After five weeks in Thailand to undergo surgery, Ryan Straschnitzki says he's happy to be home for Christmas.

Ryan and his father Tom flew to Thailand in early November and returned to Airdrie earlier this week.

An epidural stimulator was implanted into Ryan's spine and the 20-year-old has showed remarkable progress.

Tom posted several videos on Twitter of his son moving his legs, kicking a ball, and even taking some steps with the help of therapists.

"Every day was a big surprise on what he could do," Tom says about his son, who was paralyzed from the chest down in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash. "When he first kicked his leg there, it just brought me back to the day the boys walked on the bus, kind of flashed back to that. Didn't know they were actually going to make him walk a couple days after that. It's a start."

Ryan says his experience in Thailand was pretty great. 

"The doctors and facility was amazing," says Ryan. "I got treated with a lot of respect. I did a lot of physio and rehab and they did a really great job so I'm pretty grateful for that."

Ryan says the conversation started about potentially travelling to Thailand for the surgery last Spring. He says a lot of thought and research was put into it and he spoke with others who had the surgery.

Once it was decided, then came the planning and the fundraising.

"There were a lot of ups and downs," says Ryan. "Fundraising for this surgery, it isn't cheap so thanks to all the people who helped out. I wouldn't be where I am today without them."

Ryan says he wasn't sure what to expect following the surgery.

"They turned on the stimulator in my spine, it moved my leg and obviously it shocked me. I didn't necessarily feel it but it moved and I kind of had to work on that technique for the rest of the five weeks. It was tough work, usually pretty gassed after each day. A lot of work was put into it and just working on getting it better," Ryan says.

Ryan's mom Michelle says it was hard being far away from her son while he went through the surgery but that she was thrilled to see the updates.

"It was really exciting to see and I was blown away, I really was," says Michelle. "I had a few expectations but wasn't really sure what to expect. But to see how remarkable it was, it was crazy."

Michelle says changes need to be made to the health care system here.

"North America is far behind," Michelle says. "They need to kick start this now, not five years from now, not 10 years from now. Other people need these treatments and it shouldn't be so prohibitive here. Frankly, it's disgusting. Our Canadian system is not right."

The University of Alberta is conducting research involving mapping of the spinal cord. The concept is said to be similar to the procedure Ryan had done in Thailand.

"I think it's wonderful, I think it's long overdue, and I think they need to put a lot of support behind that. It's certainly what we need," says Michelle about the research.

Tom says it's about time Canada started working with other countries.

"It's BS what our health care system is," Tom says. "We hear of other countries trying to help and send information. That study with U of A, it's almost the exact same device. Thailand has reached out, why don't they all work together? Let's get positive and work together."

While Tom isn't optimistic that the health care system will change any time soon, he and Michelle don't plan to stay silent and say they will continue to lobby for change.

"This is a passion for me, as well as trucking industry changes that we need to have as well, I'm not going to stop. I'm going to keep pushing," says Michelle.

Looking back on 2019, Ryan says there were good times and bad but that he considers signing a contract with Adidas, making the Team Alberta sledge hockey team, and spending time in Kelowna with his teammates and other survivors of the crash highlights of his year.

Tom says moving back into their Airdrie home and watching Ryan get his license and picking out a car with him were big positives for the year as well.

Ryan says he's looking forward to spending Christmas with family and will continue to work hard in 2020. 

"Working hard and physio and sledge hockey as well," says Ryan. "I have a camp coming up at the end of December for Team Alberta so looking forward to that and getting back on the ice again. It's a whole other sport in itself but I'm enjoying the process."

Ryan says sledge hockey nationals take place at the end of May and is excited to compete against the other provinces for the championship.

Ryan and his parents expressed heartfelt thanks to the community of Airdrie and beyond for the support they have been shown, saying it's been phenomenal.

 

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