An Angel In The Outfield
By all accounts, this past athletic school year for the Stone Bridge Bulldogs has been remarkable. A state championship in football, numerous district championships in other sports, and to cap it off, Stone Bridge was named Virginia's top athletic program by Sports Illustrated. While this year may go down as one of the best ever in the Ashburn school's short history, unbeknownst to many, it has also been a sad year with the passing of former student Megan Ryan.
Megan Ryan, the younger sister of former Bulldog All-State/All Met Centerfielder Sean Ryan, passed away in December after a long battle with cancer. However, Megan's story is an inspiring one. She was full of life, full of spirit, and she loved her Bulldogs and Hokies! Ryan was a freshman at Virginia Tech, and life couldn't have been better. She was studying Hospitality with a plan to become an Event Planner. According to her brother Sean, things couldn't have been going any better.
"My sister was an inspiration to everyone, especially me," said Sean. "As an athlete, I have had my share of sports related injuries, surgeries, and rehab. I thought I knew what tough was until I watched my sister battle cancer head on. Meg put life in perspective and I have dedicated my baseball career at Virginia Tech in her memory."
It is easy to understand why Ryan was so excited to be at Tech when you realize how hard she fought to get there. Megan was diagnosed as a sophomore with Osteosarcoma, a rare form of childhood bone cancer. Through years of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, the cancer went into remission, but shortly before Ryan's final semester at Stone Bridge, the cancer returned. Doctors were forced to amputate one of Megan's legs to avoid the spread of the disease to other parts of her body. While most of us would be devastated beyond comprehension, Ryan never let it get her down. Head Coach Sam Plank remembers the text message he received from Megan shortly after her surgery.
"Megan had just gotten out of surgery and she sent me a message on the cell phone asking if we had any room in the dugout for a manager with one leg," said Plank. "I remember thinking to myself, how can a teenager have this kind of positive attitude after something like this? But that was Megan. She was always positive and such a special person."
Megan eventually made it back into the dugout for a few games, but spent most of the season in Houston, Texas for treatments. According to Plank, the team never let Megan stray far from their minds.
"When you see someone fight through what Megan fought through, it gives you zero room to complain about anything," said Plank. "I could see that when the players were frustrated during a game, their attitude would change after they went back to the dugout and heard Megan cheering them on. Even when she wasn't there, they all knew she wouldn't allow them to feel sorry for themselves."
This past fall, Megan had just begun her freshman year at Tech when she received some bad news from her doctor. The cancer that they had worked hard to stop from spreading had in fact spread to her lungs. The news was devastating. Megan returned home and passed away in December at the age of 18. The news spread to friends and family, and eventually to Stone Bridge High School, where she had inspired so many of the faculty and students with her positive attitude and courage.
This spring, the Bulldogs were preparing for their first baseball game of the season when the players brought something to Coach Plank. He had just finished taping the lineup to the dugout wall when several of his players approached him with a request.
"The guys brought me a photo of Megan to tape up next to our starting lineup," Plank said. "My eyes swelled up immediately with tears. It says a lot about how much Megan impacted these guys with the kind of person she was."
It is no coincidence that the Bulldogs raced to their first ever Liberty District title, and the best record in school history this season. They were playing with their angel in the outfield, their tenth starter that was with them in spirit and in mind. The picture the players chose to frame next to their lineup card was one with Megan smiling, something she never failed to do despite her tough battle with cancer.
"Megan always had a smile on her face," said Plank. "She was a special kid that we all were lucky to get to know, and I know I speak for everyone that knew her when I say we miss her a ton."
As we can all understand, the past 6 months have been difficult for Megan's family. They have had their good days and their bad days coping with the loss of their Megan. As Megan's Mom Darcy stated, it is all of the memories and stories of how wonderful her daughter was that eases the pain.
"Megan's courage and positive attitude were contagious and served her well," said Darcy. "She managed to find humor in any situation. We were surrounded by so much love from family, friends, Stone Bridge and the community. I was blessed to have 18 years of "wow" with Meg. I miss her every day."
For those that knew Megan, this story is only a short glimpse into the type of person she was and the impact she had on her friends and family. It's impossible to tell her complete story in two pages, but one thing is for sure, she was special. Despite all of her trials and tribulations, Megan looked at the glass of life as being full, not just half full, and we can all learn from her in that regard.
Special thanks to the Ryan family for their contributions to this story. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, and we are grateful that you allowed us to share this story about Megan, who by all accounts, was an extraordinary person.
