Turning Personal Experience into Lasting Impact
Ryan Zimmerman, the former UVA baseball star, went on to play 17 seasons with the Washington Nationals, earning two All-Star selections and helping the team win the 2019 World Series. But long before his professional baseball career, multiple sclerosis (MS) became part of his family’s story.
MS is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system—consisting of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves—where the immune system mistakenly attacks the protective coating around nerve fibers. This can manifest in a number of ways—from balance and walking difficulties to extreme fatigue.
In 1995, when Ryan was 12, his mother, Cheryl Zimmerman, was diagnosed with MS after nearly a decade of unexplained symptoms. The diagnosis changed her life—and shaped Ryan and his younger brother, Shawn.
Today, Ryan and his wife, Heather, are channeling that experience into philanthropy through their ziMS Foundation, which supports MS research, treatment, and support programs. At UVA, that includes the creation of an endowment honoring Ryan’s mother: the Cheryl W. Zimmerman Multiple Sclerosis Research Endowment. Ryan and Heather’s support of UVA’s MS program stretches back to the start of Ryan’s career, and this endowment builds on that commitment.
Their goal is simple but ambitious: to help advance discoveries that lead to better treatments and, ultimately, a cure.
Staying Positive
Cheryl was a special education teacher and mother of two young boys when her symptoms first appeared. Tingling in her left hand eventually spread to the left side of her body. For years, doctors struggled to determine the cause. After the family moved from North Carolina to Virginia Beach in 1991, Cheryl continued teaching as her symptoms progressed. Doctors considered several possible diagnoses, including Lyme disease, before she was finally diagnosed with MS in 1995.
By then, Ryan was entering his teenage years.
“I remember my parents sitting my brother and me down and explaining what MS was and what the diagnosis meant,” Ryan recalls. “They said, ‘Here’s the deal. It could get worse, or it could stay the same.’”
His parents focused on what the family could control: staying positive, supporting one another, and making the most of their circumstances.
“They never let it stop us from playing sports, spending time with friends, or doing the things we wanted to do,” Ryan said. “Looking back, I’d say my parents made the best of a very difficult situation.”
As Cheryl’s condition progressed, Ryan and Shawn became independent at an early age. They helped around the house, cooked, did laundry, and took on responsibilities their peers did not necessarily have.
“I look at my mom’s condition as an influence on my development as a person,” Ryan said.
Eventually, Cheryl stopped teaching. Over the years, her MS continued to progress, leaving her dependent on caregivers for many aspects of daily life. About five years ago, she spent nearly six weeks in the intensive care unit with pneumonia and ultimately needed a tracheotomy. The experience underscored how fragile her health had become.
Today, though, Cheryl is stable, and life has found a new rhythm. Both Cheryl and her husband, Keith, a retired health club industry professional, love to spend time with family and still occasionally travel, and the family is grateful that she is doing well enough to continue, with the help of nurses and caregivers.
“We’re actually in a pretty good spot right now,” Ryan said.
A Legacy of Perspective
Ryan’s experience with his mother has shaped the way he thinks about philanthropy. Not only has his family supported UVA’s MS research program for years, but during his baseball career, he and Heather created opportunities for children whose parents were living with the disease. While playing for the Nationals, Ryan helped host an annual day at Nationals Park for children affected by a parent’s MS.
“I’d usually meet with them before the game and talk about helping their parents while also remembering to be kids,” he says. “It’s a difficult situation. Nobody wants to watch a parent struggle, but it’s important not to miss out on childhood.”
Those experiences stayed with him.
Now retired from full-time baseball, Ryan and Heather are entering a new chapter in their philanthropic work. They have resumed hosting events through the ziMS Foundation and are involving their own children.
Their eldest daughter, Mackenzie, is nearly the same age Ryan was when Cheryl was diagnosed.
“That’s actually part of why Heather and I have decided to become more active with the foundation,” Ryan says. “Mackenzie and Hayden are getting old enough to be involved.”
The family hopes their children will learn not only about philanthropy, but also about empathy, perspective, and helping others.
“I think philanthropy helps build character,” Ryan says. “It teaches empathy and perspective. It reminds kids that life isn’t always perfect. People go through difficult things. Families face challenges. I think it’s important for kids to understand that and learn how they can help.”
Working with and supporting UVA from the beginning, as the foundation grew, Ryan and Heather looked for ways to make their support as meaningful and effective as possible. It became critical for them to know where their donors’ dollars were going and see the impact of those gifts.
That led them to UVA at the very start.
With longstanding ties to UVA and the Charlottesville community, Ryan already had a personal connection to the University. Through their work with UVA Health, he and Heather came to understand the MS research taking place here and how their philanthropy could help advance it.
“It ended up being a perfect fit,” Ryan says. “We can tell our donors exactly where their money is going and exactly what it’s supporting.”
Transparency and efficiency are particularly important to the couple.
“My parents, especially my mom, always felt strongly that donor dollars should go toward the cause, not administrative expenses,” Ryan says.
At UVA, the family has been able to see that impact firsthand through their years of support. Researchers can explain what they are studying, what discoveries have been made, and how philanthropic support is helping move the work forward.
“For donors, that’s incredibly powerful,” Ryan says. “They can see exactly who benefited from their gift and what discoveries are being made.”
Investing in the Next Generation of Discovery
The family’s relationship with UVA has evolved from supporting clinical research to now investing in fundamental science: understanding why MS develops, how it progresses, and how new therapies might eventually change patients’ lives. The new research endowment, the Cheryl W. Zimmerman Multiple Sclerosis Research Endowment, helps in these efforts.
That work feels personal to Ryan.
“When my mom was diagnosed, there were very few options available,” he said. “Just thinking about how much has changed in the past 25 or 30 years is incredible. Someone diagnosed today is in a very different position than she was.”
For Ryan, supporting research has some parallels to athletics.
“As an athlete, I think of it almost like recruiting,” he says. “You’re helping attract talented doctors and researchers who want to come here and do important work.”
The endowment honoring Cheryl represents a long-term commitment to that work. By providing funding in perpetuity, it can help future generations of researchers pursue new questions and discoveries.
“Obviously, our contributions are just one piece of a much larger effort,” Ryan says. “But it’s rewarding to know we’re part of it.”
For Heather, the endowment also creates a lasting connection between their family, their children, and the researchers working to change the future of MS.
“This endowment will live on forever,” she said. “It will support research every year.”
For a family that has lived with MS for more than 30 years, the progress made since Cheryl’s diagnosis offers both perspective and hope.
Ryan knows no single gift will solve MS. But he also knows that discoveries are built over time—and that philanthropy can help create conditions for those discoveries to happen. He and Heather hope their children will become part of that effort, too.
For Ryan, the goal remains deeply personal: helping create a future in which families facing an MS diagnosis have more answers, more options, and more hope than his family did in 1995.
“I’m excited by the prospect of being a part of helping to find a cure for this unpredictable disease,” Ryan says. “I hope we can make a real impact in the life of my family as well as many others afflicted by MS.”