Versailles Resident Graduates From WSU In His Home in Versailles

Pictured with Brian Voisard, are, left to right, WSU Professor Melissa Gruys, WSU Instructor Sherri Herrick, Professor and chairman of the Department of Management and International Business, Bud Baker, and forefront, Joanne Li, Dean of the Raj Soin College of Business at WSU.

From his hospital bed in his Versailles home, twenty-two year old Brian Voisard can focus on a significant achievement in his young life. Brian, who has Muscular Dystrophy, was hospitalized before his graduation in April from Wright State University’s Raj Soin College of Business. Recently, WSU officials traveled to Versailles and presented him with his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business. The framed diploma hangs in his bedroom where he can look at it from his bed.

“He was smiling the whole time and was really happy,” said his mother Jackie. “I am so proud of him. He has accomplished a lot. It was great to see him get his degree.” Brian, who has been in a wheel chair since he was nine years old, is a State of the Heart Hospice patient. The nonprofit agency cares for patients and families in eastern Indiana and western Ohio who are confronting a life limiting illness.

Even though Brian’s family was told years ago that his life expectancy would be about 19 years of age, he defied the odds, his mother said, and he lived an active life up until his health deteriorated this past December. Muscular dystrophy is a genetic disease characterized by progressive weakness and degeneration of the skeletal or voluntary muscles which control movement. Unable to swallow, he was losing weight and needed more care. In March, he was placed on a ventilator and had a tracheotomy. The last time he spoke with his parents was March 18.


With help from State of the Heart Hospice caregivers and his family, he is able to remain at home. Since under hospice care, he has looked forward to his visits from State of the Heart Music Therapist Amy Pearson. He likes music, Pearson said, and he had played drums when in the Versailles High School band. “He likes music from the 60’s, and songs which brought back special memories. I could tell when he was enjoying something in particular by the way he rolled his eyes and smiled,” she said.

The “special” graduation day for Brian was Friday, May 10 in his small bedroom. State of the Heart staff brought a cake which said “Congratulations Brian,” and Pearson had prepared two tapes to be played: Pomp and Circumstance and ‘Celebrate Good Times.’ His hospice friends, close family members and WSU officials gathered round his bed for the presentation of his diploma. After the guests left, Brian and his family played cards, his mother explained. “It definitely was a good day for him,” she said.

Brian led an active life and was involved in many activities, his father Rick explained. He maintained high grades in school and was in the National Honor Society. He was a reader at St. Dennis Catholic Church in Versailles, and the church built a ramp for his wheelchair to go to the altar. There is currently a fund raising effort at the church to purchase a better generator for the family in case of a power outage which would shut down the ventilator, Rick said.

Rick himself has devoted time and energies to help the Muscular Dystrophy Association. He has taken old bicycles and repaired them. After they are fixed, he said, he sells them and donates the proceeds to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Over the years he has been doing this, he estimates the bike sales to generate between $400 to $600 a year. A sign supporting the Muscular Dystrophy Association is prominently placed on the family’s front lawn.

Reflecting on the special graduation for Brian, his mother said, “I know he is happy and grateful to Wright State for giving him his degree. It means a lot to him.”

For more information about State of the Heart Hospice, visit the agency web site at www.stateoftheheartcare.org . The agency has offices in Greenville, Coldwater and Portland.