Ryan tackles long road to recovery
“I started a whole new life on the other side of the world and left my family and friends to be with Ryan and all this happened and it couldn’t have been a worst start even if we tried,” she said.
Almost a year on from the stroke and heart surgery Ryan is spending hours trying to get his speech back.
Ryan’s father Kenny Francis said his son had extra motivation because of Ms Holroyd.
“We were all running around to get his speech right for one particular reason,” he said.
“So he could propose to Emily and Emily didn’t know that and that was our goal with Ryan.”
Although Ryan is unable to communicate he is recovering and trying to get his life back to normal.
“Ryan works every day on his rehab and is so dedicated and determined to get better and does so much research on how he can get better,” Ms Holroyd said.
Ryan’s mother Minnie Francis said her son’s case was unique as doctors at Townsville Hospital had not treated anyone so young who had suffered a stroke.
Ryan attends speech therapy every day with Mrs Francis saying the hardest part about Ryan’s long road to recovery has been living in silence but he is fighting to recover.
“It’s been frustrating for Ryan because he has lost none of his intelligence and hasn’t been able to say what he needs to say,” she said.
“He lost 26 years of speech and in nine months he has done amazingly well and it shows that if you really try hard and put the effort in things can really make a difference for you.”
After all the family has been through, Ms Holroyd says they try to see the silver lining. “Ryan is lucky to have had a stroke at 26 and the fact that he has the rest of his life to recover,” she said.
At the time he was a healthy 26-year-old but when his aorta ruptured on October 3 last year Ryan’s life was hanging in the balance.
Although Ryan is unable to communicate he is recovering and trying to get his life back to normal by going to the gym.