SEATTLE — Ryker Schellings has great memories of skateboarding. Just don’t ask him about what happened at Greenlake in April 2019.
”I’m not entirely sure where I hit my head,” said Schellings.
He wiped out at the skatepark and was not wearing a helmet. Doctors told his parents the then-19-year-old might not survive his fractured skull and traumatic brain injury.
But more than five years later, Schellings continues to recover. He lives on his own and works at a Seattle greeting card company.
”I’m just lucky to be alive. Walking, talking, smiling, and teaching,” said Schellings.
Schellings wants his mistake to serve as a warning for others.
Working with KING 5 News, the now 24-year-old, and his mother Rebecca Schellings, designed a business card with a QR code linking to news stories about his injury and subsequent recovery.
Earlier this month, Ryker Schellings and his mother passed out the cards at Greenlake to skaters, bicyclists, and rollerbladers.
”Wow! Looks like a shark took a bit out of his head,” said 10-year-old Finn Miller when he saw the photo of Ryker Schellings prior to his skull replacement surgery.
Miller said he always wears a helmet.
Rebecca Schellings told Miller her son did as well when he was 10.
”Just make sure you always keep it on. Even as you get older, maybe some of the older kids are like, ‘Ah, helmet wearing isn’t all that cool. It’s cool. It’s not cool to have a brain injury,” said Rebecca Schellings.
