WE’LL JUST TAKE IT, LIKE I TELL RYAN, SHIFT BY SHIFT.

“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.