SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — All it takes is one moment to change someone's life forever. For Ryan Laliberte, that moment came March 15 — the night before his 19th birthday.
“I can tell that he's sees life through a different lens," said Ryan's father, Chris.
Chris said Ryan was in a car traveling from Chula Vista to celebrate his birthday with friends at night in downtown San Diego.
Then, at 11 p.m., came the call no parent wants to ever receive. Chris learned from his wife Ryan was involved in a crash.
He said the car drove off the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway (State Route 94), went airborne over the northbound I-5 Freeway and came to a stop in the southbound lanes.
“You couldn't tell what kind of car it was," Chris said. "There was no roof. The engine was 20 ft down the road. The transmission was in the in the middle of the 5 freeway. There was debris scattered everywhere. It looked like a bomb had went off. It was completely destroyed.”
Chris said all four passengers were rushed to Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego in Hillcrest. He said the teenage girl in the backseat passed away. The other two — driver and front passenger — are now recovering at home.
Ryan, who doctors thought was going to be the first to leave, hasn't gone anywhere.
“They thought all he had was some bruising and a laceration above his eye," Chris said. "But they did his some CT scans and he had some severe damage to his abdomen.”
Chris said Ryan has Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease than can impact your body's immune system.
Ryan's now had three major surgeries, several other procedures and internal bleeding, among others.
"He's like, 'I just wanted you in here want to see you one more time,'" Chris said, recalling perhaps the most emotional interaction he's had with his son in the hospital. "He thought he was gonna die.”
Chris said his family is constantly driving back and forth from their home in Oceanside to be with Ryan at the hospital in Hillcrest. That, on top of taking care of their 17-year-old daughter.
He called this the "hardest thing and scariest thing (he's) ever dealt with in (his) life."
Chris said, just like any 19-year-old, Ryan has plenty of hopes and dreams. One day, the senior at Pacific View Charter School wants to start his own business.
“I think, you know, after seeing him push through this and the strength that he's shown through all this, that once he gets out of here, he can do whatever he puts his mind to," he said.
Once Ryan is discharged from the hospital, whenever that may be, the road to recovery doesn't end there.
If you'd like to help Ryan along his journey back to health, you can contribute to his GoFundMe by clicking this link.
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