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14 | THE REVIEW SEPT 2024 Ryan’s resilience and determination prove doctors wrong After a difficult start to life Ryan Nikoro is letting everyone know that Cerebral Palsy isn’t holding him back. By MELANIE LOUDEN Tracey Nikoro clearly remembers the day she and husband Junior told their youngest son about his journey into this world. It was a tough conversation prompted by Ryan’s curiosity about a television news item that mentioned abortion. Tracey and Junior explained what abortion was to Ryan, then aged 7, and what it could have meant for him based on a doctor’s suggestion. His words at the end of the conversation will always stick with the proud parents. “He had tears in his eyes, and he said, ‘thank you for born-ing me’,” Tracey says. Tracey says the Auckland couple found out at their first scan that they were pregnant with twins and concern was raised immediately because one of the babies was extremely small. During the pregnancy they were told that the smallest twin, Ryan, only had one functioning kidney and that there was a blockage, or deformity in the urethra. The kidney issues were most likely Above left to right: Ryan was in NICU for four weeks. Ryan, left, and his twin brother Tamati, were happy young toddlers.