Harford Man Recovering From Brain-Eating Amoeba: Report

BEL AIR, MD — After a man nearly died from a brain-eating amoeba, a Bel Air business hosted a fundraiser over the weekend to support his recovery. Ryan Perry became paralyzed after inhaling water up his nose while jet-skiing on the Susquehanna River in May, according to the GoFundMe campaign set up to assist his family with medical bills.

The Main Street Tower donated 20 percent of its proceeds Oct. 27 to Perry during the Rock Out for Ryan fundraiser, which included live music from multiple bands and a silent auction.

"The amount of donations for the silent auction were so plentiful that we didn't have enough tables to present them," his sister, Jessica Perry, posted on the GoFundMe page.

Donations will help with the six-figure costs that have accumulated from hospitals and rehab in the months since he was admitted for medical treatment May 11, WJZ reported over the summer.

The water seemed dirty the day he was out on the Susquehanna, and he told the news station that it was clear on an MRI that something had attacked the frontal lobe of his brain. "I almost died," Perry told WJZ.

He was put in a medically induced coma at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center about a week after going to Upper Chesapeake, according to WMAR. Although he wondered whether he would be able to walk on his own two feet again, he told the TV station he recently heard from his neurologist that "she thinks I will make, if not a full recovery, [something] close to it."

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