They say it's a long road to recovery after a major accident, and for 17-year-old Ryan, he's faced the many winds and bends along the way with sheer strength and determination.
During a training session at an indoor cycling circuit in 2019, then 13-year-old Ryan had a major fall from his bike, leaving him unconscious.
Having suffered a catastrophic brain injury and several bone fractures, Ryan was urgently transferred from Canberra to Sydney by the Newborn & Paediatric Emergency Transport Service (NETS) NSW for specialty care.
He spent the next three weeks in the Children’s Intensive Care Unit (CICU) at Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick (SCH).
“It was a big waiting game to see how much of Ryan we got back,” said Ryan’s dad, Michael.
Once we has well enough to be transferred out of CICU, Ryan spent three weeks in the orthopaedic ward. It was a long 33 days until Ryan came out of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA), a stage of recovery after a traumatic brain injury which often involves a state of confusion and disorientation.
Fortunately, Ryan survived his accident, but it’s been a long road to recovery. He’s lost a significant amount of control over the left side of his body and about half his vision, along with psychological challenges resulting from his accident.
After coming out of PTA, Ryan underwent extensive rehabilitation, learning to walk again and adjust to his reduced vision. He was supported every step of the way by the Rehab2Kids team at SCH.
“Rehab2Kids has been the place we go to. They are the coordination team, they are glad to see us, and they know us. They have taken an active interest in Ryan’s care and recovery,” said Michael.
“The rehab team became a family. They became a personal team, and didn’t just care about my physical health and about my brain injury, but also about how I was doing in school, what I was planning to do and how I was planning to do it. They cared about my personal goals and they wanted to see me achieve what I wanted,” said Ryan.
Four years later, Ryan and Michael reflect on Ryan’s rehab journey and his bravery in overcoming his fears and getting back on his bike.