Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryann Mason.
Hi Ryann, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
My name is Ryann Mason. I was born with a genetic collagen disorder called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). EDS causes a plethora of super fun symptoms including hypermobile joints that dislocate easily, laxity (stretchiness) of my organs, and stretchy skin that doesn’t heal easily, just to name a few. I was told that I would eventually need a wheelchair to get around, but when I was diagnosed at 16, I wasn’t exactly thinking in the future tense. Because of my disability, I spent a lot of time in emergency rooms/doctors’ offices as a kid. I remember at one of those ER visits, my mom looked at me and said, “You know, if you’re going to be spending so much time in hospitals, you might as well get paid to push the stretcher.” She was kidding, I assure you. I was 16 years old with dreams of one day starring on Broadway! A career in medicine never even crossed my mind as a possibility, but I really don’t like being told I can’t do something, so I signed up for night classes and became an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). I absolutely fell in love with patient care and, specifically the world of emergency medicine. Specifically, I realized that patient care came easy to me specifically because I had Been there. I knew how it felt to be lying in that hospital bed, surrounded by people in white coats speaking a language that might as well have been Greek. I attended James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA where I studied Health Sciences/Human Sexuality with hopes of working in sexual health and research after graduation. While at JMU, I worked as an EMT when I wasn’t in class. Once I graduated, it only took a few months before I started missing the world of hands of patient care. That fall I found myself attending Virginia Western Community College with the goal of becoming a Registered Nurse. I worked a full-time night shift as a nursing assistant at a local hospital while going to school full time during the day. The day I signed those two letters “RN” behind my name was one of the happiest days of my life. I was lucky enough to start my nursing career in that same ER where I spent so much time as a kid. And let me tell you, I Loved it. The long hours and physically demanding work took a toll on my stretchy little body, but I just rested as much as I could when I was off so I could keep going back to the career I loved. After nearly 4 years in that first ER role, I decided to take a job at a small freestanding ER with hopes of giving my body a break. A few months into the role, my left hip, which I used to pop out of joint-on command as a “party trick” of sorts, began subluxing (or partially dislocating) every time I took a step. I started falling more often, and I was terrified that the next time I fell would be while helping a patient. It was time for me to face my declining mobility. So, I left bedside nursing, took a job as a Case Manager or discharge planner in the hospital setting, and I scheduled an appointment with my doctor. I was sent to physical therapy for strengthening and to be fitted for forearm crutches, only to walk out with a referral to a wheelchair company. I worked in that Case Management role for two years while I adjusted to my new life on wheels. I loved still being able to work in the hospital setting, but it was incredibly difficult to be surrounded by nurses doing the job I longed to be doing. I’d never seen a nurse in a wheelchair, so I just didn’t think it was possible. I remember I was sitting in my office when a physician friend of mine stopped by to chat. We were talking about her patients and what I would do if I was working as a nurse on the floor when my friend looked at me confused and said, “Ry, why Aren’t you working as a bedside nurse?” I laughed and gestured to the giant metal wheels under my behind. “So what?”
So what??? I was in a wheelchair! I couldn’t work as a bedside nurse! Could I?
A few weeks later found my hospital in the thick of the COVID pandemic. Like every other hospital, we were incredibly short-staffed. The floors were desperate for bodies to help out on the floor- so I signed up. I figured it would be the perfect way to find out if working bedside in a wheelchair was even a possibility. As I’m sure you can surmise, that shift changed everything. Not only was I able to help on the floor, but I was also able to do so much more than I thought I’d be able to do! That night I immediately went home and started applying for bedside nursing jobs. It took months and countless applications (and subsequent rejections), but finally, I got a bite. It was a Mother/Baby floor (the farthest thing from my home in the Trauma bays), and after one Zoom interview, I was hired! Approximately 5 minutes after I accepted the position, it hit me: they had no idea I was in a wheelchair! It was a virtual interview that I took while sitting down! Panicking, I immediately called HR and my new director. I was prepared to be rejected due to my disability, as had happened so many times before. Instead, I heard, “I don’t see why being in a wheelchair would impact your ability to deliver good nursing care in the slightest…plus, you’re the perfect height to catch!” I was stunned, to say the least. I kept thinking, “They made a mistake,” and, “Maybe I misheard them.” So much so that I barely told anyone until I had my orientation schedule in hand. But it was real, and I didn’t mishear a thing. In the weeks following, I began working as the first bedside nurse in a wheelchair in the history of my hospital.
During my time on 12 South Mother/Baby, I worked my way up the ranks to charge nurse and a preceptor, training new hires and new nurses to the unit. I cared for hundreds of new moms and their babies during the course of my time in that unit. (12 South Mother/Baby- Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Roanoke, VA) That unit taught me not only what it meant to be a nurse but also reminded me of why I started this journey all those years ago when I signed up for that EMT class to spite my mother. I will never forget the patients and staff I met during my time there.
Now it is August 2022, and my partner, and I have recently relocated to sunny San Diego, California. It was a move we’d been planning long before I started on 12 South in order to be closer to her team with The Challenged Athletes Foundation and for me to be closer to the medical care my body requires. I am SO looking forward to starting my nursing journey on the west coast and seeing where this chapter of my journey takes me. I am so thankful for anyone and everyone who has reached out and let me know how much hearing my story or working with me changed their lives. The outpouring of love and support has been incredible from both my east and west coast communities. I’m still job hunting, and it’s not easy, but every single rejection I receive just reminds me that there is still education to do when it comes to employing healthcare workers with disabilities. Luckily for them, I’m just the nurse-on-wheels for the job!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Lack of education regarding employing healthcare workers with disabilities. Lack of education regarding disability as a whole. People were afraid to give me a chance- they’d never seen a healthcare worker on wheels; it couldn’t be a good idea.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a registered nurse with experience in the fields of emergency medicine, case management, postpartum, and nursery care. I have worked in healthcare for almost 15 years in varying roles. I run a social media-based platform called “Chronically,” where I share my story/journey with a disability as well as advocate for others within the disability community. It has amassed a following of nearly 30K followers between Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter as well as another 15K on my LinkedIn page as well. My story has been shared in Forbes Magazine (twice), Scrubs Mag, Frission Magazine, Women’s Day, and Teen Vogue to name a few. I was the reigning Ms. Wheelchair Virginia 2020 and 2021 and even won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ms. Wheelchair America board for my contributions to and impact on the disability community through my continued advocacy work. Last fall, I was selected as the keynote speaker for the National Institute of Health’s Disability Employment Celebration. I have had so many incredible experiences through my advocacy work, and I cannot wait to continue that work in my new home of San Diego.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
My favorite childhood memory was probably starring as Sandy in my high school production of Grease.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chronically_ry/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chronicallyry
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/chronically_ry
Image Credits
Ryen Reed
Kayla Davis
Rick Myers
