Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Plantation alum Shazier regains feeling in legs
Steeler’s progress after spinal surgery inspires team
Injured Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier, a former Plantation High standout, has regained feeling in his legs, his father said in an interview with a Pittsburgh television station.
Shazier is progressing in his rehabilitation from spinal stabilization surgery after severely injuring his back while making a tackle in a Dec. 4 game at Cincinnati.
“He’s making progress daily. He’s a long way from where he was on that Monday night,” Vernon Shazier told WPXI’s Lisa Sylvester.
Vernon Shazier recounted the phone call he received after his son had been taken to a Cincinnati hospital, unable to move his legs.
“He said, ‘Daddy, pray for me. I can’t feel my legs,’ ” Vernon Shazier said in the interview. “When your child is laying there in a situation like this, I was hoping and wishing I could switch positions with him.”
Ryan Shazier, who was subsequently selected to the Pro Bowl, has attended two Steelers games at Heinz Field since the injury and visited the team’s practice facility in a wheelchair.
His motto of “Shalieve” has become a rallying cry for the team and his own recovery.
Vernon Shazier said in the interview that he does think his son will play football again. “I Shalieve,” he said. Steve Davis, who coached Shazier at Plantation High and has been a close friend of Vernon Shazier since they played high school football for Boyd Anderson, recently told the Sun Sentinel that Ryan’s positive outlook has been inspirational for family and friends.
Vernon Shazier, a pastor at Mount Bethel Ministries in Fort Pierce, offered insight into the emotional strain of the past month, saying in the interview, “I haven’t slept but four times in 25 days.”
He didn’t offer specifics about Ryan’s conditions beyond saying, “He’s much better, but we’ve agreed to keep his progress private until he’s ready to share where he’s at.”