Gearing up for surgery

The past few months have been pretty darn good. Ryan continuously exceeds our expectations with his determination to accomplish goals. Since the last post in November, Ryan has been getting better and better at mobility. Just this past weekend, I found him at the top of our backyard play structure and I had to interrogate poor Lily to try get to the bottom of how he possibly could have climbed to the top. Well, I got it on tape yesterday, so here is the link:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osf0rs3COFM&feature=youtu.be

Just when things seems to be reaching an enjoyable point, we were emailed our surgery date. In this surgery, three things will happen. First, they will take out the plates and screws from the last surgery. Second, they will do a tendon release on the back of both of Ryan's knees to gain range (he is unable to straighten his legs completely due to contractures of the knee joint). Finally, they will insert a device called an eight-plate into the growth plates of both of his femurs, above the knee joint. This will slowly adjust for the rest of the range needed to get his legs straight. Here is a picture and a link to read more about it of you are interested.
http://eight-plate.com/patient_information.php



He will be in full leg casts for 4-6 weeks post-op and by July, we should be able to start our summer with this all behind us! Looking forward to that point!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today Ryan took over a hundred steps...in a row....without holding onto anything.... for the first time ever. Since his first solo steps October 1st, Ryan has been working on walking in therapy. As you saw in the last video on this blog, he was putting together a few in a row, but always collapsed from the momentum he picked up. So the focus in therapy was balancing and taking a few steps, then pausing, then resuming steps. Well, that hard work has paid off. We took a vacation to southern CA over Thanksgiving break and on Friday, we met with some of our AMC families. These same families were in the room when Ryan took his first steps in San Diego last month, so when we met up this time, Ryan showed how far he had come...which was about 10 steps or so. One of the dads said he thought it looked like Ryan could go farther than he was doing, and so the seed was planted. We had never tried to go more than a few steps, out of fear that Ryan would fall. But, today we tried. Ryan's first "long walk" was taking alap from the living room, through the foyer, into the kitchen, into the dining room and back to the living room (a small loop, if you aren't familiar with our house layout). The video posted here is the second try, which started at the edge of the living room and continued down our hallway into Lily's room. This truly was the happiest of Thanksgivings this year! xoxo K

One small step for man....

As a parent, I really can't express how hard Ryan has had to work to do things that you and I take for granted every day. Since his surgery last December, we have seen tremendous strides (no pun intended) in his progress. He has stood while holding on, he has stood alone, he has taken steps using arm crutches, he has slow danced with his Mommy and now he has taken steps with only the assistance of leg braces. The first time I witnessed this was at out good friend, Laelia's, "walking party" (she has also taken her firsts steps). Now, I've been told that Ryan might have taken a step or two prior to that day, October 1st just to be exact, but I feel that if Mommy isn't there to witness, then it didn't happen, right?
Anyway, here's the video. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have! Thanks for your love and support!
-K

Going for our first "official" walk outside

The CHEESE stands ALONE!

Oh the Places You'll Go...

This kid is going places.....without me, it seems. Enjoy this video, taken only 6 days after his first solo attempt.

Independence Day

Today marked a day we've worked very long and hard for. Yay Ryan. You are our super hero!