Tragic kickboxer Ryan Donald, 22, died in his sleep on the first night of a holiday with friends in Cyprus.
The young man from Portsmouth was discovered unresponsive after a flight which his autopsy said had worsened a blood clot in his brain, believed to be caused by a prior kickboxing injury.
The dad-of-one had dreams of making a career in the sport, with ambitions to either compete at a high level or coach kids. His sister, Georgia Donald, 24, has been left devastated by the loss, saying her brother didn’t know the severity of his condition as he shrugged off regular headaches and kept pushing through the pain.
She fondly remembered him: “He was a role model and he never quit. The doctors in England said they don’t understand how he didn’t show signs of the injury, he should have been in immense pain and he wasn’t, he just kept fighting through it.
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“He was a role model and he never quit. The doctors in England said they don’t understand how he didn’t show signs of the injury, he should have been in immense pain and he wasn’t, he just kept fighting through it.”
(Image: Getty Images)
“He moaned about little headaches, or what we thought were little headaches, but he just powered through it. He wasn’t a complainer. He was so motivational and had so much ahead of him.”, reports the Mirror.
The tragic passing of Ryan has left a hole in the lives of his loved ones, particularly his partner Carmen and their little boy Leyton. In a bid to repatriate Ryan’s body, as he was uninsured at the time of his death, Ms Donald launched a GoFundMe campaign which astonishingly gathered nearly £10,000 [£9,922] within just seven days.
The family is now expecting Ryan’s remains to be returned home this week.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Georgia expressed her heartfelt gratitude: “I want to say a massive thank you to everyone that donated. It really showed us the impact that Ryan had and how much he was loved. It has taken a huge pressure off of my parents (Clive and Cordelia). My dad has heart problems as it is so that took a big weight off of his shoulders and maybe prevented something happening to him. The people that donated have saved us.”
The funds from the GoFundMe will also assist with funeral expenses. Georgia paid homage to her brother, saying: “He was inspirational, I know everyone says that, but he really was.”
“He was the youngest of five siblings but he was the one we all looked up to. My son saw him like a brother as I practically lived with Ryan for all of his life. Words can’t quite describe how amazing he was, everyone knew him and everyone loved him.”
“You can see that through all of the donations and all of the messages we have received. He left an impact on everyone’s lives.
“He could make you laugh and smile, even if you didn’t want to, he could annoy you into. He was literally a brightness in our lives.”
More tests will be done once Ryan’s body is back on British soil.
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