Miraculous Progress

We got to see Ryan today!!! 💜💜💜💜💜

I have some great videos, but I will have to post them tomorrow because I'm exhausted tonight.

Ryan has been working so hard! At this new facility the staff is so encouraging -- Ryan is flying through things! Today the girls and I arrived in the middle of his speech therapy session. Ryan felt frustrated because he was struggling with reading and spatial awareness tasks, but I was in awe of how much more he was able to do!!! The girls and I quietly watched and cheered him on in his tasks. The therapist had him reading samples of prescription labels and answering questions about doses and medication names. Then he asked Ryan to arrange pretend pills on a grid to show what day and time they should be taken, according to the label. Then the therapist had him read different abbreviations for states (MT, AZ, CA, etc.) and tell him which state they stood for. Ryan did great with that. Then he was asked to write some of the abbreviations on a map of the United States, and I was blown away that he was able to write legibly!!! (Later this evening his mom told me that just two days ago, Ryan was still unable to write!) He struggled with some of the abbreviations, writing them on the state below the one he intended them to go on -- those spatial challenges again -- but he still did great!

After speech therapy, it was time for physical therapy. Ryan was a rock star!!! He was sitting in a wheel chair, and he wheeled himself to the therapy room. His first task was climbing stairs -- something he hasn't attempted since his stroke -- and he climbed up and down 12 stairs!!! That's a whole flight! Next up, Ryan showed off his walking (which was the first time the girls and I had seen him walk in-person) -- he went over 260 feet with his walker without taking a break! Then he wheeled himself back to the therapy room and hopped on a bicycle and peddled for over 10 minutes at a hefty pace while keeping up a conversation with us! And his last task for physical therapy was a "game" that worked on his balance, and he did pretty good at that, too!

When physical therapy was over, it was lunch time. While waiting for food to be brought to the cafeteria, Ryan talked with us, and then he struck up a conversation with a fellow patient. I was struck again by Ryan's kindness and empathy as he listened to the other patient's experiences and offered encouragement to him.

Ryan fed himself his entire lunch -- another thing we hadn't seen him do! He said that it's still difficult, but he just kept at it! He also told us that they are having him dress himself, which is a bigger challenge for him. He gets frustrated because he can clearly remember himself getting dressed in the past, but when he tries to get dressed now he gets lost and can't figure out what to do next, even though he feels like it should be so easy.

Ryan couldn't get enough of snuggling with his girls today. We had a wonderful afternoon talking and laughing. His mental clarity has improved markedly from just over a week ago when we last saw him! Uncle Jon and Aunt Alla came to visit again, and we had a great time with them. God keeps sending us miracles, and we are so incredibly grateful! 💜💜💜