Whitehall Boy Scout honored for heroics

A vacation to Ohiopyle hit a sour note for the Shaneman family this summer when dad Shane fell and broke his leg in several places.

But, there was not much to worry about — Ryan Shaneman, 14, an eighth-grader at J.E. Harrison Middle School, knew just what to do. After all, he’s a Boy Scout and had learned how to make a splint using sticks from the woods when getting his first aid merit badge.

Ryan remained calm through it all and led his family to safety.

“If I didn’t have Boy Scouts to help me learn that, then I probably wouldn’t have known what to do,” said Ryan of Whitehall.

In December, at the Court of Honor for Scout Troop 338, Ryan received The Medal of Merit presented by the National Court of Honor through the Boy Scouts of America for outstanding service in implementing scouting skills and ideals.

On Feb. 5, he was recognized by Whitehall Borough for his heroics.

“It feels good, but also it’s a little overwhelming because it doesn’t really seem like I did a lot,” said Ryan, who remains humble about the whole ordeal.

Ryan joined Boy Scouts just two years ago. He was interested in going camping and learning new skills, including public speaking. As a Life Scout member of Troop 338, Ryan never thought as he was learning first aid that he would have to put the skills to use to help preserve his dad’s life.

On their way home from a trip, the Shanemans stopped to go for a hike near Cucumber Falls. They were halfway between the falls and the river when dad Shane saw what he thought was the perfect picture. He stepped back to take the family portrait when a rock gave way. His leg became pinched between the rocks. He suffered a near compound fracture and broke both his tibia and fibula.

Ryan rushed to his dad’s side and immediately took charge of the situation.

“All that I remember is that after it happened, within a few seconds, he was like, ‘Don’t move! Stay there,’” Ryan’s dad said.

Ryan found sticks in the woods and made a splint to secure the leg.

While his stepmom, two older brothers and younger sister were in a bit of a shock, Ryan remained calm.

He and his older brothers helped carry their father for a quarter mile back to the car.

Ryan helped to lead them, even telling them which rocks to step on and the best way to carry their dad to safety.

“I used leadership by stepping up,” Ryan said.

If Ryan didn’t have those skills, Shane says the family likely would have had to go and get help and park rangers would have had to come and do an extraction.

Doctors at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital told Shane that his fibula bone was close to piercing through the skin. Shane was told the situation could have been much worse if the leg hadn’t been braced properly like it was.

That evening, Shane called park rangers to let them know the family had left a car behind and they would be back to pick it up.

“When I called, the one ranger said, ‘Why didn’t you call? We would have brought the fire department in, and if we needed a helicopter, we could have used a helicopter,’” Shane said.

“I said, ‘You know, my son is a Boy Scout.’ and he was like, ‘That’s pretty special for you guys to be able to handle that … normally this would be a major affair.’”

Shane contacted Whitehall Mayor James Nowalk to tell him about his son’s heroism.

While Whitehall Borough has awards for being a good neighbor and citizen of the year, there wasn’t an award to fit the courage Ryan exemplified in an emergency situation.

Nowalk, with the support of borough council, opted to create an award for situations like this, Ryan was the first recipient of the “extraordinary deeds award” in Whitehall Borough.

“When I reflected on the circumstances, I came to the conclusion that we should hold him up within the community and hold him up as a model for other young men and women to emulate,” Nowalk said.

The mayor said this is a great example of the benefits of Boy Scout and Girl Scouts. “This shows that by being a Boy Scout or being a Girl Scout, you learn how to respond in emergency situations and save a person’s life,” he said.

Shane couldn’t be more proud of his son, who he said has “the biggest heart.”

For Ryan, all of this was an important lesson: “Dads can get hurt, too,” he said.

He also learned teamwork and leadership and hopes his siblings learned from watching him “not to panic and that everything is going to turn out OK,” he said.

After all of that, Shane finally got the family picture he wanted.