A hockey player paralyzed in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash says he is thrilled with the progress he’s made since receiving spinal surgery in Thailand a month ago.
Doctors implanted an epidural stimulator in Ryan Straschnitzki’s spine and one week later injected stem cells above and below the injury to try to reverse some of the damage.
The 20-year-old has just a week to go before returning home to Airdrie, Alta.
"It’s been progressively getting better and harder at the same time, which is good. They put me through a good sweat, doing a couple of laps around the buildings. It’s good work," Straschnitzki said in an interview from Bangkok with The Canadian Press.
One video of his rehab shows him straightening a leg. In another he is strapped into a harness as physiotherapists slowly help him walk with the use of a wheeled machine.
"I was at a loss for words. I was really shocked and excited at the same time. It kind of scared me a little bit, but again it was pretty exciting," Straschnitzki said.
"I don’t remember being that tall."
He said he felt all sorts of emotions when he took his first steps since climbing aboard the Broncos hockey bus on April 6, 2018.
"It gave me kind of a shock and brought back obviously a lot of memories … (including) all the sports activities I was involved in."
Straschnitzki was one of 13 players injured when an inexperienced truck driver blew through a stop sign and into the path of the Saskatchewan junior team’s bus. Sixteen others on the bus would die.
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