Thanks to all the generous support Ryan received, he just finished a 3 week physical therapy intensive at NAPA Center in Austin, Texas! Mom, Dad and Ryan packed our bags and headed for Austin March 8th! Ryan’s cousin Emily lives in Austin and invited us to stay there for the entire duration of the intensive! What a blessing! We are so blessed Marc works remotely too and could continue with his projects and meetings in Austin! Bright and early the next morning, we arrived at NAPA Center and met Ryan’s wonderful team of therapists. Every day Ryan had one hour of occupational therapy with the goal of increasing the range of motion and overcoming high tone in his left arm/wrist/hand/fingers. Ryan’s OT used electrical stimulation, weight bearing exercises, stretching, taping and bracing, and a vibration plate during his sessions which over time increased the amount he could open his hand. After OT, we took Ryan to north Austin for hyperbaric oxygen treatment at ATX Hyperbarics. Ryan often napped during the hour in the chamber due to all the hard work he was putting into his therapies! After HBOT we returned to NAPA Center for 2 hours of physical therapy in the Neuro-suit (a suit with bands that provide resistance to further strengthen his muscles) and 1 hour in the Spider Cage (a metal cage where Ryan is suspended by a harness and bungees) working on balancing and strengthening skills that support his main goal of independent walking. He did sit-to-stands, moving from standing to arms on bench to kneeling and back up. He worked on independent steps with proper form and straightening his left leg all the way. Our social Ryan bonded with the most precious children at therapy and was like a big brother cheering on his “mat buddies” there. A highlight was watching Ryan kick a soccer ball back and forth with his mat neighbor 4 year old Spencer, her laughing and their sweet bond growing as they encouraged each other each day. He just had to give hugs and fist bumps and tons of smiles and cheers to his new buddies and we met the most special families there, all fighting for their children’s growth too! Ryan’s therapists were the best too, they adored Ryan and his sense of humor and collaborated every day on ways to help target Ryan’s needs. After long days in therapy and fighting traffic, we relaxed in the evenings. We went to dinner several times with Marc’s cousin Eva and her family, who also live in Austin. Emily offered to watch Ryan one night, so Marc and I could go to dinner alone- first date since our anniversary last April! Ryan’s older sister Lia came out to join us for 4 days and cheered her brother on in his therapies! We all did a boat tour to see the bats under bat bridge at Lady Bird Lake. We enjoyed the best vegan food in Austin, had a visit from Ryan’s Tia Leeanne and Nana who came up from Houston, went to a farmer’s market, spent time cooking with the cousins and went to church with cousin Eva’s family! The last outing before leaving was a Christian concert with cousin Emily, and cousin Eva’s family seeing Third Day and Zach Williams. Ryan loved it! We flew back home the next day after 3 weeks, 60 hours of intense physical therapy, and his NAPA Center graduation ceremony! At his graduation ceremony I cried as his therapists presented a Certificate of Excellence to Ryan which included the following words: 
March 9th-March 27th 
"RY RY crushed this intensive! He is demonstrating intentional effort and increased awareness while learning to apply new strategies to strengthen and extend his left wrist. He has made significant progress independently bringing his left wrist into a neutral position while building proximal upper extremity strength. Ryan is now transitioning to and from the floor with more independence using a bench, controlling left ankle movement with improved fluidity, and powering through his hill walks while literally carrying others on his back. He has independently conquered sit to stands from a low surface and stepping with increased stability, while showing off all his soccer skills! Ry has even been working hard on his skateboarding by improving his balance, weight shifting, and strength through lefty leg! Way to go! SQUAT KING - OUT… PEACE! "

Praise: We praise God for a successful 3 week intensive at NAPA Center! We praise God for keeping our other 3 children safe and cared for as we left the state to be with Ryan. We are so grateful God opened the door to even get into NAPA, for the financial support to pay for the intensive, for the location to be in Austin, for our niece to generously offer for us to stay with her, for all the wonderful experiences with family there and for Ryan’s continued progress and healing through this intensive! We praise God for our health, energy, and our ability to help Ryan take every opportunity to recover! We praise God for leading us and providing a way, helping us daily through our fears and grief, sustaining us as we trust in Him. 

Prayer: Please pray for Ryan’s brain to continue healing, giving him back his ability to walk, talk and use his hands fully. Please pray for the improvement and total restoration of Ryan’s cognitive abilities including his short-term memory and non-verbal visual reasoning (tied to mathematics and spatial awareness). We are praying for Ryan’s left wrist to open (as it’s at risk for permanent contracture.) We pray for the funds needed to continue his therapies and do the next NAPA intensive in 6 months as recommended. 

Progress: Ryan made all the progress noted above in his NAPA graduation certificate during his 3 week intensive! Yesterday he had his first physical therapy appointment since returning home and they did progress testing. His 6 minute walking (in a walker) test went from 960 feet last month to 1160 this month! He improved in his overall balance score and his therapists were so impressed with the growth he made at NAPA!! Ryan also started being able to go from laying on his back on the floor to rolling over, pushing up on his forearms, lifting each leg under him, pulling himself up to tall kneeling, walking on his knees to the edge of the couch, leaning on the couch, lifting each leg, pushing to stand and swiveling to sit on the couch!!! Incredible progress- he is finally able for the first time in 2 years to go from the ground to sitting on the couch all by himself!!! We really are witnessing miracles still and praising God for healing Ryan day by day!!! We are truly so grateful!

Thank you and God bless you, 

Hanna and Marc Hinze