As a young boy, Rylan Laplante was always active, playing baseball or going out to the mountains with his family to hit the slopes.
But at 11 years old, tragedy struck. Due to a rare genetic condition, Laplante lost his mobility.
“Over the course of about six months, I lost the ability to walk, lost the ability to use my hands, and ultimately lost the ability to talk as well,” Laplante said.
Laplante told Global News the circumstances took him to his lowest point, but thanks to what he calls “delusional optimism,” he continued to fight to find a way to regain the ability to walk.
Laplante spent more than 1,000 days at the Vi Riddel Children’s Pain and Rehabilitation Clinic at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. He was told he’d never walk again 23 times by health-care experts. But after travelling to Houston for an experimental treatment, the road to recovery was paved before him.
“What always impressed me, and still does to this day, is his determination,” said Dr. David Manning with the Group23 Sports Medicine Clinic. “Being able to say, ‘No, I know that my statistical chance is low, but I’m not willing to stop until I’ve tried every possible thing and be shown I can’t do it!’” Manning became Laplante’s doctor after he aged out of Children’s Hospital.
“So many people said he would never walk again, it would never be possible,” said Al Laplante, Rylan’s father. “He’s such a determined man, and to see him do this today is just unbelievable.”
Laplante took his first step on Halloween of last year, and in the months since, he set his sights on the 10-kilometre event during the Calgary Marathon.
“I’ve put about six to seven months’ worth of hard work,” Laplante said. “A lot of people got me here.”
Laplante wasn’t breaking speed records, but he was raising funds. As of Saturday morning, he had raised more than four times his original goal.
“When I started this morning, we crossed $46,000,” Laplante said. “The goal we set out initially was at $10,000. Ten kilometres for $10,000.”
Walking with more than 20 friends and family, Laplante finished the race in under two-and-a-half hours, and as he crossed the finish line, he already had his mind fixed on his next goal.
“The end of one finish line is the beginning of the next starting line,” Laplante chuckled. “The Calgary Stampede is just around the corner … so I want to two-step.”
Laplante said he’ll be donating the funds to the Vi Riddell Pain and Rehabilitation Clinic in the coming weeks.