Ryan sent on a mission of mercy - He goes home, where father is dying of cancer
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The Green Bay Packers not only excused punter Jon Ryan from practice on Wednesday so that he could spend perhaps one last day with his dying father, but they also helped arrange his last-minute trip home to Canada.
Ryan and his girlfriend, Dani, flew on a private jet to Regina, Saskatchewan, on Tuesday, shortly after the Packers returned from Monday night's game in Seattle. He was to return to Green Bay late Wednesday night and is expected to be at practice today.
Ryan got to spend about 18 hours with his father, Bob, who was diagnosed with cancer in August. This fall, doctors determined the cancer was terminal.
Bob Ryan was given the option of having surgery to amputate both of his legs in an effort to stop the spread of the cancer, which had reached his lungs. Instead, he chose to stop treatments and go home to spend the time he had left with his family.
Jon Ryan was allowed to leave the Packers during the Oct. 15 bye week to spend time his father. Upon his return, he said he didn't know whether he would get to see his father alive again.
Friends in Canada helped arrange for a private plane to bring Bob Ryan to Lambeau Field to watch his son punt in the Packers' victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 29.
Bob Ryan's health has deteriorated over the last couple of weeks, and he might be in his final days.
"It's really classy that the team flew him home so he could see his dad again," Packers kicker Dave Rayner said.
"I'm pretty sure the team arranged it for him. That really shows me the organization's priorities are in place."
Rayner said he didn't know Ryan had made another trip home until he noticed he wasn't at the team meeting on Wednesday.
"It sounds like it's not going so well," Rayner said. "He's handling it really well. I can't even imagine what he's going through. I ask him every now and then how things are going, and he's been really strong."
Third-string quarterback Ingle Martin handled the punting duties at Wednesday's practice.
Last season at Furman University, Martin averaged 43.2 yards on 33 punts and was named to the Division I-AA all-America second team as a punter.
The Packers probably could use Martin in a game in an emergency situation.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy wouldn't get into details about Ryan's absence but said: "I think we'll be OK come Sunday."
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