Posted: 06/11/2014 at 1:53pm | IP Logged

BEVERLY HILLS, CA (ANS) -- Tuesday, June 19, 2001, was the worst day in the life of Lindy Boone Michaelis, one of the four Boone daughters, for it was then that she received the shocking news that her son, Ryan Corbin, then 24 years old, had fallen through a skylight on the roof of the apartment building where he was living in Southern California, and came extremely close to losing his life.

Ryan Corbin shortly after his terrible accident

His skull was crushed fractured as he fell three floors to a cement floor below. Many thought Ryan would never awaken from the deep coma of his mind. But then, if he did, there was the dreaded fear that he would survive at best in a vegetative state.

But Lindy, nor her parents and friends around the world, never gave up in praying for and believing that one day, Ryan would recover from his traumatic brain injuries, and on Sunday, June 1, 2014, she celebrated one of the happiest days of her life, when she was joined by her “miracle son” and a host of stars for an extraordinary evening of fun and celebration at what was called at “the Pat Boone 80th Birthday Celebrity Roast at the Beverly Hilton Hotel”.

The guests included Larry King, who five different times had the Boone family on his CNN show, “Larry King Live”, and asked viewers to pray for Ryan’s recovery, as well as Jon Voight, Shirley Jones, Rich Little, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., Lou Ferrigno, Rosey Grier, Gavin MacLoud, Peter Marshall, Susan Stafford, Wink Martindale, and double Oscar winner and composer, Al Kasha and his wife, Ceil, as well as Pastor Jack Hayford, who for many years was the Boone’s pastor on Church on the Way.

The sparkling evening was in honor of Ryan’s Reach (www.ryansreach.com), named after Ryan Corbin, who was making an amazing recovering, after not being expected to live.

Lindy, had helped organize the event, after persuading her father, Pat Boone, to allow his 80th birthday to be celebrated by many of his friends who “toasted and roasted” him unmercifully, and he even allowed his beloved Harley Davidson to be auctioned off to help Ryan’s Reach.

She was near to tears when she told me on the Red Carpet, “I am so delighted we have so many people here from our lives. It’s like the biggest wedding ever. And I know so many people I haven’t seen in so long, so it’s a lot of fun. But I’m also delighted that people are supporting our great cause.”

As Ryan sat smiling nearby in his wheelchair, I asked Lindy if he could understand what was happening, and she replied, “I think he’s probably a little overwhelmed and doesn’t quite understand it at the moment, but we’ve been talking about it every night for a long time and praying about it and we are expecting big things.”

I then wondered how this unique event had come about, and she explained, “We hold a golf tournament every year for Ryan’s Reach around this time, and last year I thought, ‘Boy, it’s my dad’s 80th birthday on June 1st, 2014. It’s a big milestone in his life and so how could we turn his birthday into a big occasion?

Pat and Shirley Boone with Ryan Corbin on the Red Carpet at his birthday bash Dan

“When I first put it to him, he was not too keen on the idea of publicizing that he was turning 80, and yet he finally agreed to do it for Ryan’s Reach, if it would help raise money for the cause he so believes in that helps others with traumatic brain injuries. He’s also a good sport. He said that he didn’t want to have all the honors, so I then asked him, ‘Well, can we roast you?’ He liked that idea and so here we are on this special night.”

I then asked Lindy if there were any rules about the topics that the celebrities could go to, and she said, “Well, you know nothing, as far as my dad is concerned, but asked them to keep it clean. We were careful when we selected who is roasting him.”

Was she planning to roast her dad?

“No, I’m going to sit down and eat my dinner and enjoy the show,” she said, a show that included her sister, Debby Boone, singing “Mack the Knife” from her new CD "Swing This".

Note: Lindy Boone Michaelis will be a special guest on my His Channel Live (www.hischannel.com) show from 6-7 PM on Tuesday, June 17th, 2014, along with Mark Desmond, the director of High Hopes Head Injury Program in Tustin, CA. where Ryan attends three days a week. During what promises to be an inspiring program, Lindy will share more about her incredible story of nursing Ryan, who lives at her home in Orange County, California, and seeing him Ryan slowly, but surely, coming back to a more normal life. She will also talk of her time as one of the four Boone girls.

The evening raised funds for Ryan’s Reach, and you can get more information about this fine group at www.ryansreach.com.

Source: Assist News Service