Meet Ryland
Ryland brings a smile to everyone he meets. Thanks to the expert care he continues to receive at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, Ryland will continue spreading joy to all.
At just five weeks old, something seemed wrong with Ryland. His parents took him to their pediatrician, who sent them to the Stollery, where he was diagnosed with hydrocephalus. The hydrocephalus caused a blockage in his brain and Ryland needed his first brain surgery. Ryland needs a shunt in his head to stay alive. Over the first two years of his life, his shunt kept failing, causing him and his family countless trips to the emergency room. During one of his shunt revision operations, Ryland experienced a brain bleed causing him left-sided weakness. The procedures have also led to scar tissue damage in his head, causing him to have three different types of seizures and a moderate case of cerebral palsy, that requires countless physiotherapy appointments.
While Ryland has experienced an increase in seizures over the past few years, he is resilient and won’t let that slow him down. He takes medication twice a day to control his seizures, and he’s followed closely by the Stollery’s neurology clinic, pediatric stroke clinic and brain injury clinic. Ryland is always happy to visit his friends at the Hospital and his family is grateful to have the Stollery right in their own backyard.