A young Calgary man who was told he would never walk again took his first steps in more than a decade last fall and is now planning to walk 10 kilometres in support of the Alberta Children’s Hospital. Rylan Laplante was nearly 12 years old when he began using a wheelchair due to a rare genetic condition that left him unable to use his arms, legs and even his voice for a while, but the 24-year-old was determined to get back on his feet. “I started to coin the term ‘delusionally optimistic,’” said Laplante, who heard from nearly two dozen doctors that it was unlikely he would ever walk again. “The lowest I was, I couldn’t talk, couldn’t feed myself, couldn’t bathe. It was very, very difficult. “So after 12 years, being able to get back up on my feet and do the 10k is quite incredible, and I’m thankful for the support team and medical professionals that got me here.” Since 2020, he has been working with the medical team at Calgary’s G23 Clinic. “With Rylan, what always impressed me and still does to this day is that determination of, ‘Look, I know my statistical chance is low, but I’m not willing to stop until I’ve tried every possible thing,’” said Dr. David E. Manning, who has been one of Laplante’s doctors for five years. “Oftentimes, we need to advocate for patients, but he advocates for himself.” After surgery and therapy in Texas last fall got him walking again, Laplante wanted to take it to the next level. “Five steps on Halloween then turned into 20, turned into 100, now turned into the 10k,” he said. He entered the Calgary Marathon 10k and will be walking for the Alberta Children’s Hospital Vi Riddell Pain and Rehabilitation Centre. He was a patient there for seven years and credits much of his progress to that clinic. He started a fundraiser, hoping to help children facing similar challenges get the care they need at the clinic. “They may be at their low and have that clinic give them a little bit of hope, so 12 years down the line, who knows what they can achieve,” he said. On May 24 at 7:30 a.m., Laplante will take steps toward that goal as he embarks on the Calgary Marathon 10k at Stampede Park. Though he has been training since he signed up for the race in February, he has yet to do 10 kilometres but aims to complete it in about three hours. As the big day nears, he has also been juggling studying and writing exams. Laplante is a University of Calgary student, working toward a double major in computer science and finance. Ever the goal-setter, Laplante is already upping the ante for himself. “Calgary Stampede is around the corner, so one of the things I have a goal for is to two-step during that.”
