EDMONTON - Seven months ago, 16-year-old Ryan King was an aspiring football player at Archbishop O'Leary High School. Athletic, outgoing and strong-willed, King seemed to have everything going for him. Weeks later, he was blind, deaf, and struggling to survive.
"I woke up and he was having some kind of seizure," says King's mother Bobbie Nelson, tearfully recalling the day her family changed forever.
On April 2, King suddenly became very ill. What was initially thought to be a flu bug quickly developed into something much more serious.
"Within a few hours of being at the Stollery, he was on life support," Nelson says. "And the first couple of weeks, they didn't give us much hope that he would pull through."
Soon after being admitted to hospital, King slipped into a coma from which he would not emerge for another five weeks.
"(It's) like I fell into a really weird dream, and then I woke up and my momma was there," King says.
Even after regaining consciousness, King's prognosis was bleak. Swelling of the brain had left him unable to see, hear, speak or move much of his body. For several weeks his only method of communication was short notes scrawled on a chalkboard.
"I've come a long way," he says. "From a lifeless body to my leg twitches, I can see shadows, and I think my eyes are coming back."
King has since been moved to the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, where he works tirelessy to reclaim his former life, even as doctors continue to puzzle over his illness.
"The doctors don't even know what it is, but they think it was a really rare case of menigitis that no one had before," King says.
As King's recovery continues, Nelson has moved her family into a bungalow, eliminating the obstacle of stairs, but there is more to do before King can return home. Ramps must be built, doorways widened, and a lift installed to help move King in and out of his wheelchair.
"The list just kind of goes on," Nelson says.
Facilitating the renovations is 'Rainbows for Ryan,' a fundraising project spearheaded by King's aunt. As part of his rehabilitation King has been making and selling crocheted bracelets made with rainbow-coloured yarn.
"The response has been phenomenal," Nelson says. "It's been really touching that people that don't know Ryan are willing to support him going home."
Throughout his ordeal one thing King hasn't lost is his passion for football. Ricky Ray, Graeme Bell and Aaron Fiacconi of the Edmonton Eskimos have each paid King a visit, and last Friday King visited Commonwealth Stadium as the Eskimos took on the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
"He was smiling the entire time we were there," Nelson says. "Because that's his dream is football."
Nor has King lost his sense of determination. Though his paralysis is slowly receding and his eyesight slowy returning, he knows that many challenges await. He also knows that he's not alone, and hopes that his story can help inspire others.
"If there's any kid out there who's going through something worse than me, just keep faith and it will all turn out in the end," King says.
With files from Su-Ling Goh.
© Global News. A division of Shaw Media Inc., 2012.