Rambling about Ryder: A little better every day!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A little better every day!

Just wanted to do a quick post with some videos mainly for my family back home that doesn't get to see his progress first hand.

Just the other week I started working with Ryder trying to get him to crawl on all fours. At first I would work his feet while he moved his arms. He would only take a few strides then fall to the ground. We have been working on it everyday and now I think he actually prefers to be up on all fours! It seems everyday he goes a little further. He has even started to push all the way up into the crawling stance from laying flat on the floor! SO PROUD!! I took this video right before bed tonight, he was super sleepy after a long day and still managed to "wow" me :)

I also wanted to show a small clip of him sitting unsupported. He can only do this if he is concentrated on something and his legs are crossed but he still manages to stay upright for a LONG time (basically till he's bored and wants to move on). Sitting is a huge milestone for any child but in the CP world sitting is a HUGE deal! It is said that kids who have Cerebral Palsy and sit by the age of two are far more likely to walk than those who don't. I feel in my heart this kid WILL walk someday!!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Ryder's Story

Ryder and Wyatt are our identical twin boys that were born 12 weeks premature. They suffered from a "rare" disease called Twin to twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). TTTS affects 10-15% of identical multiples sharing a single placenta. Basically what happens is there are crossed vessels in the placenta forcing one baby to have way too much blood, nutrients & oxygen and the other not enough. Left untreated this heartbreaking disease has a astonishing mortality rate of 90%. Unfortunately I was not diagnosed until I had already gone into labor at 24 weeks gestation so not much could be done. Thankfully the doctors were able to stop my labor and we all made it to 28 weeks. The boys entered their nicu fight together but sadly on their 24 day of life we had to say our goodbyes to sweet Wyatt. Our hearts broke in a million pieces but somehow we picked up a few and continued our fight for Ryder. Ryder stayed in the nicu for 67 long days and was finally able to come home 2 weeks before their anticipated due date. It was a bittersweet day for many. We were told by every doctor that Ryder was just a "normal" baby and not to worry. I never felt right about this and knew there was something more to come. When he was 11 months old he was diagnosed with Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy. Our hearts broke once again and we were left to wonder what his future would hold. When we started this blog Ryder was 19 months old and still could not sit, crawl or walk unassisted. Since then he has made tremendous leaps but he still has a long way to go. He see's his physio therapist and occupational therapist twice a month and speech pathologist once a month. This is what our government will offer and we don't feel it's enough. He has so much determination and we know given the proper tools and therapy nothing will stop him. With your help we sent Ryder to Ability camp in January 2012 and there are many other treatments and alternative therapies we want to give him the opportunity to try. Thank you for supporting Ryder and following his journey!