Ryan Walsh VIRTUAL Walk-n-Roll-a-Thon to benefit The Buoniconti Fund

RYAN WALSH TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY FUND
Ryan and Colleen shared birthdays for 39 years. They blew out each other's candles and made sure they got equal slices of cake. Ryan and Colleen laughed until their faces ached!

Ryan died as a result of a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) sustained in an accident when a cab ran a red light.

We have created a fund in his honor to raise money for research to help others with traumatic brain injuries like Ryan's. Unfortunately, current diagnostic and therapeutic tools were ineffective in helping Ryan to regain his health. The disabling effects included loss of balance, inability to play music (he had been an internationally renowned base player), difficulty concentrating for prolonged periods which made his career in event production impossible to continue, and caused his sudden and unexpected death in December of 2016 at the age of 39. Our fundraising efforts go to support research so that the next person will have a better outcome.

On April 19, 2020, our birthday weekend, Colleen had registered to do her next half marathon in Central Park. Due to coronavirus, that event was canceled, like so many others. Instead, Ryan's family and friends, together with The Buoniconti Fund, hosted a national virtual event on December 6, 2020.  Colleen completed a marathon distance that day to celebrate her brother Ryan's life and to inspire hope in the research that is being done! The event was a success and will now be an annual event.

Our next race is Saturday, December 4, 2021.  You can register to complete a 5k, 10k, 1/2 marathon, or marathon...or just get yourself around the block! You can walk, run or roll!!

Will you Stand Up For Those Who Can't?

The Buoniconti Fund

In 1985, Barth A. Green, M.D., world-renowned neurosurgeon, and Nick Buoniconti, NFL Hall of Fame linebacker, joined forces and founded The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis after Nick’s son, Marc, sustained a spinal cord injury during a college football game. Since then, research at The Miami Project has changed the landscape of knowledge and therapeutic strategies for spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury.

Committed to finding a cure for paralysis resulting from spinal cord injury and to seeing millions worldwide walk again, the Buoniconti family established The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis in 1992. The Buoniconti Fund is a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise funds and awareness to help The Miami Project achieve its primary focus; to repair and restore function to the injured and diseased nervous system, thereby improving the quality of life to patients throughout the world.

The Miami Project, a Center of Excellence at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, is now considered one of the premier research programs conducting cutting-edge discovery, translational and clinical investigations targeting traumatic spinal cord and brain injury, and other neurological disorders. The Miami Project’s international team of over 175 scientists, researchers, clinicians and support staff is dedicated to improving the quality of life and, ultimately, finding a cure for paralysis. Miami Project researchers are currently conducting clinical studies and trials in spinal cord injury, including testing neuroprotective strategies, cellular therapies using Schwann cell and stem cell transplantation and advanced rehabilitation and neuromodulation approaches including the use of brain machine interface technologies. Other areas of current research include drug discovery for axonal regeneration and immune modulation, neuropathic pain, male fertility and cardiovascular disorders.