Thursday October 02, 2008

Ryan

Ryan
Since the Tigers don’t play this weekend and since the last few days have been such a downer on the blog, I decided to change the tone just for a day and give a little encouraging Ryan update. I will get back to normal blogging next week.

Ryan’s accident was four months ago today and I hope you don’t mind if I found it appropriate to give an update.

Ryan had another great day today. He is living in Charlotte with his mom and his care has been exceptional. He has a school teacher come to his house three days a week for a few hours each visit. They work on 11th grade material. In fact, Ryan is currently reading “The Crucible.” He normally likes this kind of book but he says this is not his favorite. They also work focus on math much of the time.

Ryan has a difficult time writing right now so some school work is more difficult than others. His mind is 100% though and he is doing well in school.

Three days a week Ryan goes to Carolina’s Medical Center for outpatient therapy. He has three one hour sessions concentrating on physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. Today was the end of his first four week run of each category and he was written new orders for further outpatient therapy. This is good news because it means he is progressing and the therapists judge him as excelling enough to warrant more therapy.

Perhaps his best improvement is in the physical therapy. Ryan can now get up from lying on the bed or sitting in chair or even lying on the floor. He moves himself to the edge of the bed by himself and stands all by himself.

Ryan has been balancing himself very well and has been able to stand in one place for as long as he wants. He progressed to 15 minutes of standing and now has progressed to walking. Until recently, Ryan’s walking was quick and out of control. He could take four or five quick steps before falling off balance but the steps were not normal. In the past ten days he has been focusing on controlled steps and balance within each step. Instead of Ryan thinking about five, six or seven steps, we have gone into a different mode. We tell Ryan that all walking is is a step with the right foot then a step with a left foot. When you can put those two steps together in a series then two steps becomes four, then six, then eight.

The best news on Ryan’s walking is that he now can take two controlled steps. He is fully balanced after a step with his right foot then gets his balance again after a step with the left foot. He has worked his way up to three and sometimes four controlled steps this week.

I am convinced Ryan will have a full recovery and this latest news with his walking is the best evidence so far in my opinion.

Also physical therapy has him balancing himself on his knees. This trunk balance is a big part of his overall recovery.

His occupational therapy includes time working with putty in order to help fine motor skills. Ryan can throw the football and basketball and catches both well also. He still has issues drinking out of a cup by himself. When he gets the cup close to his mouth he shakes enough to cause a few spills. His fine motor skills continue to improve though. Ryan can use the speed dial on his cell phone but is still working on dialing full telephone numbers.

Ryan’s speech therapy is another success. He is talking clearer and faster each day. It is obvious to me that he continues to make huge strides each day here.

The best aspect of Ryan’s recovery is his attitude. He wears you out with his desire to keep working hard every day. When he gets home from therapy he wants to do more. He wants to work on his walking over and over and over again.

When I last went to therapy with Ryan I learned even more about his injury. He suffered traumatic brain injury to his cerebellum. This part of the brain is often injured in automobile accidents. This type of injury in this part of the brain affects balance, speech and coordination. The good news is that victims show noticeable improvement up to a year. Many patients improve for longer periods but the drastic improvements are usually seen in the first year.

Because Ryan is young and because he has such a terrific attitude and a great support group around him, I am very encouraged. It has been only four months since the accident. Also your prayers and God’s grace gives us the ultimate hope.

Today is a great day for all of us. Dr. Hamp Bruner and his lovely wife Mrs. Bruner were kind enough to give Ryan a nine week old Jack Russell terrier today. Ryan’s sister Stefanie is taking to him tonight and I can’t wait to hear Ryan’s voice over the phone after he sees his new best friend. Ryan has wanted a dog for a long time and the Bruner’s generosity has made his wish come true. I have not met anyone that loves animals anymore than this young man.

Ryan continues to have this unbelievable sense of humor and this infectious personality.

He was hurt this past Saturday with the Clemson loss but he says we are still going to Wake Forest because he loves his Tigers.

Tomorrow we will have an e-mail bag blog and Monday we will get back into game week mode. Thanks for understanding the need to take a step away from the Clemson talk for a day. Thanks again for the prayers for Ryan. They mean wonders to our family.

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