Palatine runner hit by car returns to school surrounded by support
Two weeks ago Ryan Kissane was leading an early-morning off-season run with five of his cross country teammates from Palatine High School. Kissane led the group as they started to cross Palatine Road at Rohlwing Road.
The next thing he remembers is waking up in the hospital and being told he was in an accident. The driver was cited in the crash.
Kissane, a senior at Palatine High School, made his first return to the school surrounded by family and hundreds of supporters on Friday night.
"I was pretty beat up," Kissane said, surrounded by friends, family and teachers wearing shirts reading "Once a Pirate, Always Family."
The Palatine Booster Club has sold hundreds of shirts in the past few weeks to support Kissane's family. Kissane has been out of the hospital for about a week but still had one arm in a sling and a few other bandages and visible injuries. It will be a few more weeks before he returns to school.
"I'm glad to be out and doing things, getting back to normal," Kissane said. "Day by day, I'm getting better."
Kissane was introduced as a special guest at the boy's basketball game between Palatine and Fremd High Schools.
"It's great to see him," Palatine High School Principal Gary Steiger said. "We were really scared when we first heard. He's a great kid and this is a great community that comes together."
Fans in the stands, cheerleaders, basketball players and Kissane's family, some of whom had traveled from Arizona to be there, all wore the shirts being sold by the booster club.
"It's a loving community. This just shows what this community is capable of," said Ryan's mom, Eileen.
The morning of the accident is a blur for Kissane, but he said he's thankful to his friends who called 911 and stayed calm during the crisis.
"That morning they had to respond like adults and they rose to the occasion," Eileen Kissane said.
Since then more than 300 people have bought shirts or made donations, including some from across the country who heard about Kissane's accident, said Alissa DePue, booster club president. People can still buy shirts through the club's website www.phspirateboosters.com.
"It's a little overwhelming, but it's so nice," Eileen Kissane said. "We're just grateful to more people than we can count."
Ryan echoed that gratefulness as he enjoyed his first night of being a regular teenager again.
"It could have been a lot worse than a few broken bones," he said. "I'm really lucky."