Toronto Blue Jays / Facebook

Toronto Blue Jay’s pitcher Erik Swanson is relieved after his 4-year-old son has made it out of the ICU after being struck by a car. Swanson’s wife, Madison, shared on her Instagram that their son Toby, was struck by a car that was being operated by a valet driver near the Opal Sands Resort in Clearwater, Florida. “I don’t have the words, [I don’t know] where to begin. We have been overwhelmed with a huge amount of love and support over the last few days,” Madison said in a post on her Instagram Stories. “To the people who have reached out in any capacity, we will never be able to express in words how meaningful it has been (we don’t have the mental capacity to reach out to you all) but we see you, we hear you, it is what has gotten our little boy through all of this. The most important update is that Toby is out of the PICU and we are continuing to take it day by day. God is so good and we are so blessed.” She continued, “We are so grateful for the speedy first responders to the accident, to the pedestrians that helped as we waited the next step, and to the AMAZING staff at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. Someone has truly been watching over my little man.”

After the accident, Toby was airlifted to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg where he was in critical condition. In a news release, police stated that the driver was cooperative and remained on scene following the accident. The Blue Jays  shared that Swanson would be taking a step away from the team while his son recovers. Manager John Schneider expressed his support for Swanson and his family. “As a dad, I have two boys who are seven and five, and it hits home,” he said. “Baseball is just baseball, you know? You pray. You hope for the best. Thankfully, that has been the case so far. You realize how quickly things can change. You don’t take things for granted.”

Swanson spoke publicly to reporters about his son, Toby, and provided a positive update. “I stand here, very happily, telling you that in the next day or two, he should probably be going home,” Swanson said, via MLB.com. “Just based on the situation, we’re very, very lucky with everything that happened and the outcome of where we’re at now,” he continued. “My wife has been absolutely amazing through this entire process. She is very strong. She’s what a strong, courageous mother should be.” He continued, “Toby is a very charismatic boy. A very courageous boy. He’s strong, tough, very outgoing. I think his personality allowed him to push through a lot of the struggles he’s had to go through the last 10 days and get him through some of those longer days at the hospital. He’s been extremely tough and courageous.” He also thanked hospital staff and first responders along with his teammates and their wives. “Whether it’s people bringing us meals at night or just calling us, sending us texts, checking on Toby, putting videos together for Toby to watch of the other kids. There’s been an unbelievable amount of support and we are forever grateful for those people,” he said.

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