About Us

From Paralysis to building The Summit

Recovery from paralysis!
In 2003 Ryan Doughty was in a terrible gym accident that left his neck broken and his body paralyzed. Determined to avoid a dangerous surgical procedure, Ryan went against the advice of his surgeons. Instead he lay completely flat, with a sand bag placed on each side of his head to prevent movement, and allowed his neck to heal naturally. He lay perfectly still for the next three months hoping that his nerves would heal. Like in a movie, after months, Ryan slowly learnt to walk again and it was through this extraordinary experience that Ryan discovered his deepest purpose and passion, to help others feel truly alive, connected and supported.

Sold everything!
After his recovery, Ryan and his wife Mel, decided to sell everything they had so they could purchase an outdoor property and build their new dream - A place that legitimately changed lives and showed people what they were really capable of.  In mid 2008 they did just that, found a property, renovated it and then moved their family to start their new life at The Summit.

Through a coincidental conversation Ryan heard of Mark Dobson. Mark had spent 6 years at Interlocken in the USA, which is considered the birthplace and world leader in experiential education. He had also been a founding member of New York City’s first University for gifted teenagers, founded the teen esteem program, Camp Aspire, and had written several related books. Ryan pitched the idea of The Summit to Mark and he had seen camps around the world for 16 years, he was left speechless at what Ryan had already created and the educational possibilities.

A team thats more like family.
The Summit is supported by many extraordinary people who have been working together to build the most remarkable programs available. In a beautiful environment, everyone is given the opportunity to discover what they are really capable of. We hope that one day you will be able to enjoy a Summit experience too.

Below is a full account of Ryan story as written by Sam Charlton

Ryan Doughty is not very tall, he possesses an average muscle density, he has sandy blonde-brown hair and brown eyes. His skin is olive but that could be an illusion due to the dirt spread on his arms and face. Ryan normally has a ripped, stretched t-shirt on and paint stained tracksuit pants. He does not sound very glamorous but the person and the life he holds now is more than he imagined for himself seven years ago.

Ryan used to be a very different man. He wore a suit to work everyday. The drastic change of aspirations and lifestyle came about with a near death gymnasium accident. Ryan was forced to rethink his direction and remind himself what was important to him.

Ryan was born March 4,1979. His dad Gary describes young Ryan as being a very adventurous individual. He loved going out with Gary to do exciting things, in particular skateboarding and roller-skating. Ryan’s mum, Cathy describes little Ryan as very lovable and cuddly. However, Cathy admits that Ryan was “very good at keeping information from us.” If he was getting into trouble Gary and Cathy never knew about it. When Ryan was in year 10 at school, he met his future wife, Mel. “One day we are going to get married”, Mel said to Ryan at the tender age of 15.

At eighteen, when Ryan finished high school it was clear to him that he wanted to help people. He went on to study Chinese Medicine, which entitled him to become an acupuncturist. When Ryan finished his degree, instead of following the qualification he obtained, he became caught up in property development. Ryan was running his own business, building houses, finding land and sub-dividing. He was “very, very business driven” and was “totally goal orientated and materialistic”.

Ryan became entangled and engulfed in the high life. He was striving to retire by the time he was thirty-five, have a big house on the water and drive an expensive car. He was convinced he would not be happy until he had all those things. Having kids was going to be a problem, they were going to get in the way. He put kids in the diary for when he was at least thirty-two years old.

Ten years ago, Ryan’s two main priorities were money and image, followed shortly by family. Image was so important, he was training flat out, he went to the gym everyday. Ryan was 10-15 kilograms heavier and was eating a predominantly protein diet.

June 10, 2003 was a truly significant date for Ryan, his family and everyone that cared for him. At the time of his accident Ryan was training at the gym as usual in his money, image driven life. He was using the Smith Machine. The Smith Machine is a common piece of gym equipment. It contains a barbell, it runs on steel guides that can only move vertically up and down. Behind each runner are slots in which the barbell can be hooked into.

Ryan was performing 400 pound static shoulder press with his brother, Lachlan, spotting behind. He had just completed a set and he tried to hook the barbell into a holding slot. The barbell was not correctly hooked in and it came loose. Ryan put his hands back up to try and put it back on the hook, his brother was also trying to assist in replacing the barbell back in the slots. But, the weight Ryan was lifting it was just too heavy, it came out of his strong range. The weight came down and the barbell sat across the top of his head, and at this stage his arms were useless.

With every second, Ryan’s left ear began to get closer and closer to his left shoulder, until it was resting on his shoulder. Ryan then heard a snap and shortly after he fell to the gymnasium floor. Ryan couldn’t move, he was paralysed flat on the ground. He knew it was bad, Lachlan called an ambulance immediately.

Later, at the hospital, Ryan and his family were informed he had a posterior and anterior break of the vertebrae cervical seven (C7) body. ‘The cervical part of the spine consists of the first seven vertebrae from the base of the skull’. The cervical spine is highly mobile and allows movement in all directions.

The doctors informed Ryan and his family there may also be some irreversible nerve damage, he may not survive, let alone walk again. In medical eyes, the only possible treatment for this sort of break is Spinal Fusion.

‘Spinal Fusion is a surgical technique where one or more vertebrae are connected together’. However, motion will no longer exist between the fused sites. During the surgery bone grafts from the patients hip are placed around the spine. Heeling from Spinal Fusion takes several months.

There are many risks and complications that arise in relation to spinal fusion. Repeat surgery may be needed to fix further complications or reoccurrence. ‘The risks are pain in the bone graft (donor site), failure of fusion, blood clots, nerve or spinal cord injury, graft rejection, infection and excessive bleeding’.

Due to the severity of the break in Ryan’s neck, the risks were a high chance. The hospital repeatedly told Ryan and his family all the bad stuff that could go wrong because of the surgery. Ryan being the driven, stubborn person that he is did not want to hear it, and began to think there had to be another way. Ryan thought about people with broken arms and broken legs. They mobilise them, so why couldn’t he mobilise his neck and back?

He began to closely study all the factors and complications that would come with the surgery. Firstly the voice-box is so close to C7, so there was a high chance that Ryan may not talk again because they would have to cut through the throat to get to his spine. Ryan would loose potentially 30% of his neck movement because of the type of fusion. The doctors would have to cut bone out of Ryan’s hip to use for the fusion, which has a barrel of complications in itself, and the obvious risk that he would never walk again.

So Ryan “blatantly refused the surgery”. He chose immobilisation for 60 days, he decided to lay in a hospital bed, with sandbags either side of his neck, unable to move. Ryan’s family had to sign documents to excuse the hospital from any liability. With his extra time Ryan started soul searching. He came to conclude “Cars and houses don’t make you happy. That stuff would not mean anything if I didn’t have my family and friends.” His whole outlook on life changed. So much that Ryan told Mel that once he got out of the hospital he would really love to start a family, finally her years of frustration with Ryan not being ready were erased.

Four days later, like in a Disney movie, Ryan and Mel had a happily ever after moment. Mel found out she was already pregnant and Ryan was ecstatic. Mel devoted all her time to Ryan’s recovery. She quit her job and came and sat with Ryan everyday. She would get there at 9am and leave at 10pm. Ryan’s mum came in every second day, his dad came in all the time and lots of friends were always there. Mel described the whole experience as “totally bonding”, from feeding him, crushing his vitamins, reading to him and bathing him. She believes it deepened their relationship. Previously, Mel felt as if Ryan was her carer and it felt good to repay the favour.

The feeling in Ryan’s legs began to come back after about 4 or 5 days. With the great news of expectancy he put all his energy into getting better, despite the lack of support from the doctors. During his soul searching he felt there was a part of him that wanted to contribute and love, he was not driven to return to property development work.

Post hospital and rehabilitation, Ryan’s new identity started coming alive. He was convinced he was made to help people. He went to the local church to see if he could volunteer, or build something for them. They had a homeless shelter there, it fed about 50 people everyday, but they did not have anywhere to shower. Ryan converted a scummy old, run down toilet block into a new shower facility with all donated materials.

A few years later, Ryan was also running a health clinic at Langwarren. For a team building day, the clinic organised to go down to Delhunty (now The Summit) in Trafalgar. The Summit is equipped to run over 100 team building activities. It has flying foxes, mudpits, underground tunnels, Australia’s biggest swing and 30 metre high vertical rope activities. The park invests energy into people leaving emotionally stronger and ready to take on new challenges.

The team building day made such an impact on the group and Ryan as an individual. Later Ryan rung the owner and volunteered his time at the site and during programs. He organised to take both his and Mel’s family down there, whom are cultures apart. The camp brought out the best of the families. Ryan’s Father-in-Law told his son for the very first time that he was proud of him, among other beautiful moments. These moments inspired Ryan to purchase the park.

The Summit is now managed full time by Sarah Hume, whom loves her job! Ryan’s energy and enthusiasm was the first impression Sarah received. He seemed completely motivated to achieve his goals and if he did have any weaknesses she couldn’t see them. As a boss, Ryan is “driven, but caring and wants to hand on responsibility openly”. He always tries to include “play time” into his work days, and is constantly checking in to see if you are coping with work loads. He believes in his staff, which makes them want to work hard for him.

Sarah sees that family is Ryan’s number one priority, it’s a struggle to balance because of the great demands of the park. However, he tries to be home at 6.30pm for family hour every night. Under Ryan and Sarah’s supervision The Summit is just starting out. His extensive knowledge in money management and smart quality is priceless. This enables he does not jeopardise his family’s financial future. Sarah confesses it is  “honour to work with Ryan and an inspiration everyday.”

These days, Ryan experiences no pain from breaking his back and has 100% movement. However, because Ryan’s neck went so far to the left when the barbell fell on him he has permanent nerve damage to his right hand. Five of the nerves that lead to small muscles in the hand snapped. He lost the ability to open and close his fingers, stimulate opposing finger and thumb and there is severe muscle wastage. He still has use of all his tendons in his forearm, so he still has some of his strength.

When Ryan was first out of hospital he tried to fix all the parts of his hand with rehabilitation and visualisation. He was unsuccessful on trying to grow back the nerves, after two years he stopped trying. Now, the hand reminds him that he is not invincible, it keeps him grounded and he knows he will not go back to the person he was moving towards before the accident. The accident “helped him wake up and be a better person and see the bigger picture.” Ryan believes that The Summit is his real opportunity to create an amazing place and give back to the community.

Ryan and Mel have four children. His first-born child was a girl named Liv, 6. She was named Liv because of the symbolism that Ryan was so close to dying that she was the product of the hard time in hospital. Will, 4 he was named with the will to live in mind. Miles, 3 and Maximus is 11 months old. Ryan and Mel have another baby on the way.

Mel knows she would have had kids by now, but it would not have been so “wonderfully perfect.” The accident was “such a ‘sliding doors’ moment in their lives, I would say that due to Ryan’s inner core he would have made those changes at some stage in his life, obviously just not so suddenly.”

Ryan can honestly say that the accident was “the best thing that ever happened” to him. It has been awesome, and it has led him to create the most amazing family.