‘Parent’s worst nightmare’: Son of Blue Jays pitcher recovering after being hit by SUV in Clearwater

Rachel Tucker
·2 min read
‘Parent’s worst nightmare’: Son of Blue Jays pitcher recovering after being hit by SUV in Clearwater
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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The 4-year-old son of Blue Jays pitcher Erik Swanson is recovering after he was hit by an SUV in Clearwater.

The family was visiting Clearwater Beach from Fargo, N.D. on Feb. 25 when their lives were forever changed.

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According to police, 4-year-old Toby Swanson was struck by a hotel valet driver. He spent several days in the intensive care unit at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg.

His mother, Madison Swanson, described the situation as “a parent’s worst nightmare.”

“My little boy, my sweet sweet boy, is the strongest human I know,” Madison Swanson wrote in an Instagram post. “He showed us how resilient, persistent, strong, courageous and brave he could be all at once. I only wish to be at his caliber someday.”

Toby’s mother posted a photo of him at the Blue Jays’ first spring training game of the season. Despite his arm being in a cast and having to use a wheelchair, the 4-year-old was all smiles as he posed with the team’s mascot.

FILE – Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Erik Swanson walks to the dugout during a pitching change in the seventh inning of Game 2 of an AL wild-card baseball playoff series against the Minnesota Twins, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in Minneapolis. Swanson has left the team to be with his family after his son, Toby, was hit by a car Sunday., Feb. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn, File)

“I also learned that there many many many wonderfully GOOD people in this world despite what you may think,” Madison Swanson wrote on Instagram. “From bystanders that came to my aid, to his first responders who came to visit Toby in the hospital, to nurses who continued to visit Toby once he moved floors, to his amazing doctors, to thousands and thousands of people who thought of Toby and prayed for this miraculous recovery.”

Madison Swanson attributed her son’s recovery to the outpouring of support and prayers they received.

“Toby’s recovery will be a continuing process that will take some time but we get to hug both our little ones every night,” his mother wrote. “I feel forever changed. Don’t take your little ones for granted, don’t take life for granted. Live every day with your people like it’s the last one on Earth.”

She said to get ready for “Toby wheeling around baseball games in his new pimped out wheelchair.”

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