It has been five months since my last blog entry and that is really good news for Ryan. No blog entry means nothing new to report.
When the school year started back up for me two months ago, I was humbled by the number of people that were asking about Ryan and how he was doing. It felt really good to be able to tell everyone that there has been no change in his condition since I had last seen everyone in May. When you have a degenerative disease with no treatment or cure, every day that you can say there has been no change, is a win! We have prayed (and we know you have too) that Ryan's muscular dystrophy would progress slowly, and it seems to be doing just that.
Ryan is still walking, and if you didn't know about his disease you would still probably have no idea if you looked at him. He does have difficulty on stairs or any uneven ground. We recently installed extra hand rails on both staircases in our house so that Ryan can hold on to a railing on either side when he has to maneuver the stairs. We have adjusted our family routine in a way that keeps Ryan off the stairs as much as possible. Not because he CAN'T do it but because it takes away the risk of falling and really hurting himself. With our master bedroom now moved to the main floor of our house, Ryan can use the stairs as much or as little as he feels comfortable.
Ryan's doctors are also very pleased that the progress of the disease seems to have slowed. Because there is nothing they can do for him to help with the disease, we only need to check in with his doctors at The National Institute of Health and at Penn once a year unless something changes. It gives us that freedom again to live our lives and not feel like Ryan's doctor's visits and hospital stays are taking over.
We are feeling very blessed. We know that God is in control of our lives and it is only through Him that we can truly live. We will continue to take one day at a time and be thankful for every day that Ryan can stand tall. Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and love!
