LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY
Bronco keeps up his spirits
There are moments Ryan Straschnitzki will always remember from that fateful day three weeks ago.
Texting his girlfriend when he heard a scream from the front of the bus. His back pressed up against a semi-truck after he flew out the window. That urge to get up and help his Humboldt Broncos teammates, only to realize he couldn’t move his body.
He says he tries not to think about those moments. But they’ll stay with him for years to come, driving him to one day achieve what may seem impossible right now.
“I’m hoping one day to get to that point where I can be able to walk again,” he said Wednesday at Foothills Hospital in Calgary, where he was transferred from Saskatchewan last week in time for his 19th birthday.
Straschnitzki was paralyzed from the chest down in the April 6 crash north of Tisdale, Sask., which killed 16.
He needed surgery to repair a broken back.
“Some people have said I won’t be able to but I kinda want to prove them wrong,” he said.
This was Straschnitzki’s first year playing for the Broncos. But he knew from the get-go it was a special group.
“We were so close as a team. We were resilient, we were humble,” he said. “Even in the playoffs, we had our ups and downs but at the same time we were all there for each other no matter what. Just our brotherhood, the coaching staff as well, the trainers, we were all a family.”
The 13 survivors of the Broncos bus crash have only grown tighter. Now spread out over multiple provinces, Straschnitzki said a team group chat remains active every day.
“Everyone’s gonna have their moments when they think about it and let out some emotion,” he said. “If somebody needs someone to talk to, we’ll contact them, we’ll talk to them. I think we’ll be closer than ever in the years to come.”
For him, those conversations have helped keep him upbeat as he begins a long path toward recovery.
Straschnitzki said his physiotherapy is getting better by the day. He can now sit up for an hour and a 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.
Eventually, he wants to get back involved in the game of hockey, whether that means coaching, scouting, or learning to play sledge hockey.
“For now I’m just trying to push through and get better for those guys that didn’t make it,” said the young defenceman. “Pain is temporary so that’s why I just keep in the back of my mind and I just say ‘you can get through this, you can do it.’ “
His dad Tom said it could be about four months before he’s back in their Airdrie home, which he and his wife Michelle are looking at modifying to make accessible.
But “you never know with this guy,” Tom said. “We just take it, like I tell Ryan, shift by shift.”
Michelle said the family is still living “moment to moment.”
“I think when you’re alone with your thoughts, that’s when I have the hardest struggle,” she said. “Being with people and Ryan and our friends and family, it’s easy to be strong then.”
That support — from countless hospital visitors to a vigil attended by hundreds in Airdrie — is what’s kept Ryan going too.
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.
While he may no longer be able to control the parts of his body that were once used for goal scoring and bodychecking, Straschnitzki vowed to keep his head held high.
“If you’re negative, I don’t think anything can be done,” said Straschnitzki. “If you’re positive, you can set those challenges for yourself. You can inspire people, you can just change people’s lives if you’re positive, even though circumstances may say otherwise.”