Rambling about Ryder: Steps in the right direction....

Monday, July 11, 2011

Steps in the right direction....

Well today was a huge day for Ryder. We had our long awaited appointment at the Stan Cassidy Center for Rehabilitation in Fredericton. From the very start we were blown away with all the staff there. The therapists and doctors were amazing!! We had three solid hours with one on one (sometimes two on one) attention, all on Ryder. I feel we now have a better understanding on where he lies with his CP diagnosis. We also have a game plan for Ryder's treatment for the next little bit.

To start everything off he is definitely in need of a walker/gait trainer! They had one for him to give a test drive and he LOVED it! It was so fun to see him be able to just up and go wherever he wanted. He was beaming with excitement!! A very proud moment for his biggest fans!!

Hopefully he can get his own very soon! They were so impressed with his determination and how he just flew across the room like he does this all the time! So the walker is First on our list. Second he will have castings done in late September. Basically they will put both of his legs in casts just below his knee all the way to to bottom of his heel. They will angel his foot slightly to give better extension. After five days the casts will be removed and left off for a day, then new ones put on hopefully giving him his full proper extension. This processes may need to be done from time to time to insure his feet are able to come flat on the ground hopefully preventing surgery down the road. After the casts he will get braces for his legs (nothing like the one's Forest Gump wore) Tyler had to make sure of that.... Then around late November he will received Botox injections in probably both his arms and legs to help his stiff muscles to relax. This treatment is only temporary and may be done up to two times a year depending on Ryder's stiffness. He also had x-rays on his hips and knees today. We received a call from the Doctor just an hour after getting home saying they both looked great.

We are so excited and feel like the ball is finally rolling. We hated feeling like nothing was being done and we were just sitting and waiting with no clue what his future held. We still don't know exactly how everything will pan out but having a game plan and some goals make all the difference!

Just wanted to share one more video of the little guy. He's not walking here because he was so distracted by all the balls in the room! They were EVERYWHERE!!! It's cute! Man I love this kid!!!

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!