It was one of those calls parents dread: “There has been an accident… ambulance is on the way…. don’t know much yet…looks like a serious back injury.”
I was in Vancouver when I got this news, at least five hours from the emergency room that was about to receive my son, and where his condition would be more fully understood.
It was the longest drive I’ve ever done, but it got much easier after the next text message and five beautiful words: “He can move his toes.”
My 18-year-old son James was enjoying a typical and gleeful Saturday afternoon at Telus Park at Silver Star on a Saturday afternoon one year ago today.
He and his friends were doing what they love best: getting maximum air time on the jumps.
All was wonderful until the last jump – and a little too much air. He sailed right past the landing slope and on towards the flat beyond. A moment later he was flat on his back, unable to move, his back screaming in pain.
It’s amazing how life can change in a matter of seconds, isn’t it?
What happened next makes me deeply honoured to be part of the human race and grateful beyond words for the people who helped get him safely off the hill.
The ski patrol arrived within moments of the accident, and it is because of them initially that James is now virtually completely recovered, rather than learning how to live life from a chair. Because they were there, they were trained well, they were careful and they knew what to do, he is walking and playing and even went snowboarding this Christmas.
James’ back was broken, and a piece of vertebrae was pushed out of place and heading towards his spinal cord. If he had been moved, even slightly, the wrong way at any point, we would be in a very different situation now.
Once off the hill and into the clinic, there were others: more patrollers, doctors, ambulance paramedics, then nurses, orderlies, and ultimately the surgeon who put all the broken pieces back together again.
I hope they know the incredible value of what they do. They are all saints in my mind.
But as I think about the events of that day, I am especially grateful for those who were there in those first moments on the hill.
Thank you for being there. Thank you for listening to your training. Thank you for giving the time and attention to do it right.
Diana Ward, Vernon
