Bryan Parslow transported to rehab in Baltimore

   It was never a question of if a Caledonia Ambulance crew could be assembled, it was who would have the opportunity to transport 18-year old Bryan Parslow of Caledonia to the Kennedy Krieger Institute for brain and spinal cord rehabilitation. Parslow, a freshman at SUNY Brockport, had been hospitalized at Strong Memorial Hospital for six weeks with serious spinal cord injuries after he fell from a second story window of an off campus residence. Caledonia Ambulance transported Parslow to Kennedy Krieger in Baltimore, Maryland on Tuesday, October 21. They left at around 10 AM and returned 15 hours later.

   Parslow’s mother, Beth, said Kennedy Krieger offers an innovative restorative rehabilitation program for her son. She said a medical transport from Rochester to Baltimore would have cost in the area of $5,000, had the Caledonia Ambulance not offered to make the drive.

   Caledonia Mayor Joe Caluorie received an inquiry about possible assistance from Caledonia Ambulance from Parslow’s grandmother. Caluorie contacted Genesee Valley Emergency Medical Services President Andy Klein with the request. Klein, who was in Boston, Massachusetts at the time, made all the necessary contacts back home to organize a crew and the transport.

   Caluorie said he is very impressed with Klein’s efforts to pull this off in three days while 400 miles away from Caledonia.

   "To say I am impressed with Andy and the volunteer crew is an understatement. Never have I witnessed a group of people pull together in such short notice to help out a resident of the Village of Caledonia," Caluorie commented. He remained at the Caledonia fire hall until the crew’s return at about 1 AM the following day.

   "Community service is what we’re about. I had to get the board’s approval and with that, I had no trouble getting a crew assembled," Klein said.

   EMS volunteers Patricia Perrin, Laura Wolcott and Gary Perkins participated in the transport.

   "When we brought him out of the hospital, that was the first time he’d been outside in six weeks. You should have seen the smile on his face when the fresh air hit him," Perrin remarked. "We padded him down so he was comfortable and spoiled him rotten the whole time."

   Parslow is undergoing acute rehabilitation two times a day, said his mother. He is out of bed, dressed and able to sit in a chair. His restorative therapy is expected to take 8 to 12 weeks. His family will stay with him in Baltimore and journal his progress online through the kink below.

Free haircuts at Classic Touch to benefit Bryan Parslow fund

   Mary Jo Logsdon, owner and stylist at Classic Touch Salon and Spa on State Street in Caledonia, offered free haircuts, chair massages and lots of food and refreshments all day Saturday, December 6 to raise money for the Bryan Parslow fund. Eighteen-year old Parslow, a 2008 Cal-Mum High School graduate, sustained serious spinal injuries last September after a fall from a second story window. He’s undergone rehabilitation at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland and recently returned home.

   Many customers took the opportunity to get a fresh style, take a break from the hustle and bustle with a complimentary massage and enjoy some delicious hors'deovres, all for a good cause. All donations benefited the Bryan Parslow fund to help with his rehabilitation and medical expenses.

   Customers came from as far away as Manhattan to support the cause.

Brockport PD arrest 7 in connection with alcohol party
involving Bryan Parslow injury

   The Brockport Police Department in conjunction with the SUNY Brockport Police Department, announce the arrest of seven people in connection with the Bryan Parslow investigation. On September 5, 2008, 18-year old Parslow, just days into his freshman year at SUNY Brockport, sustained serious spinal cord injuries when he fell from a second story window while attending an off-campus party.

   The three-month investigation showed that alcohol was being served and consumed in large volumes at the party and certainly may have been a factor in Parslow’s fall. According to the police investigation, people were charged to attend the party and that unlimited beer was available to anyone who attended. People were also allowed to bring additional beer in to the party.

   Parslow has been undergoing rehabilitation for his injuries at Kennedy Kreiger Institute for Brain and Spinal Cord Injury in Baltimore, Maryland. He does not recall the details of the night, including being in the bathroom or what caused him to fall from that second story window.

   "Parslow’s loss of memory plus the inability to obtain clear or honest recollections from others at the party has certainly hampered our investigation," police said.

   Police are continuing to investigate the exact details of what happened in the bathroom that night that caused Parslow to fall out of the window, said Sgt. Mark Cuzzupoli of the Brockport Police Department.

Parslow recovers from injuries with community support

   Family and friends of 18- year old Bryan Parslow, the SUNY Brockport freshman and 2008 Cal-Mum High School graduate who was injured in a fall from the second story window of an off-campus residence, continue to show their care and support in many ways. Parslow is recovering from his spinal injuries at Strong Memorial Hospital. In his online journal, Parslow says he is experiencing some movement in his legs and feet and is grateful for all the support that he has received.

   At the September 19 home football game at Caledonia against the Avon Braves, students carried donation jars and the Avon resident who won the fifty-fifty drawing, donated a portion of his winnings. Parslow’s friends who are players on the football team wear armbands to show support for their friend whom they shared the field with just last season.

   Students held a car wash last Saturday with the proceeds benefiting Parslow’s medical expenses. A powder puff football game fundraiser is scheduled for October 1 at Cal-Mum’s Hamilton Field sports complex. Lady Raiders will take to the gridiron while the cheerleading squad will feature the male Red Raiders. It should be lots of fun and all of the proceeds will go to the Bryan Parslow medical expense fund.

Taylor Binnert, Stacy Marlowe and Sarah Heine enjoy a warm fall Saturday
for the car wash fundraiser for Bryan Parslow.

   Bryan C. Parslow, 18, of Caledonia and a freshman at State University College at Brockport, was seriously injured in the early morning hours on September 5, 2008 when he fell from a second story window of an off-campus residence.  He was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester with serious injuries to his neck and back. Doctors had placed him in a medically induced coma.

   In a telephone interview from the hospital on Monday, the victim’s mother, Beth Parslow, said her son was out of the coma, was alert and able to converse with his family and friends.  Doctors planned to move him out of the intensive care unit on Tuesday.  She is thankful for all of the support coming from the community.

   "Bryan is awake today, breathing on his own and joking with his friends," she said.
Brockport Police are continuing their investigation, but so far report that Parslow was attending a party at 172 Main St. and hosted by an unsanctioned fraternity, Sigma Alpha Mu, Brockport students calling themselves the Sammys.  The fall happened at about 2 a.m.
According to police, the partygoers had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol and though Parslow’s blood alcohol content was not available, they say alcohol could have been a factor in the accident. Police do not know the details of how Parslow fell from the window but have interviewed others who were at the party.  Criminal charges are a strong possibility, Brockport Police report.

   Caledonia friends close to Parslow tell that they don’t believe for a minute that their friend accidentally fell from the window of the Brockport residence. They say Parslow, a burly 200-pound Red Raider athlete, is a calm person, not a risk taker.  They are anxious to find out exactly what happened to their friend that night that caused him to fall from the second story. Cal-Mum High School Senior Brian Sinclair, a life-long friend of Parslow’s, said friends and the entire community have been very supportive and many of his friends have gathered at the hospital to support Parslow and his family.  Sinclair says donations have been received that will be directed to the family to help with expenses related to Parslow’s hospital stay and recuperation.

   "We’ll do whatever we can to help him because that’s what he would do for us," Sinclair said.
Fellow Cal-Mum wrestler John Grann recalls Parslow was a leader to the younger wrestlers on the team, always supportive when a teammate lost a match. "He treated us like a captain would," Grann remarked.  

   The news has left many in the close-knit Cal-Mum community shaken up.  Parslow wrestled at the varsity level for two years. His coach, Chip Day, said Parslow was a hard worker. 
"In his senior year he really excelled on the mat, he turned the corner.  He was a good team leader," Day commented.

   In an article posted on cal-mum.com, sports writer Bob Blair said Parslow had earned the respect of fellow wrestlers with many more years experience by giving and leaving his all on the wrestling mat in every match.  Blair used two words to describe Parslow’s wrestling accomplishments, "heart and hard work."

    SUNY Brockport does not recognize the group calling itself the fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu and on the college website warns students and parents about this and other groups who do not operate under the college’s guidelines or consent.  The college has warned the groups to stop all activity but cannot control their off-campus activities.  The college issued the following statement in response to Parslow’s accident.

   "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Bryan, his family and his friends. The College remains in contact with the Brockport Police Department as that Department’s investigation into this tragic incident continues."