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ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL Prosthetic testicle to remedy botched surgery after 20 years

SURGERY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Rya n sa id he’s cu r ious to k now if he ca n persona lize h is new gemstone, just to say he did. W h ile not pa r t of the t ypica l procedu re, Rya n rema ins fascinated with the possibilit y. “I f I could possibly get a testicle eng raved with my in itia ls or ra ised in the let ter ing somehow, that’s enough to convince me to get it,” Rya n sa id. “Just so I could tell people--li ke on M T V Cr ibs--that that’s what I spent money on.” Back in the day, Rya n’s fa m ily had the option to

sue the or igina l su rgeon for fault y su rger y, a nd at 13-yea rs- old, Rya n ag reed to go th rough with it. T he fa m ily ra n into a problem, though, when they found out h is su rgeon had died six yea rs pr ior. T he hospita l, ack nowledging the m ist a ke, covered the cost of the botched su rger y. T here’s a possibilit y the cost of the replacement could be covered, but that’s still up in the a i r, according to the fa m ily. Now, Rya n is in the begin n ing steps of measu rements a nd consult ation, so there a re

still a few deta ils to i ron out. Rya n’s mother, Kathy, a a registered nu rse, sa id the replacement procedu re is solely cosmetic. T he impla nt would be silicone, sim ila r to that of a breast impla nt. T hat aside, Rya n is completely hea lthy. “A ll h is mach iner y works,” she sa id. “L et’s put it that way.” People ca n su r vive, evidently, with on ly one testicle, just as people ca n su r vive with one lung, one k idney or ha lf a liver. Both testicles a re not needed for hor mona l pu r poses or

reproduction. “He’s a beautif ul, hea lthy guy a nd I’m ver y g ratef ul,” Kathy sa id. “I f there’s a ny message for young pa rents, [it’s that] young pa rents need to t r ust thei r gut a nd if they don’t get a good a nswer, they need to get a second opin ion.” Em ily Sides, a sculpting sophomore, has been f r iends with Rya n since f resh ma n yea r. She sa id she’s more tha n suppor tive of h is choice, whatever it ends up being. “I th in k he should ma ke the decision for h imself a nd see whatever would ma ke h im happier,” Sides sa id. “It would be the sa me th ing as if a woma n with breast ca ncer got breast impla nts to help her improve her self con f idence. I see it as the sa me th ing as a breast impla nt – I don’t th in k it’s wei rd.” Sides sa id she understa nds why Rya n would wa nt to have a ll h is eggs in one basket. “He doesn’t wa nt women to look at h im a nd say, ‘W hat is that?’ T h is would give h im the edge he needs for per for ma nce,” Sides sa id. “Now he doesn’t have to expla in a n insecu r it y.” Rya n, now g rowing into adulthood, sees a sense of mat u r it y with get ting h is ba lls back th rough the su rger y, wh ich will ta ke place sometime th is sum mer. “I’m ti red of it being h ila r ious when I’m na ked. It was f un ny in h igh school, but

Ryan Blakey enthusiastically mounts the equestrian statue outside the GAB. Matt Payne | Features Editor

now that I’m act ua lly t r ying to have sex with women, I’d prefer it to be just a n across the boa rd, a l r ight-with-no questions or com ments to be

made in pa r ticula r [about h is gen ita lia],” Rya n sa id. “I’ll be a rea l boy aga in, li ke Pinocch io.”

Ryan Blakey holds a pair of rocks in reflection of his soon-to-be future. Matt Payne | Features Editor

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