilation at the age of 20 and daytime ventilation at the age of 28. During the day I do breath-stacking exercises with a manual pump done by my caregivers. I also do breath stacking by breathing in as much air as possible then exhale. Thanks to research I am one of the oldest without a tracheostomy at the age of 31 :).

It is tough having Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy but I have found positives dealing with this obstacle in my way. I am fortunate to have a supportive mother, sister, father, caregivers, friends and firefighters to fight muscular dystrophy. At the age of six, a year after being diagnosed with DMD and moving to the Vancouver area, I was fortunate enough to make friends who ended up being supportive of me. When I entered high school I found more supportive friends. This support has allowed me to go to college to earn a couple of certificates and a diploma.

After going to Muscular Dystrophy Firefighter Conferences I found out that the firefighters were a supportive brotherhood & sisterhood for their fellow firefighters and people with neuromuscular disorders. Even firefighters are good to assist people with Muscular Dystrophy who are dealing with a loss of a friend from muscular dystrophy. The firefighter I was thanking for helping out at the boot drive said we are here for you and we will continue fighting Muscular Dystrophy with you after I told him I was grieving over the loss of a friend who lost the battle with Muscular Dystrophy. It actually got me out of the depression from the grieving I was going through. Firefighters I have met are passionate about fundraising for Muscular Dystrophy like their profession. I have met loyal muscular dystrophy fundraising firefighters in person and on Twitter and Facebook. Their passion for assisting in the fight for Muscular Dystrophy has motivated me to fundraise since 2008.

I have been participating in the Safeway Walk for Muscular Dystrophy since 2008 because it gives me a purpose to life. My fundraising for Muscular Dystrophy Canada provides people living with Muscular Dystrophy: career programs, support groups, equipment costs and research to discover breakthroughs and a cure.

Thank you for reading my story, Stephen Rysen

https://muscle.akaraisin.com/ui/WalkRollMDC26/p/1234

Baseball Brawl Revisited

On Saturday March 9, 2013 at the World Baseball Classic, Mexico and Canada were told that runs scored and runs against ratio would be used in case of a tiebreaker to prevent tie-breaking games. The only disadvantage is that the teams would have to score as many points as possible to prevent them from being eliminated. Sports athletes do get frustrated when they get embarrassed and some teams might be scared to score more points to embarrass the other team. It even causes violence which eventually happened later in the game between Mexico and Canada. Baseball has a unwritten rule which teams abide by when the score is a blowout that they do not bunt the baseball for a base hit, steal a base or a sacrifice that does not involve sacrifice flies and fielders choice. Canada broke the rule but running up the score was not the cause. It was the way the Canadian baseball players tried to score more runs. Mexico should have tried to hit the batter once whether it almost hit the batter or hit the batter. Therefore the message was brought to the Canadians attention. Baseball does not need to change the tie-breaking format. One thing they should do, if two teams are tied for second place and both of them played against each other earlier in the round, the tiebreaker should be rewarded to the winning team. To prevent further incidents like the bench clearing brawl at the 2013 World Baseball Classic teams should educate each other about how to run up the score following the unwritten rules and how to punish the team for breaking the unwritten rules without causing a bench clearing brawl.

Stephen Rysen March 12, 2013