Airdrie’s Ryan Straschnitzki continues his road to recovery almost a year after he was paralyzed in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash.
The 19-year-old has not been able to sleep in his own bed since last April’s crash and renovations to make his family’s home wheelchair accessible are almost complete.
On Friday, Ryan and his family got to look at how far the project has come and meet the well-known Canadian contractor who has been quietly overseeing the project.
A family friend reached out to Mike Holmes two days after the crash knowing the Straschnitzki home would have to become wheelchair accessible for Ryan.
“TJ went right away and started emailing for help while we were dealing with Ryan and the next thing you know he says ‘I have Mike Holmes on board’. I was like really? Wow, “ says Ryan’s dad Tom Straschnitzki.
“To see everyone step up to the plate and want to help and want to make a difference; that's one of the reasons why I’m here; that's what we do,” says Holmes.
Ryan will have his own apartment in the basement which will be accessible by elevator and will give him back some independence.
“I love it. The elevator’s awesome. I haven’t been in the house for a while so it’s nice to be back sort of and hopefully in a few weeks we’ll be moved in,” says Ryan.
Ryan can’t wait to show off his apartment to his friends and maybe have some of them over to watch a few games.
“It's going to mean a lot, once we are all back in we're going to have less to worry about. Everything is going to be a lot better,” says Ryan.
“It’s a very positive day for the family and we’re very hopeful everything will be well,” says Ryan’s mom Michelle Straschnitzki.
The Straschnitzkis still can’t believe that the Mike Holmes team took the time to renovate their home and are prepared to pay that kindness forward when they can.
“We’re trying to take it all in stride. It’s wonderful he came out and wanted to oversee it and they are a wonderful group of people,” says Michelle.
“We don’t know how to thank everyone but in our own way we’ll pay it forward as we move on. One example is we had wheelchairs donated that Ryan doesn’t need. One was a $40,000.00 one so we donated that back to the vets so they have something.
The family has been living in a hotel for the past eight months and glad the end is near.
There have been a few setbacks along the way but the family is about four weeks from moving in and one of the first things they’ll do is have a celebration with their neighbours on their new deck.
