The father of Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier said his son is making progress, but still has a long road ahead of him after a spinal injury suffered earlier this month.
Vernon Shazier didn’t get into any specifics about his son’s condition, after he had spinal stabilzation surgery on Dec. 6. But he spoke openly about leaning on their faith to get through it.
“We have seen some improvement that is encouraging,” Vernon said, via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. “We’re taking it one day at a time. We do not know what tomorrow holds. It’s a [daily] journey we don’t know. But I know God is getting the message.”
While it’s hard to know for sure what that means for his physical condition, Shazier was at least about to leave the hospital long enough to go to Sunday’s Steelers-Patriots game. He’s still in the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center facility for rehabilitation, but the night out apparently lifted a lot of spirits.
“We’re praying for healing and keeping our mind and faith strong,” Vernon said. “We know we’re in a deep valley, but we do not feel alone. . . .
“It’s easy to be faithful in a storm, but we’re not talking about a drizzle. We’re talking about a hurricane, a category 5 [hurricane], lots of metaphors to describe it.”
Vernon Shazier’s an NFL chaplain, and he said his prayers weren’t limited to his son, as the injury illustrated the physical danger inherent to the sport.
“The reality of the game is that it’s a violent sport. I naturally pray for those guys going out there every game,” Vernon said. “Any day there’s a football game playing, I’m praying. About whether people should play, I don’t think I’m at that point to think about it.”
Shazier was named to the Pro Bowl this week, one of eight Steelers to earn that honor.
