Kyle Bryant - Shifting into High Gear: One Mans Grave Diagnosis and the Epic Bike Ride That Taught Him What Matters

Praise for
Shifting into High Gear

Striving to be our best possible self while living with medical challenges is something I know a lot about, and when I see that drive reflected in others, like Kyle Bryant, I cant help but cheer them on. Shifting into High Gear chronicles a true American hero who teaches us that even when the stakes are high or bad days are upon us, those of us given this mixed blessing of pain and purpose simply have no other choice but to keep moving forward. I consider this book a gift for those of us who empathize from our own health challenges as well as anyone interested in making the most of every moment of their lives. Ride on, Kyle!

Montel Williams

Kyles disease and the odyssey he undertakes are decidedly rare, but the power of Shifting into High Gear is in how it relates to the personal journey of each one of us. We see our doubts in Kyles doubts, our fears in his fears, and we see a road map for our own lives in his voyage across America. This book reminds us to take control of our reaction to the things beyond our control, of the importance of building a strong community, and that the failures in our journeys arent what define them. With each turn of his pedals, Kyle inspires, educates, and empowers.

Drew Dudley,
Author of This Is Day One: A Practical Guide
to Leadership That Matters

Powerful. Raw. Eye-opening. Humbling. Inspiring. Kyle is courageous, smart, witty at times, and honest in his words. He represents a journey that millions of advocates are on yet whose stories havent yet been heard. A must-read.

Nicole Boice,
Founder/CEO Global GenesAllies in RARE Disease

Kyle takes us here on the ride of his life and a ride for his life and so many others. His journey across this great country shows us all how to live without limitations. It launches Kyle into what is now his lifes work and passion. We are blessed to have Kyle and his team fighting for all people with rare diseases.

John F. Crowley,
Chairman and CEO Amicus Therapeutics

Kyles story is an inspiration, not just to rare disease patients, but to anyone struggling through adversity. While Friedreichs ataxia is a devastating disease, Kyle has shown that perseverance, along with support from family, friends, and the rare-disease community, can help to overcome any obstacle. People like Kyle are the reason we need to do more with the science we already have and bring life-saving treatments to millions of people suffering from rare diseases.

Emil D. Kakkis, M.D., Ph.D.,
Founder, EveryLife Foundation for Rare
Diseases, President/CEO, Ultragenyx

Kyle Bryant challenges us not only to aim high, dream big, and be of service to the world, but also to reconsider how we regard peopleourselves or otherswho have physical abilities that differ from the norm. When a remarkable individual chooses not to be a victim of his condition, but instead to show what is possible, he makes us all understand that we are capable of more than we believe. I am honored to have played a small part in Kyles story, and applaud him for paying it forward. Shifting into High Gear is truly an inspiration.

Roz Savage, Environmental Activist,
2010 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year,
First Woman to Row Solo Across the
Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans

Kyles remarkable story reflects the courage and determination that has enabled him to deal with his disease. He explores in particular the virtues of a strong rare disease community that brings patients and physicians together in a common cause. His story is a must read for anyone facing adversity.

Peter L. Saltonstall, President and CEO,
National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)

This book is a memoir which reflects the authors recollections of experiences over time. Some names and characteristics have been changed, some events have been compressed, and some dialogue has been recreated.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available through the Library of Congress

2019 Kyle Bryant

ISBN-13: 978-07573-2152-8 (Paperback)

ISBN-10: 07573-2152-6 (Paperback)

ISBN-13: 978-07573-2153-5 (ePub)

ISBN-10: 07573-2153-4 (ePub)

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

HCI, its logos, and marks are trademarks of Health Communications, Inc.

Publisher: Health Communications, Inc.

3201 S.W. 15th Street

Deerfield Beach, FL 334428190

Cover design by Kele Dobrinski

Front cover photo by VFC Inc.

Author photo by Rick Guidotti for Positive Exposure

TEAM FARA photo by Blake Andrews for SLOtography

Interior design and formatting by Lawna Patterson Oldfield

Prologue:
An Autobiography of Stitches

For the FA Community
with appreciation for our collective story

O n Monday, when I was seven, I caught my toe on a strand of barbed wire behind my grandmothers house in Oroville, California.

My cousins and I foraged along the creek with our nets, searching for anything living or crawling near the water crawdads, frogs, lizards, water bugs. We jumped rocks and scaled gullies. The scent of the hills intoxicated us, tall dry grass, miles of uninterrupted forest. Beyond the pine trees lay the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, which stretched for hundreds of miles.

Bears lived there.

A wild frontier created the backdrop to my world. The wilderness called me, and a visit to grandmas house always promised adventure.

This day, I tried to climb over a barbed wire fence to get back to the house. My balance was awkward, and my shoelace caught on a barb. I went headfirst into a rock. Hard.

Grandma came running when she heard us screaming.

My grandma, Gladys Lacativo, had superhuman strength. She reached over the fence and plucked me from the ground. We raced to the hospital. I watched the pine trees flash above the car, and wondered if Id get a day off from school.

DAMAGE: 10 STITCHES.

On Tuesday, when I was eleven, I tried to cut open a golf ball with a pocketknife. Its one of those stupid things you do when youre eleven.

That day, the summer sun warmed the canyons off Highway 49, a few miles from Grass Valley, California. My brother and I learned things on our quiet suburban street how to ride a bike, how to build friendships, how to torture ants with a magnifying glass. We lived in the Lake of the Pines housing development, which surrounded a small manmade lake. We learned to golf on a course cut into the nearby terrain.

I was sitting on the tailgate of my dads truck in our driveway when I spied a golf ball that had fallen out of someones bag.

As an official member of the Boy Scouts of America, I owned a standard issue Boy Scout pocketknife. It was a utilitarian tool, and I was the curious type. I thought, Lets see whats inside a golf ball.