Stepping up for hope: Alberta man walks 10 km just 7 months after regaining ability to walk [Video]

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 …