Penrith: Ex league player Zachary Ryan raises money for John Hunter Children’s Hospital

An ex league player inspired by the likes of Nedd Brockmann is pushing himself to the limit to raise money for a NSW children’s hospital which cared for his sick child on Christmas.

Zachary Ryan jogging around the Nepean River at Penrith. Picture: Contributed

An ex league player inspired by the likes of Nedd Brockmann is pushing himself to his physical limits to “repay” a NSW children’s hospital which cared for his critically ill son during his first Christmas.

Penrith man Zachary Ryan, who previously played for the NSW Cup, the Jersey Flegg and did one pre-season with the Penrith Panthers, will cover 500km to raise money for John Hunter Children’s Hospital, near Newcastle, after his then six-month old son Kalyn spent several days there last Christmas with respiratory issues.

Ryan, who is the strength and conditioning coach for the Harold Matthews Cup, said he vividly remembered spending the night with Kalyn on December 23 with a doctors, nurses and a respiratory specialist preparing for the child to go to the intensive care unit as his condition worsened.

Zachary Ryan with his son, Kalyn (then six months old), when he was hospitalised at the John Hunter Children's Hospital. Picture: Contributed

“Luckily for us, the staff were able to keep it somewhat (under) control for the night and with their amazing care, we were able to leave Christmas afternoon, which enabled our two boys and the rest of the family to spend Kalyn’s first Christmas together,” he said.

Ryan said he wanted to “repay” the hospital for its care of Kalyn.

“They did everything in their power to not only make our stay as comfortable as possible but also to get us home for Christmas,” he said.

“They gave us a little Christmas miracle.”

Ryan will spend five days, between December 17 and December 21, working towards a goal of 500km of exercise to raise $20,000 for the hospital.

He plans to complete 100km each day under a certain time frame using different exercise equipment. The challenge will be lifestreamed on Ryan’s Instagram page, @omnisacademyoffitness.

Ryan said he also recognised that not all sick children at the hospital get to spend Christmas at home with their families, and wanted to raise money to help leave a “positive impact” for those who find themselves at hospital.

He said a hospital staff member told him around 99 children will spend Christmas in the hospital each year.

The John Hunter Hospital. Picture by Peter Lorimer.

Ryan said this was not his first time physically pushing himself for a good cause, having previously flipped a tyre around the Nepean River to raise money for a friend’s family in the name of mental health after their sudden death.

“I just remember walking the Nepean River with my wife and reflecting upon the tyre flip … I started to think about how resilient the body is and with the right mindset would it eventually break down,” he said.

“I thought of something that is incomprehensible and something that could be a step too far and that is how I landed on this idea.”

As well as raising money, Ryan said there were two raffle prizes to be won including a Penrith Panther’s Game Day package donated by the club.

Zachary Ryan jogging around the Nepean River at Penrith. Picture: Contributed

The package includes two tickets to a game of the winner’s choice, as well as an on field warm up and post match experience with the Panthers CEO.

Second prize will be a signed Parramatta Eels jersey, also donated by the club.

Every $10 donated by one person equates to one entry in the raffle which will be drawn on December 28. Click here to donate.