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It has been just over a year since Ryan Shazier was laying motionless on the Paul Brown Stadium turf on Monday Night Football, and in the moments after the spinal stabilization surgery, one word has constantly circulated around Shazier — privacy.
No one faulted Shazier, and his family, for keeping things private. After all, despite the concern for one of the fan favorites on the current team, no one in his situation would want all eyes on them as they work to regain the feeling in his lower extremities.
Little by little, Shazier would pull back the curtain of his rehabilitation:
- A photo of him standing alongside Ben Roethlisberger
- Walking across the stage at the 2018 NFL Draft
- Showing up, and walking, at the Steelers Training Camp
- Reportedly starting to jog
...and then he posted this video on his verified Instagram page:
This is awesome, @RyanShazier pic.twitter.com/ca1EgOLRE0
— ESPN (@espn) December 6, 2018
The weight isn’t important, but the act is what is mind-boggling. Shazier has been a ray of light to the Pittsburgh Steelers organization, and his never-say-die attitude has been a driving force for him defying the odds in his uphill journey.
Doctors gave Shazier a 20% chance of walking again after his stabilization surgery, and it took him less than a year to defy those odds. While the conversation continues to veer towards whether Shazier will suit up and play football again if he is able, but the talk shouldn’t focus around his ongoing improvement. At this point, no one knows what the future holds, but Shazier has done nothing but amaze as he proves a lot of people wrong.
Always SHALIEVE!!