Ryan’s physical condition, through hours-upon-hours of hard work each day, has his body in excellent shape. Sometimes I can’t help but admire it. He’s strong and toned. Such was the case this morning as I was hooking him up to the FES (Functional Electrical Stimulation) cycle. I noticed it many times before and kept telling myself that I should snap a photo to show you. After all, your kind donations made it possible.
I finally did that this morning. You might want to scroll your cursor over the picture to enlarge it.
Ryan works hard to keep his muscles in top condition.
I hope you can see it… how his arm muscles are defined. His legs and back are no different. His abdominal muscles are getting there. If you didn’t know it, there’s no evidence that he is so severely injured. Combine all that exercise with his nutrient-dense food and I bet he has less than five percent body fat. He is the picture of physical health. A specimen. I’m proud of both of us for the work we put in to reach this. His body is firm. His muscles are dense. Joints are flexible and skin,nails, and hair are pristine. He has come so far. There’s just something in him, and the most basic of level, that never quits. I can’t help but admire him.
If only I could find the way to make his brain this strong.
There is no way that anyone else in the world — ever — with this injury that is in better physical shape. He is three years removed from the attack and has improved beyond anyone’s expectations. If only you could have seen him early on when his muscles were always in spasm and his body was as stiff as a board. He moaned in pure agony all day, every day.
I simply wouldn’t accept that this is the way it was going to be. I didn’t believe the doctors. I had to step in and take charge of his rehabilitation. I remember the day it all started too. Ryan was “storming” (the mind and body in chaos) hard. Instead of trying to comfort him, I began working every joint in his body. The exact opposite of what I was told to do. My instincts kicked in and I trusted them. Three days later the storming episodes began subsiding. Eventually they went away entirely. I could feel him becoming more flexible, millimeter by millimeter, each week. I could measure his progress by watching his pulse as I worked him through the range-of-motion. I kid you not, his pulse would skyrocket above 150 beats per minute from something as simple as straightening a finger. Now, he doesn’t even flinch. It would take at least four hours each day to work every joint. Sweat would stream down my face and my clothes were drenched. I pushed him hard, taking him to the limits. It was so intense that Sue couldn’t watch. Still, it was the right thing to do.
We were both exhausted when done.
Ryan is truly the gold standard. He has broken new ground in all facets of therapy. There is no way this would have been possible without all the love and support from you. We should all be proud that important people and institutions are starting to notice. For us, it was worth the risk to thoughtfully venture into unchartered territory.
The results speak for themselves.
Ryan looks great…especially his arms. Good job Coach!
Ken, it is obvious in the videos that Ryan’s brain is healing and becoming stronger. I think over time that you will find more and better ways to communicate with him. I can see how how very much he wants to speak, and he will surprise us one of these days. See it — believe it! I truly believe that through our faith and prayers, he will reach this goal just as he has all the others. We must believe that this is God’s will.
I hope you don’t have to go out today. Pedro didn’t even want to go out and betcha Duke and Tucker didn’t either! At least we don’t have any snow, but the ground is frozen this morning. Brrr!
Always thinking of you. Love and prayers.
Ken and Ryan, Your are right! He looks amazing and is showing the world what TBI patients can do. How their bodys dont have to be contracted and how they shouldn’t have to live in the constant pain of tight muscles. I do admire you and wish we had the resources to do the exact thing for Courtney. But in the mean time we do what we can and we finally hired a personal trainer for her. It is helping her and her joints are looking a little better. I tell her all the time she is looking HOTT! Well guess what? Ryan is on fire!! Love Courtney and Becky
I think all that you have done is absolutely remarkable. I would love to read more about this compared to standard care. For many of us, Ryan is the only person we know with a TBI . Congratulations!
Ken ,Ryan looks fantastic ,thanks to all you and Sue have done. It’s absolutely
amazing. And like so many who say “Thanks”for letting us be a part of Ryan.s healing ,I say TY too
Love Gail
Hi Ken, count me as one who is in awe of what you and Ryan have accomplished together. You’re right, Ryan has come so very far — years of dedication, sacrifice and devotion are paying off. The medical profession, I’ve noticed, wants things done right now. Time is money, and if you need more than the allocated time to get better, you’re on your own. In this case, the blessing was and is that you have exactly the right background to handle the physical training. Thank God for that!! You were able to immediately implement your skills to the tremendous benefit of Ryan. Then you went even further — much further — examining clinical trials, working with doctors from numerous discliplines, reaching out for information, researching all things brain related, and taking a holistic approach to Ryan’s recovery – mind, body and soul.
You did this largely on your own. Thank God for the support of Team Diviney!!! Still, the time, effort, energy and physical sacrifices, these are all your own.
You have created the gold standard of care for someone who has been severely brain injured.
The fact that you and your family had to endure much anxiety, fear and suffering throughout this process tells me something is inherently wrong in how this condition is treated.
I don’t think it’s fair for the medical profession to sum up a person’s worth in dollar amounts, i.e., this one is worth saving but this one will take too much time.
How can things get better for people who, through no fault of their own, suffered a traumatic brain injury?
What can we do to make it better? It seems that many serious illnesses now have advocates who push for fundraising that contributes to research and improved treatments.
Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your lives and a part of Ryan’s incredible journey. Team Diviney is here and will continue to support your forward movement into innovations in TBI treatment and standard of care.
Sending my love and prayers, and fresh hope, which comes new every morning.
Paula
Yes, I am impressed!!!! Keep on keeping on Ken! Ryan your the “Man”
xoxoxooxxo
This is truly amazing. It’s not hard to believe that Ryan has come this far with your belief in him coupled with determination. My continued love and prayers are being sent your way. Love you Diviney family!
I admire you for your dedication and devotion in keeping Ryan physically fit for the future challenges he will face. My wish to Ryan for the New Year is that he continues to recover and becomes our miracle man.