'Ryan's Ramp' leads back to Hy-Lond Home

Ryan Mazza, who has received services from Hy-Lond Home for a long time, and his father, Doug Mazza, were the centers of attention at a reception breaking in Wheels for the World Foundation's newly expanded facility. The elder Mr. Mazza is President of the Wheels for World Foundation and his son had a ramp in the new facility named after him.

By John Darr

(Garden Grove, CA) ResCare's Hy-Lond Home residents go through a lot of wheelchairs. And like anything else worn or broken, one would expect the dilapidated wheelchairs to be curbside pickups.

But Hy-Lond Home Administrator Mike Dodge has committed to delivering these throw-aways to Doug Mazza's Wheels for the World Foundation. Mr. Mazza is President of the Wheels for the World Foundation and the father of Ryan Mazza, who has received services from Hy-Lond Home since 1980.

The younger Mr. Mazza has Crouzan's Syndrome and Pfeiffer's Syndrome. Crouzan's syndrome involves facial deformities which required several craniotomy surgeries. He also has severe scoliosis, hip deformities and contractures of his extremities.

Wheels for the World Foundation takes Hy-Lond Home's old, broken wheelchairs and sends them to the prison system to be refurbished. The chairs are then escorted by a medical team to third-world countries to fit people in need. The teams connect the disabled with local churches and create disability awareness by educating and training the local churches in disability ministry.

"If we did not donate our wheelchairs we would be filling a land-fill somewhere with them," Mr. Dodge said. "I am very happy to assist such a positive organization in making an impact outside our community. This is one of the partnerships we have been able to develop through our community service projects."

Wheels for the World Foundation recently expanded their facility by adding an International Disability Center. Within the new area is a wheelchair ramp which was dedicated as "Ryan's Path" at a ceremony in honor of Mr. Mazza's son.

ResCare staff arranged for the younger Mr. Mazza to attend the ceremony accompanied by three staff members, Maryknoll Blake, Kurt Conroy and Lindsay Payton.

"Ryan looked like a celebrity," said Ms. Blake, a ResCare Licensed Vocational Nurse. "Everyone was coming up to him and introducing themselves to him."

In a personal letter of thanks following the event, the elder Mr. Mazza wrote to Mr. Dodge, "After seven years of prayer, fundraising and the work of hundreds, the International Disability Center became a reality in April 2007."

Included in that letter was a donation from him to Hy-Lond Home's APPLE Seed Program (APPLE- Advocate Planning for Positive Life Experiences). The program is similar to the Make-A-Wish organization, in that staffers find a wish of a resident and try to make it come true. The APPLE Seed Program has enabled residents to attend professional ballgames, a Medieval times event and to be pampered for a day.