When Erik and Madison Swanson pulled up in front of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital recently in St. Petersburg, Florida, to donate more than 350 toys, everyone was all smiles. “The amount of people who showed up for us for this toy drive and then, to bring them here, it is pretty special,” Erik says.

It was a much different situation a year ago when their 4-year-old son, Toby, arrived as a trauma patient in the hospital’s LifeLine Critical Care Transport helicopter.

Toby was critically injured in February 2024 after he was hit by a car at a Clearwater Beach hotel. The family was in the Tampa Bay area for Erik’s spring training in Dunedin as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays pitching staff.

“I actually got to the hospital before the helicopter landed,” Erik says. “I didn’t want Toby to be here by himself.” 

Suffering from numerous injuries, Toby was rushed into surgery where Drew Warnick, M.D., a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon, was awaiting his arrival.

“He had an open pelvic fracture, which we considered a surgical urgency because there was a high risk of infection,” Warnick says. “The growth plate on his pelvis was also crushed, which had the potential to cause a deformity if not repaired appropriately. We put it back together and made sure the bones were properly cleaned to reduce the chance of infection.” 

Toby also had a partially collapsed lung, a fractured elbow and a significant forehead cut that went straight through to his skull. The plastic surgery team was called in to assist with repairing the cut. 

Fortunately, the results of an MRI and CT scan confirmed no brain bleeds or internal injuries.

Once the three-hour surgery was complete, Toby spent the next 12 days in the hospital. Four of those days were in the hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

While the national news media was quick to pick up on Toby’s lifesaving story, Warnick learned that Erik was a major league baseball pitcher when he asked the Swansons what brought them to Florida.

“Toby had a lot of people in his corner praying and thinking of him,” Madison says. “Toby makes an impact on people very easily. He even made an impact on the nurses with his cheery demeanor.” 

During his hospital recovery, Toby also had some unexpected fun, Madison adds. “He had visits from the therapy dogs, and Cookie Monster from Sesame Street came to his room. The Child Life music therapist even took time to learn one of his favorite songs Truck Bed by Hardy. 

Today, Toby is a busy little boy. “He plays T-ball, soccer and hockey,” Madison says. You’d hardly know what happened last year.”

“We feel unbelievably blessed,” Erik explains. 

After they unloaded the toys from their car, the Swansons went into the hospital to say hello and thank the nurses who cared for Toby last year. “I didn’t know if anyone would recognize us,” Erik says. “But they all did! I think that shows how much this hospital cares about patients.”

“He made a great recovery,” Warnick says. “I just saw him a few weeks ago and the X-rays confirmed that everything is healing well and he looks great. He was very lucky.”

The toy donation was a labor of love from the entire Blue Jays organization and many others, explains Erik. “We have had amazing support from the Blue Jays throughout Toby’s recovery.” 

The toys are used throughout the year to give to patients in the hospital, and to reward children who endure medical procedures.

“It meant so much to me and Madison watching Toby and the other patients smile after a medical procedure when they were rewarded with a toy,” Erik says. “It not only helped him, but it helped us as parents. Anytime you see your child have a smile on their face when you know they are hurting, it’s a good dose of medicine, for sure.”

Drew Warnick, M.D. is on the medical staff of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Inc. (“JHACH”), but is an independent practitioner who is not an employee or agent of JHACH.