The young son of Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Erik Swanson has been moved out of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) after being hit by a car and airlifted to a Florida hospital, the athlete’s wife announced Wednesday.
Toby Swanson, just four years old, spent several days in the PICU after being struck by a valet driver in a 2024 Ford Expedition near the Opal Sands Resort in Clearwater, ESPN reported.
A statement from Clearwater Police said that the boy sustained potentially life-threatening injuries in the Sunday morning incident and had been transported via helicopter to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg.
The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with the investigation, police added.
Madison Swanson, the little boy’s mother, provided a positive update via Instagram Stories on Wednesday night.
“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,” she wrote.
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.
The mother continued to express that she and Erik are “so grateful” to the witnesses who provided aid before help arrived, the first responders, and the “AMAZING” staff at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.
“Someone has truly been watching over my little man,” the MLB wife added.
The Blue Jays confirmed that Swanson would be taking a break to be with his son while he recovers, with team manager John Schneider voicing his support in a statement obtained by Fox News.
“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.”
