For Ryan Goertzen, faith, family and work aren’t just priorities — they’re the pillars that shape his purpose, guide his choices and keep him grounded through life’s highs and lows.
Waking up the morning of August 12, 2024, with drop foot and a loss of balance, Ryan knew something was wrong.
“They ordered an MRI, and on September 19, we had a neurosurgeon in Dallas, Texas, give us the horrible news,” Ryan said. “It just so happened to be a deep cavernous angioma right in the center of my brain. And at the time, he said it was inoperable.”
Ryan was referred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and was scheduled to see the doctors on October 7th. But four days earlier, he experienced another brain bleed and suddenly had no movement on his right side. The second bleed created enough of a tunnel that the surgeons felt comfortable operating.
“It was really a miracle,” Ryan said. “We didn’t think surgery was an option.”
Two weeks later, Ryan came to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals’ specialized brain injury program, needing assistance with almost everything.
“I couldn’t walk,” Ryan said. “I couldn’t shower or dress myself.”
His wife, Jenny, agreed.
“You had no use of the right arm,” Jenny said. “And even at that point, speech was kind of a challenge.”
Ryan’s physician-led care team got to work quickly, challenging him with high-intensity gait training to strengthen his arms and legs and also get his heart rate up.
During occupational therapy, Ryan practiced real-life skills in Madonna’s Independence Square simulated grocery store while maneuvering a loaded shopping cart to increase difficulty.
Needing repetition and intensity, his physical therapist utilized body-weight support treadmill training to help him.
“Getting that right foot and right leg to activate how we want for walking was great for him,” Karen Eilers, PT, DPT, CBIS, a Madonna physical therapist, said. “He didn’t have to support his whole body weight, but he could have the stability. We challenged him with stepping over objects and turning directions and all those dynamic movements we do daily. He excelled at everything because he put 100 percent effort into it.”
Because of his strong work ethic, Ryan then transitioned to Madonna’s intense Rehabilitation Day Program. Then, he moved to traditional outpatient therapy. He traveled back to Madonna twice a week from his home in Henderson, Nebraska, for continued work on his arm strength, so he could return to work.
As the vice president of workforce development for an aftermarket aviation provider, Ryan connects with high schools and colleges all over the country to find mechanics for their repair stations. With the travel requirements, Ryan needed to build up his stamina and decrease muscle tension.
“Once we started managing the tone, we were doing a lot of weight bearing and stretching,” Virginia Schweitzer, COTA/L, a Madonna occupational therapy assistant, said. “He started getting more active movement and he wanted to keep moving. His activity tolerance definitely increased. He was back to work full time. He was doing his work visits, so that was pretty big.”
After eight months of hard work, Ryan completed his therapy, attributing his recovery to faith, the love of his family, and the care he received.
“Every single person at Madonna has just been so encouraging and so instrumental in ministering to him on his good days and bad,” Jenny said. “He’s always felt like he had a purpose and that God was going to use this for his benefit and for those around him.”