CHAMBER MASTER: Ryan Fullmer, Director of the Rocky Mountain Hyperbaric Institute; His clinic treats and heals the whole spectrum of these signature wounds, both physically and mentally.

How did a seriously disabled young man survive his severe stroke and then take on a huge challenge that would result in helping so many other lives and their futures? Ryan's personal story is a remarkable one.

RYAN'S JOURNEY

Ryan, born in April 1975, is the third son of four boys to Jon and Pat Fullmer. At the time, the Fullmer’s lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. His mother’s family originated from this area. Ryan’s mother was active in the church and cherished being close to her large family. Ryan remembers that Christmastime “was my best memory of living in Salt Lake, with tons of family and good times."

Ryan’s father, Jon, was beckoned by his father to move to Gunnison, located in the mountains of central Colorado, to help with the family hardware store. Gunnison is well-known for its long winters, snow, and cold weather. “Much to my mother’s chagrin, we packed up and moved to Gunnison, only to arrive during a blizzard with a lot of snow on the ground. We found eventual relief from that boredom and began sledding, skiing, snowmobiling, and doing all those fun snow activities."

How did a seriously disabled young man survive his severe stroke and then take on a huge challenge that would result in helping so many other lives and their futures?

Ryan had a typical childhood in Gunnison, where he participated in Cub Scouts, baseball, and piano lessons. Education was equally crucial because Ryan’s mother was an English teacher, and his father was an accountant. Poor grades were not tolerated. Both parents were very involved in their sons’ education, including attending church regularly. When the boys were not in school or working part-time at the hardware store, they were assigned various duties, like taking out the trash, chopping wood, or shoveling snow. “I went to school, then worked at the store evenings and weekends. Whenever I would beg for an allowance, my father would say, ‘You don’t need an allowance. You have a job.’”

“I was a typical young kid, in good health, with a normal routine growing up… nothing ordinary. Right after my eighth birthday, I attended a friend’s birthday party. He’d invited some of our school buddies to help him celebrate. It is hard to remember everything that transpired at the party because this happened thirty years ago. I do remember the mountains of birthday cake, hotdogs, and presents. After the party, some of us hung out and played Donkey Kong on the Atari. Suddenly, I came down with a wickedly bad headache as I had never experienced before. I didn’t want to