Moved to Touro!

Ryan was moved to Touro today to begin rehab! For those of you in New Orleans or planning to visit soon, he is on the 6th floor of the rehabilitation center - section M, room 627. He will be working with physical, cognitive, occupational and speech therapists. The therapists will be working with him for most of the day with friends and family visiting hours from 4:30 to 8:30pm. Touro is a very good rehab facility with a great reputation. We are all very encouraged and excited about this move.

The nurses at Touro take a different approach on medications as they want him to be awake/alert as much as possible. They have told us that they will only give him medications if absolutely necessary. He was only on anti-itch meds this evening and was very alert. He was smiling and laughing a bit during our visit tonight. With the new valve inserted in his throat, he is able to speak a little. He can only say a word or two with the tracheotomy, but you can tell that he is trying to say more and would say more if he could. We asked him tonight if he recognized us and he would say yes, nod his head and give a facial expression as if he was thinking "of course I do."

This is a big step in his recovery process. Please continue to keep Ryan in your thoughts and prayers. Also, please make an effort to come visit him at Touro if you're in New Orleans. He has made a lot of progress and needs the support of his friends to give him comfort during his recovery.