Day 30

This morning, Ryan had his doctor's appointment with the ENT doctor. The doctor did a very quick evaluation of Ryan's vocal chords. He determined that they aren't lining up properly. This is probably due to Ryan being intubated (breathing tube down his throat) various times over an extended period of time. The doctor said that vocal chord heal at a rate of 1 millimeter per week. So, they will heal in time.

There is also some abnormality in function on one side (probably the left). The doctor wanted to schedule a time in the near future to go to a different facility to do a more extensive test using a video-scope.

Following his doctor's appointment, Ryan had PT. He walked on the light gait for about 30 minutes. We then played a game of Zoom Ball (it's hard to explain). He had to play the game while standing. It involves a lot of movement in his upper body with both arms. He did really well maintaining his balance and using his left arm.

Today, in Ryan's computer therapy, he continued to work on a brief for his speech therapist. She wanted more information on how to greet people in the military and introduce them to others. Ryan is creating a slide show of information to help educate her on military rank and saluting.

Ryan had his weekly meeting with the psychologist. After this meeting, Ryan met with the same two military guys he met with last week. They, basically just sat around and told Navy stories. The main topic of conversation was their memories of boot camp.

This afternoon, a therapist helped Ryan draft an email requesting supplies/equipment for his upcoming camping trip.