Debby Ryan is well known to Disney Channel viewers from her roles in series including “The Suite Life on Deck” and “Jessie,” along with such movies as “16 Wishes” and “Radio Rebel.”
However, what those fans don’t know is that Ryan, 33, experienced a significant brain injury that led to a half-year of recovery and rehabilitation.
A ‘Life-Altering Brain Injury’
During a recent appearance on Mythical Kitchen’s “Last Meals,” Ryan discussed her lifelong struggle with migraine headaches, describing herself as a “migraine warrior” prone to becoming overwhelmed by her environment.
“Quite often the world is really loud,” she said, via People. “It’s really too bright, it’s too — there’s a lot going on.”
She continued by revealing that she’d suffered five concussions over the years, which had exacerbated her migraines.
While she didn’t offer many details, she said four of those concussions were the result of various “incidents,” while the most recent had been a “life-altering” injury brought about by “sustained shaking over a minute of time.”
Certain Things ‘Just Did Not Come Back’
“I had a pretty crazy life-altering brain injury a few years ago, and I was out of commission for like six months, and I went to this neurological rehab for like six months,” she revealed during her appearance on the show.
Desperate to recover her health, Ryan divulged that she underwent a “fringe science treatment” she hoped would help to get her “back online.”
However, she admitted that there were certain things that “just did not come back.”
In fact, she revealed that her brain injury can make her migraines so “hellish” that she’s unable to think clearly unless she closes her eyes and shuts out her surroundings.
Recalling her injury, Ryan explained that she felt as if it had left her an entirely different person, a “pre-incident Debby and post-incident Debby.”
Ultimately, she depended on the support of friends and family to help her through what was a long road to recovery — one that is still ongoing.
“I feel really fortunate that I have an amazing team of people around me who sort of reminded me who I am and was and also held a lot of space for that to change, potentially permanently, and love me through that,” she added.
A First-Time Mom
Late last year, Ryan and husband Josh Dun welcomed their first child., daughter Felix Winter Dun.
After the baby’s arrival, Ryan took to Instagram to share a heartfelt tribute to her firstborn.
“We sat under the full moon — the cold supermoon — reminiscing on our life as a family of two, and told the child I was harboring that we were ready to become three,” she wrote.
“By midday, Felix was born under christmas lights with snow outside our bedroom window, right into her father’s hands. Joshua was an incredible teammate, and somehow didn’t get pulled into the tub and drowned and is taking such good care of his girls on this side of things. I was fortified by an incredible birth team, and the strength and wisdom of some women who have supported me on this journey near and far,” Ryan continued.
“Her hair is made of silk and her breath smells like vanilla ice cream and every chirp, squeak and whimper is music and everytime I look away and look back, she’s gotten smaller somehow. I know too soon, I’ll look away and look back and she’ll be bigger and bigger still so for now I’d like to spend my days trapped under the immovable 8 pounds of Felix Winter Dun,” she added, concluding, “I’ve been a lot of things but her home, a grow light, a portal to bring a new soul into the world— these are my greatest honors. Welcome to earth lil moonbeam. Love you forever.”
