Hockey Lover
My journey began on March 3, 2009 after a hockey accident during a
playoff game. I went into the boards hard and I couldn’t feel my legs. I suffered a burst fracture to my L1 vertebra. I was transferred to Sick Kids first but they sent me to Toronto Western Hospital where an amazing surgeon, Dr. Michael Fehlings performed decompression surgery. I remained at Toronto Western Hospital for two and a half weeks recovering. On March 23, I was transferred to Bloorview Kids Rehab. Bloorview was going to teach me how to walk again, the next stage of my journey.
Bloorview is an amazing place, during my three and a half months stay, I met some amazing people and made some great friends. The staff made my recovery almost fun, it was hard work and sometimes even painful but they kept me focused on my main goal—to walk out of there and go home to my family and friends.
So many different people helped me on a daily basis. I’ll start with my daily physiotherapy with Jennifer. Jennifer always set weekly goals for me to reach. She was a great motivator, she always knew when to push that extra bit. She always focused on my progress and was always very positive. Betty and Greg were assistants and they helped with my stretching exercises.
My nurses, well they were all amazing. I wasn’t just a patient to them I was a friend. They cared about how I was feeling and were always willing to help. I had a few special nurses that always picked up my spirits then I was feeling down, for example dropping to to see me even though I wasn’t their patient that day. When they took that extra few minutes out of their day, I felt special.
The teachers at my school, Lisa, Marian and heather were very helpful. They were very patient with my studies and were always there with a helping hand when I needed it, whether it was a problem with something I didn’t understand or just if I needed a warm pad for my back. They were all very caring people.
Bloorview always kept me and the other patients busy. They always encouraged us to be out of our rooms doing different activities. We were not allowed to sit in our rooms and feel sorry for ourselves. The recreation schedule was a great way to meet new people and spend our free time. I was able to swim, go to the movies, shop at the Eaton Centre and even go fishing.
During my last week at Bloorview, my physiotherapists, Jennifer and Greg planned a special session for Gavin, my new Bloorview friend, and me. Gavin and I are both hockey lovers. We were told to be in the gym at 3:30. When we arrived they had hockey nets set up and different drills for us to do. We were given the option of using our wheelchairs or trying to walk. I will always remember how much fun I had walking through the pylons and taking shots on them.
My last day at Bloorview was very exciting—I was able to walk out of the doors to go home. It was also a very sad day because it meant that I was leaving behind some truly amazing people. I made some wonderful friends at Bloorview that helped me battle through my toughest times—friends that I still keep in touch with now that I am home and hopefully for the years to come. Thank you Bloorview.
I would also like to take this time to thank Barbara Underhill, the Canadian world-class figure skater who has chosen Bloorview Kids Foundation as her charity of choice, if she wins the grand prize at CBC’s Battle of the Blades. Barbara and her husband, Rick, were fabulous coaches to me and really helped me throughout my recovery. They were there supporting me every step of the way and I really want to thank them for that.
Now, it’s my turn to support her in her Battle of the Blades competition. I know that she will put everything, all 120% of her efforts into her skating. She is an amazing woman and ahs a very big heart. Thanks Barb. Everyone let’s cheer for Barbara Underhill and Ron Duguay to be number one at the Battle of the Blades and help Bloorview help other kids like me.
