‘What is their world like?’
Former Steelers player Ryan Shazier’s charity will support spinal cord injury patients and caregivers
During weeks of intensive rehab after a spinal cord injury left him temporarily paralyzed, former Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier noticed some fellow patients weren’t showing up for therapy as frequently as he was.
He started asking questions. “Why was someone there only once a week when I was getting rehab five times a week?” he inquired of therapists at the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute.
He’d chat up fellow patients, too. Their answers ranged from insurance plans that capped coverage for sessions to lack of a vehicle or support network to get them to appointments at the rehab institute at UPMC Mercy, Uptown.
Mr. Shazier suffered a spinal contusion in December 2017 during a Monday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
A first-round draft pick in 2014 who appeared in two Pro Bowls, he acknowledged that as an NFL player, he had insurance and plenty of resources to cover his treatment and rehab.
“I was truly blessed,” he said. “But I was seeing others not getting the same support as me, and I felt no matter what, financially and emotionally we all should have the same opportunities.”
Thus was born the Ryan Shazier Fund for Spinal Rehabilitation.
Launched in November, the philanthropy will provide grants, stipends and support to patients as well as their families and caregivers.
The fund has raised about $500,000 to date and has set an initial fundraising goal of $2.5 million.
“The first part is being able to build up proper reserves … and have assurance the money is there to fulfill a promise,” said Kate Dewey, a nonprofit expert and senior adviser at law firm Dentons Cohen & Grigsby who is serving as secretary of the fund’s board of directors.
Most spinal cord patients with insurance are eligible for 20 to 30 rehab sessions, said Caroline Boyce, the fund’s executive director.
Mr. Shazier, 28, completed 130 rehab sessions including in-patient therapy at UPMC Mercy and outpatient therapy at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side.
He continues to work out daily at 7 a.m. with his wife, Michelle, and with a therapist and trainer at his Fox Chapel home twice a week.
About 294,000 people in the U.S. are living with spinal cord injuries and about 17,810 new cases occur each year, according to 2020 data from the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The No. 1 cause is vehicular crashes, followed by falls, acts of violence including gunshot wounds, and sports or recreation.
The Shazier Fund has assembled a
group of spinal cord injury experts to help brainstorm on how best to distribute its funds and criteria for applications, said Ms. Boyce.
The first round of grants to spinal cord injury patients could be allocated later this year, she said, with grants for caregivers likely made in 2022.
The money could cover costs for rehab, referrals, counseling and other support.
“Every situation is different,” said Mr. Shazier. “Some families may be more in need of a meal, while others may need help understanding the situation that just changed their lives. It would be nice to have someone with experience try to make their road smoother.”
“Caregiving is not an easy task,” said Michelle Shazier, 28. “Having a support system around with people who understand what you’re dealing with on a day-to-day basis is huge.”
During her husband’s hospitalization and rehab, nurses and physical therapy staff frequently picked up meals for the family “and made us feel warm and comfortable,” she said.
Members of the Steelers organization — including teammates, coaches and staff — were an ongoing presence while fans, other NFL players “and friends I hadn’t talked to in years” reached out with messages on social media and prayers, she said.
“Support from people you don’t even know — like the soldiers who had lost legs and said they were praying for us —is a blessing on its own.”
She and her father-in-law, Vernon Shazier, acknowledged they bypassed some obstacles other families face when a loved one suffers a spinal cord injury.
Neither Michelle nor Mr. Shazier’s parents were at the game when he was injured, but the Steelers flew them to Cincinnati within hours.
“Our situation was so blessed, and this is not true for most people,” said Vernon Shazier, 50, a pastor in Fort Pierce, Fla., a former NFL team chaplain and a member of the Shazier Fund’s board.
He sought counseling after his son’s injury and has continued that along with an intense exercise regime to deal with depression.
“Caretaking is a heavy burden,” he said. “So much attention is focused on the patient who suffered the injury, but nobody does that time alone. Others attached to them may have to make whatever sacrifices are necessary.”
When he returned to preach at his Florida congregation, a friend helped the pastor pay for weekly flights back and forth to Pittsburgh.
During his son’s rehab at UPMC Mercy, he was bothered that many patients seemed to be struggling on their own without family or a support network.
“The pain we experienced was unbelievable, so I’m wondering, ‘If we’re hurting with all the support we’re getting, what is their world like?’ ”
After his son’s injury — which happened while making what Ryan Shazier remembers as a “routine tackle” — it wasn’t clear whether he would walk again.
Less than a year later, in April 2018, he walked across a stage hand in hand with Michelle, his then-fiancee, to announce the Steelers’ firstround draft pick.
“The pain we experienced was unbelievable so I’m wondering, ‘If we’re hurting with all the support we’re getting, what is their world like?’ ”
Ryan Shazier
A year later, a clip of the two dancing at their wedding went viral.
Mr. Shazier now walks — and jogs — unassisted.
“Ryan’s rehabilitation plan will be ongoing for the rest of his life,” said Dr. David Okonkwo, professor of neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh and director of the Neurotrauma Clinical TrialsCenter at UPMC.
A member of the Steelers’ medical staff, Dr. Okonkwo was on the sidelines the night Mr. Shazier was injured and two days later performed spinal stabilization surgery on him at UPMC Presbyterian.
“Ryan is now pivoting to trying to help as many people as possible in Western Pennsylvania and beyond gain access to the kind of care and resources that he received and that were so vital to his recovery,” said Dr. Okonkwo, who sits on the fund’s board.
Extending resources to families and caregivers was part of Mr. Shazier’s plan “to pay it forward,” he said.
The fund has a multipronged strategy for fundraising, said Ms. Boyce.
It’s already launched appeals via social media, and on Giving Tuesday — an online event held each November — it generated $100,000 in contributions.
It’s also seeking partnerships and funds from corporations and foundations.
Last month, the Steelers and their wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster donated $10,000.
Live fundraising events will be planned when the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, said Ms. Boyce.
“Ryan will go out and be a spokesman,” said Bill Kassling, chairman of the fund’s board. “He’ll walk into rooms and tell his story, and that will be an inspiration.”
Mr. Kassling, a former chairman and chief executive of North Shore-based Wabtec, met Mr. Shazier at a Penguins game when the two were seated in the same box.
That was before the injury brought an end to his playing career, but Mr. Shazier was already thinking beyond football, said Mr. Kassling, who became a mentor to the young football player.
When they met for lunch a few times to talk about business, “Ryan would bring a notebook,” said Mr. Kassling.
“Ryan has empathy,” he said. “It’s a very unusual thing for a fellow his age to have this kind of a vision and maturity.”
Since announcing his retirement from football in September, Mr. Shazier finished his degree in psychology from Ohio State University.
He’s a partner in a Sewickley fitness boutique and is considering other entrepreneurial ventures.
His spinal cord injury wasn’t his first bout with physical and emotional challenges.
Growing up in Florida, he was diagnosed with alopecia, an autoimmune condition that results in hair loss, which made him the target of bullying.
He’s writing a book that he said will be about “what it’s like to get over adversity.”
“Nobody expects this to happen,” he said of spinal cord injuries. “Some people are heartbroken and torn and not able to get the amount of rehab they need. I was blessed with the opportunity to get better.”