As many of you know, last Saturday was Ryan's 30th birthday! Below is a picture from his birthday party at Trinity. We had a great day with pizza, presents, cake and Sadie! You can barely see her in the pic, but I promise that's her paw right above Ryan's head. Frank and Carol and several friends from out of town were able to attend. Ryan was genuinely thrilled to have everyone out there. He was laughing and smiling the whole time and kept making jokes about how he was still 29 and refused to be 30!
As an update on Ryan's progress, he continues to improve every day. While he did have a few leg cramps during our last visit, they have become much less frequent. He started a new medication for his muscle spasms several weeks ago. It has made a world of difference. He is not in nearly as much pain anymore. Therefore, his attention span is a lot longer and he is so much more comfortable. As Jim mentioned in his previous post, Ryan is 100% aware of who everyone is. He can name all of his friends and family. He is still not able to speak in long sentences, but can certainly carry on a conversation with a few words and clear facial expressions. He laughed a ton at his birthday party, which really filled the room with joy.
Ryan's brother and sister bought him a new mobilized wheel chair last month. I'm not a wheel chair expert, but this one is extraordinarily cool. It allows him to sit up and recline when he wants. It also enables him to get around more easily. He's still not permitted to roam around on his own quite yet... apparently, he bumped into a nurse one day. Knowing Ryan, he probably thought this was hilarious. However, I don't think the nurses found it quite as funny. With that said, he should be able to start cruising around on his own soon. The wheel chair also gives him a lot of upper back and neck support. In his previous chairs, he tended to lean a lot towards his left side and was mainly looking up and slightly crooked when he was out of his room, socializing. Now he is sitting more upright and able to see straight ahead as opposed to at an angle. According to Ryan's parents, this has given him much more confidence. We really think that Ryan sees the world in a whole new light and this a huge sign of progress in his eyes. He's also becoming a social butterfly at Trinity with his new wheels. He loves game nights and has made several friends. Every time someone passes him in the halls, we hear a "what's up Ryan?" He'll quickly respond with "Hey, what's sup!" I want to reiterate that Ryan is able to move his legs and will hopefully be able to walk on his own again with continued physical therapy. He is simply too weak to walk at this stage. We all know he will get there as soon as he can.
Ryan is going to remain at Trinity for the time being. He might be switching to a different facility in the New Orleans area in the next few weeks. We will certainly keep you updated if and when he does move. His parents are still spending the majority of their time in New Orleans. Ryan is so blessed to have such an amazing and loving family who is by his side at all times.
