Bus crash victim a tower of strength
PARALYZED TEEN COMFORTS PEERS
Ryan Straschnitzki was texting his girlfriend when he heard the bus driver yell “Whoa!”
He looked up and saw a semitrailer cross in front of the Humboldt Broncos’ bus.
“I kind of blacked out and woke up ... my back was against the semi. I saw my teammates in front of me. My first instinct was to get up and try and help, but I couldn’t move my body.”
Straschnitzki, 19, broke his ribs and shoulder, punctured a lung and injured his spinal cord.
He was rushed to a Saskatoon hospital and was operated on the next day. But he is paralyzed from the chest down, he still cannot move his legs.
The collision April 6 between the junior hockey team’s bus and a tractor-trailer unit in rural Saskatchewan is being investigated. RCMP have only said the transport truck was in the intersection when the crash occurred.
The Broncos were on their way to a playoff game in Nipawin, Sask. The crash killed 16 people — including the coach and 10 players — and injured 13 others.
Five players remained in hospital in Saskatoon on Wednesday, while eight others have been released or transferred to other care centres.
Straschnitzki says he and his teammates text message each other every day as they all try to cope with their injuries and grief.
“You think about it and let out some emotion. I’m just trying to push through and get better for those guys that didn’t make it,” he said.
“If somebody needs someone to talk to, we’ll contact them. After all this ... we’ve gotten really closer.”
Straschnitzki, 19, sat in a wheelchair Wednesday as he spoke at Calgary’s Foothills hospital, where he is undergoing treatment and rehabilitation.
He has begun therapy and hopes one day to walk again. He can now sit up for an hour and half at a time and is waiting for his bones to heal so he can use his arms more and learn to live everyday life in a wheelchair.
“I just set my goals. If I have to get into a wheelchair today, I just sit a bit longer than I did yesterday,” he said in an interview with the CBC.
“If I have to sit on the bed and practise keeping my balance, I’m going to do it longer each day.”
He has spoken about playing sledge hockey for the Canadian Paralympic team, but has set his sights much higher.
“I’m just hoping one day I’ll get to that point where I’ll be able to walk again. Some people have said that I won’t be able to, but I kind of want to prove them wrong,” he said.
“If you’re negative, I don’t think anything can be done. If you’re positive, you can set those challenges for yourself.”
His parents said nothing would surprise them when it comes to Ryan and they’re hoping to get him home as soon as possible. The couple, who have three other children, say they plan to renovate to make their Airdrie home accessible.
His father suggested that Ryan’s recovery is very much like hockey.
“We just take it, like I tell Ryan, shift by shift. We’re still in the first period, the fourth shift in, so we’ve still got a full game to go. That’s how we take it,” Tom Straschnitzki said.
“We always were proud, but the help he gives everyone else — he is paying it forward.”
The couple are spending full days at the hospital. Michelle Straschnitzki said she’s having good and bad days.
“Moment to moment. That’s where I’m at. When you’re alone with your thoughts, that’s when I have a hard struggle,” she said.
“Being with people and Ryan and our friends and family, it’s easy to be strong then.”
The group of supporters behind the #StrazStrong initiative, which is raising money through customized hats dedicated to Straschnitzki and the Broncos, will also be hosting a benefit night at Genesis Place in Airdrie on June 16, featuring a silent auction of hockey and country music collectibles.
“It’s awesome to know that these people care. No words can describe the feeling,” said Straschnitzki.
WE’LL JUST TAKE IT, LIKE I TELL RYAN, SHIFT BY SHIFT.