A hockey player paralyzed in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash says it feels good to be home after spending five weeks in Thailand, where he underwent spinal surgery.

B次元官网网址淚t feels good. I mean I felt that cold, cold wind hit my legs, so IB次元官网网址檓 feeling good. ItB次元官网网址檚 good to be back,B次元官网网址� Ryan Straschnitzki said Sunday night as he wheeled himself into the Calgary airport.

The 20-year-old from Airdrie, Alta., who is paralyzed from the chest down, had an epidural stimulator implanted in his spine while he was in Bangkok. A week later, doctors also injected stem cells above and below his spinal injury to try to reverse some of the damage.

B次元官网网址s posted by Straschnitzki and his father in Thailand show him straightening a leg. In another, Straschnitzki kicks a ball.

In another clip, while heB次元官网网址檚 strapped into a harness, physiotherapists slowly help him walk with a wheeled machine.

B次元官网网址淚t was incredible. I mean the last time I walked beside my dad was before the accident and before I moved away,B次元官网网址� said Straschnitzki. B次元官网网址淪o doing that again and just seeing the look in his eyes is motivating to me.B次元官网网址�

Straschnitzki was one of 13 players injured when a semi truck blew through a stop sign and into the path of his junior hockey teamB次元官网网址檚 bus at a rural intersection in Saskatchewan in April 2018.

Sixteen others on the bus were killed.

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Tom Straschnitzki said heB次元官网网址檚 not an emotional guy, but watching the progress his son made in Thailand has given him hope.

B次元官网网址淲hen I actually saw him move his leg, it just took me back to imagining his last steps going onto that bus on that fateful day. And I was just thinking maybe he can go back on the bus one day,B次元官网网址� he said.

The surgery can cost up to $100,000 but isnB次元官网网址檛 covered by public health care or insurance, because it has not been approved by Health Canada. The Straschnitzkis say theyB次元官网网址檙e frustrated the treatment isnB次元官网网址檛 available here.

Ryan Straschnitzki hopes his experience might at least get the conversation going.

B次元官网网址淥ur health-care system is kind of lacking in this area for spinal cord injuries and I think itB次元官网网址檚 huge that Thailand and some other places are getting this started,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淚 think if Canada can step in and advance this program, I think itB次元官网网址檒l help a lot of people out.B次元官网网址�

Tom and Michelle Straschnitzki said they have been flooded with comments and questions about their sonB次元官网网址檚 procedure.

B次元官网网址淭hey want to try it and ask why doesnB次元官网网址檛 Canada do it? I donB次元官网网址檛 have the answer about Canada but they do it in Thailand and it is not experimental,B次元官网网址� said Tom Straschnitzki.

Health Canada has said it provides licensed spinal cord stimulators but only for pain relief. A spokesman said it has not received an application to have stimulators used to regain motor skills.

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Ryan Straschnitzki said he isnB次元官网网址檛 expecting a cure but hopes his implant will restore some muscle movement.

B次元官网网址淛ust getting that feeling of being able to move something that I wasnB次元官网网址檛 able to move before B次元官网网址� and I know core is a huge part of my disability, so anything below my chest is crucial. And after the programming it really helped,B次元官网网址� he said.

Straschnitzki is hoping to make the Canadian sledge hockey team and compete in the Olympics. He even took his sled with him to Thailand and sat in it as part of his rehabilitation there.

He said he plans to take a few days off before returning to physiotherapy and hitting the ice again back home.

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

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