Ocean County’s Ryan Lasko is heading home to continue his recovery. The 24-year-old former Rutgers and Jackson Memorial High School star — who was paralyzed in an outfield collision earlier this summer — was officially discharged Wednesday from the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation.
Healthcare workers at the West Orange facility gave the 2023 Oakland A’s second-round draft pick a heartwarming “clap out” sendoff as he left to continue his rehabilitation process.
Lasko suffered a spinal cord injury in a collision with a teammate on June 30 that left him paralyzed from the chest down and affected both arms. His dominant right arm — the one he uses to throw and hit — is weaker and will take more time to strengthen. His legs and feet have begun to regain some feeling and tingling sensations.
He told The Associated Press this week that he cannot predict how the next year will unfold. For now, he is focusing on the present and “reworking my brain to just wait. There’s nothing else I can do now. I have to wait.”
Going home is a major milestone. He said he is excited for a home-cooked meal and to follow through on offseason travel plans with girlfriend Alli Graff, despite the additional challenges.
“I’ve kind of stopped trying to look that far ahead because they keep telling me it’s two months, this is only the beginning still, but it feels like it’s been forever,” Lasko told the AP. “It’s gone by quick, but it’s also been the longest two months of my life. They keep telling me that it’s only the beginning, so that’s where I’m trying to learn to have patience, because I expected it would happen overnight and that’s really not how it works whatsoever. But I’m learning, slowly. It’s a very slow process with everything.”
Lasko fractured the C6 and C7 vertebrae in his neck during a frightening moment when he and Double-A Midland teammate Devin Taylor ran into each other during a game in Frisco, Texas, as both attempted to make a play on a ball in the gap.
Lasko was carted off the field and taken to a nearby hospital for immediate spinal decompression and stabilization surgery.
His doctors and physical and occupational therapists are encouraged by his progress and are optimistic that he could make a full recovery and walk again over time.
“It’s been a long road,” Lasko’s mother, Patti, said while moving some of his belongings into her car with Graff outside the facility. She was in the stands for the game when he was hurt.
“The two of them work as a team. I feel like it’s a new beginning.”
He will initially return to his hometown of Jackson, New Jersey, before living in a hotel near the Kessler facility for approximately two months as he continues rehabilitation.
Lasko counts each of the “big wins” along the way, including being able to simply go outside again.
“I don’t know what the next step is, so that’s kind of scary. There’s a lot more unknown,” he said. “The first day I got here, they asked me what my goal was, and I said to be as independent as possible. I’ve gotten to that point. I’ve checked a lot of boxes. Everything that I said I couldn’t do, I can do now — simple stuff like opening my water bottle that you take for granted. ... There are a lot of small things that I took for granted that I couldn’t do that I can somewhat do again now.”
AP Wires were used in this report
