“He is deaf. He will never hear”
“He is cortically blind. He will never see.”
Those were the early medical “truths” given to us when Ryan was born.
But when Ryan was only days old, Oren held him in his arms and said “you will show them”... I believed him.
And Ryan did too since he never stopped showing us and everyone around him what he could do... what predictions he would crush... what obstacles he would overcome...
Ryan was one of the youngest children to get a cochlear implant when he was 13 months old (they had just changed the age of implantation from 18 months to 12 months) and one of the few children with special needs to be implanted at that time in 2001. The “doctors” worried that kids “like Ryan” wouldn’t be a success... We fought for him and we won.
And while Ryan communicated with sign language, he learned to hear. Ryan LOVED hearing... casual conversation... his Nana’s voice, the dogs bark... his brothers laugh...his family saying “I love you”... and Ryan loved loved loved music.
Ryan LOVED music almost as much as he loved his brothers... and he certainly was Jakes biggest fan. And as far as his vision-Ryan was nowhere near “blind”, has a slight astigmatism and could see better than most of us (certainly better than me)!
We have the power to create our own truths... and the ability to shape what we are given...