Ryan caused some more excitement this afternoon! :) He was clearly figuring out that he could move his mouth in different ways and started showing off for us, and for the speech therapist (who arrived just in time for Ryan's show). Ryan started by trying to make the "buh" sound with his lips. Then he started making the "tick-tock" sound by clicking his tongue inside of his mouth. He also made a popping sound with his lips. He went through a period of about a half hour where he was just trying to figure out what all he could do.
The speech therapist had done an assessment on Ryan on Tuesday, and because he wasn't responding at all, they did not schedule any speech therapy visits with him. Thankfully she had great timing today, so she did another assessment, and she was impressed with how much he has improved in such a short time! He was able to follow several of her commands (open his mouth wide, pucker his lips, and click his tongue). He still struggles sometimes, but his progress is very encouraging! And the speech therapist now thinks that speech therapy sessions will be beneficial for Ryan, so they will work on communication and swallowing, which will eventually (hopefully) lead to the removal of his trach!
Ryan's other exciting breakthrough today is that he can mouth along to the words to some of his favorite songs!!! It's comforting to know that he can still remember some things! 💜🎹🎸🎶🎼🎻🎵
Most of his days are spent either staring off into space, coughing, or "sleeping". But those moments when we see him fighting to come out fill our hearts with joy! 💙💚💙 There is evidence all around that God is in control.
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