Like most 15 year-old boys, Sasha was very athletic and absolutely loved to snowboard.
In 2006, he was snowboarding with a group of friends near Collingwood. While nearing the end of a run, Sasha slammed into a patch of ice to avoid hitting a young child who had wandered onto the landing jump.
Sasha’s quick thinking saved the young child from harm, but his heroic act unfortunately resulted in serious personal damage.
The impact of Sasha’s fall was critical and he was immediately air lifted, while on life support, to a hospital in Toronto where he remained in a coma for 10 days. A month later, Sasha was transferred to Bloorview Kids Rehab where he began several months of intense brain injury rehabilitation.
His mother Lies, recalls: “Being shell-shocked. Initially the situation was so extreme. He was an athletic, sporty kid and to see him lying there with tubes coming in and out and a neck brace on and not being able to do anything.”
“Upon arriving at Bloorview, Sasha was unable to walk, had slow speech and could not use his left hand at all. Every night his father or I stayed with him. It was a challenge, but we focused on the small steps and improvements,” stated Lies.
Sasha has worked extremely hard at rehabilitation. He now participates in swimming and adaptive snowboarding. He still has left-sided weakness, and he has some issues with concentration and problem-solving, but he has made significant improvements since the beginning of his rehabilitation.
“Nothing can prepare you to see your child in that state. Bloorview was a tremendous help to Sasha and to our family and we continue to use the programs and services offered at Bloorview.” Lies, Mother of Sasha
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