PRICE, Bryan J. (1960-2022)

PRICE

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 4/30/2023 at 12:45:27

Bryan John Price
(December 5, 1960 - October 8, 2022)

Bryan John Price, age 61, passed away at Regency Park Nursing and Rehab in Jefferson, IA, on October 8, 2022. He was welcomed into the arms of his Heavenly Father, where he will once again be a whole person, free from the disabilities that plagued him for most of his life. Bryan was born in Clarinda Municipal Hospital, Clarinda, IA, the son of Ralph Oren Price and Vadonna Pearl (Lucas) Price, the last of 8 children. Bryan was baptized as a child at the Gravity United Methodist Church.
He lived a life of joy and happiness in his home town of Gravity, IA, until November 1, 1965, when he was in a tragic accident that was the result of a Halloween prank. His parent’s home was across from the park and pranksters had piled 3 heavy picnic tables on top of each other. Bryan and 2 or 3 of his neighbor children played in the park regularly; and that day he climbed on the tables, toppling them and one crushed his head. The other children were not hurt. A local maintenance worker heard the loud screams and ran to find Bryan with his life-threatening injuries. There was a flurry of activity to get Bryan into a friend’s station wagon and transported to Clarinda Municipal Hospital. By the time he arrived at ER, he had no vital signs; but the medical staff were diligent and brought that little body back to life. Bryan’s life was saved by Dr. John Martin, a retired neurosurgeon who had moved to Clarinda to care for his aunt. Under Dr. Martin’s care, Bryan had two major brain surgeries, the last taking tissue from his right thigh to mend the hole in his head where there was no skull – it had been lost on the ground at the park along with a major portion of his frontal lobe. Bryan also had a tracheotomy, several blood transfusions, was unconscious for six weeks, and survived pneumonia, which Dr. Martin declared was a miracle from God because there was no medical explanation for his recovery. Not surprisingly, that followed a night-long prayer vigil of relatives, friends and the local pastor. Bryan was able to go home to Gravity where he re-learned all the skills a baby learns; i.e. toilet training, walking, talking. His first words after going home were on Christmas day, when out of nowhere he said, ”Mama,” a most welcomed greeting. His parents lovingly and gradually helped him be rehabilitated, along with tutoring from Dr. Martin and trips to Iowa City for advanced care. Lifelong aftereffects were that he was blind in his right eye and deaf in his left ear, which caused major balance issues. Loss of the portion of his frontal lobe of his brain that controls impulse, judgment, and behaviors have caused many problems over the years. Despite all of this, he was able to go to the Bedford Community Schools handicapped program until he aged out of that. When the administration attempted to mainstream him into public schools, it was not successful because Bryan looked and acted differently – his forehead was misshapen, his left eye did not track properly, and he could not walk straight because of balance issues. All of this made him an easy target for teasing and bullying -- then he retaliated. Eventually he was expelled from public school, which turned out to be a blessing. Within 3 days of being expelled, his mother had him enrolled in a new government sponsored program under Title 19 at the Corning Public Schools, which had recently developed programming for handicapped students and they provided trolly transportation. Daily lessons included classroom learning, (Bryan had learned to read), and he worked in some community supported work programs in Corning. He graduated from Corning in 1980 -- A big step from where he had been in 1965, and he was so proud! Bryan then lived at home in Gravity for a year until his parents felt his needs could be met better in the residential living program in Lenox. While living in at Taylor Ridge Estates, his sister Marilyn Leek had noticed it was more difficult for her mother to manage Bryan’s Care and offered to take over those responsibilities and has done so for the past 32 years. Bryan was successful in sheltered workshops. First in Creston that was associated with Taylor Ridge Estates. He also worked under community supported employment for the elevator in Lenox and at the egg plant in Lenox, then in Winterset after he moved to Progressive Options. When Progressive Options closed, he transferred to Cedar Lane Estates after he and his sister/guardian Marilyn had toured 5 possible placements. CLE was an excellent environment for him because they taught him life skills, such as doing his own laundry, learning about his meds, fixing his own lunch to take to Genesis Development sheltered workshop and working with the maintenance crew to plant a new row of evergreen trees. When CLE had to close because of low census, he lived in a group home in Jefferson until he could not walk then lived at Regency Park Nursing and Rehabilitation in Jefferson until his death. Bryan enjoyed fishing, baseball, playing pool, riding his bike. He was an excellent singer and knew many Country western artists and their songs as well as many hymns. But most of all he was a huge Kansas City Chiefs Football fan. He was very social and learned peoples’ names easily.
The family is grateful for all of Bryan’s caregivers throughout his life. They were mindful of his disabilities, but accentuated his abilities and interests. They were kind and helpful. His end-of-life care provided by St. Croix Hospice, Panora, IA, was also much appreciated….all special people and Bryan was a special guy!
He is survived by three sisters, Karen (Norman) Akers, Marilyn Leek, and Barbara (Denny) Elder; two brothers, Robert Craig Price and Alan (Deb) Price; sister-in-law, Sharon Price; brother-in-law, Keith Swigart; and many cousins, nephews and nieces, and friends he has met along the way. Twin brother and sister, Richard D. Price and Betty Swigart and his parents, Ralph and Vadonna Price preceded him. Services will be held 10:30 a.m., Saturday, October 15, 2022, at Center Chapel United Methodist Church, Indianola, IA. Visitation will be held 9 to 10:30 a.m., prior to services on Saturday, at the church. Graveside services will be held 3 p.m., Saturday in the Washington Cemetery, Gravity, IA. [This memorial is provided by Overton Funeral Home, 501 West Ashland Ave., Indianola, Iowa, http://www.overtonfuneral.com/]