While in Cincinnati, Ryan Shazier finally gets to say ‘thank you’

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals don’t have much of a friendly relationship. To be honest, when anyone is from Pittsburgh visits Cincinnati, you aren’t likely to hear the words ‘thank you’ uttered from their mouths.

Nonetheless, when Ryan Shazier traveled back to the city with the Steelers prior to their Week 6 matchup, he made it a point to visit the University of Cincinnati Medical Center (UCMC) to say thank you to all the doctors and nurses who helped care for him after his time spent there last December after his spinal injury during Monday Night Football.

To think it hasn’t even been a year since his injury, and the severity of the injury, Shazier even walking is a minor miracle. He has aspirations of playing the game again, and no one should tell him how to live his life — if football is even an option in the future.

Anyone who has studied any type of spinal chord injury knows how crucial the first hours and days are to an individual’s recovery. While Shazier still has a long road ahead of him, the fact he was able to walk into the hospital and thank those who cared for him is certainly a huge part of the healing process for No. 50.