- The family has one GoFundMe to ‘give him the farewell he deserves’
A young kickboxer has tragically died while on holiday after the plane ride worsened a brain injury he didn’t know he had.
Ryan Donald, 22, went to bed on the first night of a holiday with friends to Cyprus and never woke up.
An autopsy revealed that the father-of-one did indeed suffer from a blood clot in the brain, which his heartbroken family believe could have been a kickboxing injury.
The head injury was aggravated by the altitude of the flight and it is understood to have been the ‘last straw’.
Mr Donald, from Portsmouth, Hants, was the father of a four-month-old boy.
Ryan Donald tragically didn’t wake up after suffering a brain injury aggravated by flying
He had a passion for kickboxing and something he hoped to pursue as a career: competing or coaching children.
His sister, Georgia Donald, 24, believes he suffered an injury during training or during one of his fights, and doctors in England were confused as to why he showed no signs of his injury.
She said: “He was a role model and he never stopped.
‘The doctors in England said they don’t understand why he wasn’t showing any signs of the injury, he should have been in immense pain and that wasn’t the case, he just kept fighting through it.
“He was moaning about little headaches, or what we thought were little headaches, but he just got through them.
‘He wasn’t a complainer.
“He was so motivating and had so much more up his sleeve.”
His death has now left a hole in his family’s lives, especially his girlfriend Carmen and their son Leyton.
Mrs. Donald has one GoFundMe to raise money to bring his body home as Mr Donald had no insurance.
This has raised almost £10,000 (£9,922) in a week, and Mr Donald’s body is expected to arrive back in the country this week.
Mrs Donald said: “I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated. It really showed us the impact Ryan had and how much he was loved. It has taken a huge amount of pressure off my parents (Clive and Cordelia).
‘My father has heart problems, which took a big burden off his shoulders and perhaps prevented something from happening to him. The people who donated saved us.”
The money raised from the GoFundMe will now also be used to cover funeral costs.
Paying tribute to her younger brother, Mrs Donald said: “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 as a brother, as I lived with Ryan practically all his life.
‘Words can’t quite describe how wonderful he was, everyone knew him and everyone loved him.
His sister thinks Ryan (right) suffered an injury during training or during one of his fights
‘You can see that in all the donations and all the messages we have received.
“He left an impact on everyone’s lives.
‘He could make you laugh even when you didn’t want to, he could annoy you.
“He was literally a sparkle in our lives.”
Another autopsy is expected to take place when Ryan’s body returns to Britain.