Walking Miracle. Ryan Shazier with Larry Platt.
How faith, positive thinking, and passion for
football brought me back from paralysis….and helped me find purpose.
Athletes love and play the game of football for
a variety of reasons including the action, passion for the game, physicality,
camaraderie with teammates and coaches as well as the accolades that go with
winning along with performance at high levels among their peers. Of course, with all of this comes risk of
injury. All the aforementioned is what
happened to former Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker Ryan Shazier including the
life changing injury, unfortunately, which brought his life to a crashing halt. However, through struggles, the support of
many, including a home team fan base, helped turn a very tumultuous time in his
life into a positive. Through all of
the toiling, uncertainty and turmoil in the nascent stages of the injury, he
found a new purpose in life. He tells
the world about his struggle and growth in the book Walking Miracles.
The former linebacker, while growing up in
South Florida, turned out to be a natural at football and had a strong support
system in place. He overcame Alopecia
as a child only to become stronger as a person and player. Shazier writes about his baldness at an
early age, which was a tough adjustment early on but tempering him as he
developed throughout his adolescence. His
father, a minister in south Florida, also served as his youth football coach
and mentor. The author writes about
his closeness and strong bond with his parents through the entire traumatic
process, which certainly paid dividends later in his professional and personal
life.
Traversing tough times may often be followed by
choosing something to augment through the experience but also a way to lead
life. While Shazier likely did look
for inspiration from a higher calling, especially through his minister father, he
was also introduced to and quickly bought into a philosophical look at his life
and attitude. Shazier reports that he found
inspiration through stoicism, a philosophy that distinguishes what we can
control from what we cannot. Consequently,
the book is bedizened with quotes from notable stoic followers such as Marcus
Aurelius, a Roman emperor and Epictetus, a former slave. One
such example that fueled Shazier’s comeback “He is a wise man who does not
grieve for the things which he has not but rejoices for those which he has.” It is evident that the former Ohio State
Buckeye had to focus on what he could do, even if the odds were bleak in the
early going.
His comeback attempt deployed the use of many visualizations
that help train the mind and body for future success. However, Shazier cautioned that our mindset
should not only imagine the success but also follow what the stoics call
negative visualization. The author
quotes Epictetus asking and answering “Who then is invincible? The one who cannot
be upset by anything outside their reasoned choice.” Shazier expresses a responsible and realistic
mindset through the extreme arduous process of coming back from a physically
disabling event.
Through the latter part of the book, Shazier,
who along with his close friend and personal trainer, helped coin the phrase Ya
gotta “Shalieve”, yearned for new personal fulfillment to be gained in his new
and now unexpected life path particularly after it became apparent a return to
the gridiron was unlikely. Upon
reflection of his own rehabilitation experiences and observations of many
others afflicted with paralysis and other life debilitating ailments, a new purpose
was ultimately derived. He proudly writes that he established and continues
to lead a foundation that helps raise money and supports the many financial and
emotional needs for patients afflicted with life altering injuries.
Walking Miracle is about two hundred and thirty-five
pages. It is a fairly easy tale to navigate. The writing prose is straightforward and is
written in a narrative form. Some
attempt with humor was made throughout the book. A lot of questions were posed that tried to
keep the gravity of the situation, and main reason why the book was written, on
the lighter side. While Shazier never
did make it back on the grid iron, it could still be argued that it is a miracle
today that he is able to walk, to pursue a new purpose and lead an otherwise
normal life. There is much for the
reader to gain from this biography and Shazier’s story can easily connect with
people from all walks of life.
·
You might like to read this book if you
are a Ryan Shazier fan.
·
You might like to read this book if you
like to read about the Pittsburgh Steelers.
·
You might like to read this book If you
covet stories about American football players.
·
You might like to read this book if you
relish biographies of American professional athletes.
·
You might like to read this book if you
seek information about people with paralysis and their struggles and triumphs
through physical and mental rehabilitation.
Learn more about the authors on X:
https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/about/the-philadelphia-citizen-masthead/larry-platt/
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