HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2003-12-10, Page 22 -THE HURON EXPOSITOR, DECEMBER 10, 2003
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Training, tutoring fill Vick's days
as he waits to return to university
From Pogo 1
take her up on it. And, I like it. The kids are great to be
around. They listen and they really want to learn," he says.
Of course, sometimes good days are followed by bad ones.
After the recent benefit game on Dec. 1 in Stratford
between the Cullitons and the St. Marys Lincolns - where
Vick did the ceremonial puck drop between his brother, who
is an assistant captain with the Lincolns and Cullitons captain
Travis Hofstetter, who was a teammate in the 1999-2000
season in Stratford - Vick says he had a rough day the next
day.
"It was a hard game to watch. First, the captain of the
Stratford team was a teammate and I couldn't help thinking it
could have been me. And, my brother is really doing well and
I'd like to be by his side. The next morning, it really hit me,"
he says.
"I ask myself 'why' a lot. It was a freak thing - just an
accident. And of the 25 other people admitted for spinal cord
injuries at the same time, one guy fell off a roof and another
girl got hit by a car while riding her bicycle - they were freak
things too. But, there's no rewinding even if you're always
wishing it was July 5 again."
After the accident, Vick spent 17 days in the critical care
unit of the old Victoria Hospital on South Street followed by
eight weeks of rehabilitation at Parkwood Hospital.
"At the start, I didn't think I was going to make it. I had
five broken ribs, a punctured lung, a complete sever of my T9
vertebrae and a shoulder I couldn't move. A few days were
really tough, just lying on my bed for 24 hours a day and
having a nurse come to turn me every four hours." he
remembers.
But, he acknowledges that the challenge of a serious injury
is as much mental as physical.
"It's not just medication and therapy - it's a lot of mental
work. You have to set your goals and if they don't work, you
have to set new ones. I'm definitely determined to get my life
back as much as I can to the way it was," he says.
While still undergoing rehabilitation in Parkwood, Vick
began by aiming to go back to school in September, which he
since realized was an "unrealistic goal."
But, as he got stronger and more capable of getting into
wheelchairs and gni; back some independence, he signed
up for his driver's trainmg for hand -controlled vehicles, even
though he was still hospitalized.
"I've been driving since I was 16 and I just really wanted it.
I knew that even with a disability, I could still drive," he says.
"They told me it was pretty rare for someone who's still a
patient to be taking the driver's training already."
He says the huge support from Seaforth, including at least
500 cards, really helped.
"I think the whole town of Seaforth was in Parkwood
Hospital at one time or another. It's really nice to know your
small town community will really pull together and help you
out," he says.
This January, Vick is entering a four-week study at
McMaster University where his legs will be stimulated by
electrodes for spinal cord research.
"The electrodes will stimulate the blood flow and muscles
of my legs even though my spinal cord is damaged. They'll
be trying to figure out how to get the message to my spinal
cord. I believe I have a curable condition," he says.
He's also planning to begin attending spinal cord research
conferences, including one in Las Vegas next year with his
London specialist.
He says that his doctors are joking he should consider
dropping a career in business for one in medicine after all the
research he's doing but Vick says he's still focussed on
business.
"You can do anything with a business degree and I'd like to
combine it with hockey somehow. I grew up with hockey and
I always enjoyed it," he says.
In the meantime, he's looking forward to next Saturday's
game between the former instructors at the Dave McLlwain
Hockey School (where he taught for six years) and local
talent including NCAA, CIAU, OHL, Junior and Sr. A
players, organized by Graham and Derek Nesbitt.
"Whenever Graham's involved in something, you can count
on it being great. It will be sort of like the showcase games
the McLlwain Hockey School had and that was always a sell-
out over the years," he says.
Social justice committee considered
to respond to rising need for services
From Page 1
assistance income is only 10
per cent.
"We all have these cases
that stick in our heads and we
think man, how are they going
to get through today and the
next day," said Bonnie
Baynham, c • nity
development for
the Huron County Health
Unit.
"With the way Huron
County is laid out, isolation is
a huge issue, and I'm sure
there's quite a few people out
there we've never even heard
of."
Concerns were also raised
about the working poor,
availability of healthy food at
local food banks, disabled
people living in poverty and
increasing heat and hydro
costs this winter.
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Jennifer
McClinchey
"Rates for Ontario
Disability Support Program
haven't changed in seven
years and that
affects
everything
people on a
limited income
do in their
life," explained
Melanie
Prevett, of the
Canadian
Mental Health
Association
(CMHA).
"Affordable
housing is
difficult to find
in this area, so
most of the
little money
they do get is
spent on rent."
According to
the 2001 legal
clinic study
more than
2,700 people in
Huron and Perth Counties are
disabled and living below the
poverty line. Over half of
those people live alone or not
with their family and most of
them do not work.
Joyce Herring, also of the
CMHA, estimated
approximately 70 per cent of
her clients "can hardly make
ends meet."
"There's a misconception
that if you have a job,
everything is okay, but there
are a lot of people with jobs
who are living in poverty — the
working poor," Herring said.
"These people are working at
minimum wage, with no
benefits and all it takes is one
crisis to put them in a very
serious situation?'
Committee members have
yet to create a formal mission
statement and
objectives, but
from initial
discussions
they decided
their first step
was to focus
on compiling
•1 o c a 1
information
and statistics.
"We want to
reach out to
t h e
community to
provide access
to justice,"
added Jamie
Hildebrand, of
the Huron -
P e r t h
Community
Legal Clinic.
"We're a
solution out
there looking
Quoted
'We all have
these cases
that stick in sour..,
heads and we
think man, how
are they going
to get through
today and the
next day,"
Bonnie Baynharn,
Huron County
Health Unit
for problems."
And while local statistics
are a good place to start, Joan
Van den Broeck, of the Huron -
Perth Children's Aid Society,
suggested gathering stories of
personal experiences as well.
"We need to keep the
information localized. People
won't' believe you until they
hear stories about people
living in poverty in Goderich,
Exeter, or their own town,"
she said.
"The biggest impact will
come from a person telling
their own stories."
Hildebrand agreed, adding
getting past the public's
stereotype of the poor will be
one of their biggest hurdles.
"The public has to get to
know these people before they
can care about them," he said.
Once local information has
been compiled, the committee
hopes to begin an extensive
public and political education
campaign, lobbying both the
provincial and federal
goverrunents. Their. third step
would be to push for change in
public -opinion and the
government.
"It may take awhile and it'll
no doubt be a lot of work, but
I don't have a problem
bogging myself down with
number one, if I know the
final objective is number
three," said Alex Berry, of the
Huron Addiction Services.
"A lot of people are doing a
lot of work, but they're doing
it in isolation. We need to
come together."
A total of seven people
attended the Nov. 28
preliminary meeting of the
social justice committee,
However,. in the future,
participants are hoping to
invite additional service,
youth, senior and church
representatives.
A second brainstorming
meeting has been planned for
Jan. 22.
"It will be so helpful for
every organization to hammer
down what is actually
happening in this community,"
Van den Bmeck said.
Correction
Mabel Nesbitt was
misidentified as Mabel
Tlimbull in a story about the
Red Hat Society in last
week's edition of the Huron
Expositor:
-Ca
to register
ere no
House irxteriors will be judg