Resident, 23, loses long battle with cystic fibrosis

Ryan Pultorak A young Moorpark resident has died after a long battle with cystic fibrosis, but his friends and family remain committed to fighting the devastating disease.

Ryan Pultorak, 23, died July 28 after his condition severely worsened over the last few months. Pultorak attended Arroyo West Elementary School, where his mother, Janet, has taught for nearly 20 years, as well as Chapparal Middle School and Moorpark High School.

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to lifethreatening lung infections, and obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food.

Stacey Kueny, a friend of Pultorak’s since third grade, described him as someone who lived his life to the fullest every day.

“Everybody just loved him,” said Kueny, who is the daughter of Moorpark City Manager Steve Kueny. “Everybody was friends with him and everybody knew him. He never let the disease get in the way of him living his life. He was very special.”

Kueny, along with other friends and family, organized a fundraiser at Cronies Sports Grill in Simi Valley Monday night. Management committed to donating 25 percent of the proceeds after 6 p.m. to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in memory of Pultorak. More than 100 people attended the event.

Two years ago, Pultorak underwent a double lung transplant, which functioned well for about a year.

Last year, his body began to reject one of the lungs, and six months ago, Pultorak’s condition worsened. Pultorak had been in and out of the intensive care unit since May, Kueny said.

Pultorak’s father, Steve, is a professor. The young man is also survived by his sister, Meghan Davey, who is married and has two children.

“Something great about his parents is that they really wanted him to have a normal childhood,” Kueny said. “He was allowed to do things like the rest of us, regardless of the fact that his lungs didn’t function. We went to amusement parks together and went on the D.C. trip in eighth grade. His parents never sheltered him. They let him live his life.”

Kueny said Pultorak was passionate about the stock market, politics and Apple computers. He could rebuild computers and radios. And although he was permitted to graduate early when he was 16 due to his disease, Pultorak took enrichment classes at Moorpark High School to continue learning and to keep in contact with friends.

“He came back our junior and senior years to take art classes and computer classes just to be with us,” Kueny said. “He was very, very intelligent and really witty.”

Friends are hoping that advances continue to be made in the fight against the disease Pultorak struggled with.

“Not a lot of people know about cystic fibrosis,” Kueny said. “I hope that people start looking into it. He didn’t talk about it, and you would never hear him complain about anything—not about being in pain, being sick. That’s the type of person he was.”

To make a donation in Pultorak’s memory, visit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s website at www.cff.org.