The Citizen, 2019-06-06, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2019. PAGE 9.
Editor’s Note: The Citizen is
proud to publish Julie Sawchuk’s
Shine chapter. We will be presenting
it unchanged from its publication
form over the course of the next
three weeks. As a result, there is
brief use of explicit language.
Reader discretion is advised.
- SL
This time last year I was putting
the finishing touches on a chapter
within a chapter called “From Two
Wheels to Four – Flipping and
Forgiving”
Although I have been writing a
blog since August, 2015, this has
become my first publication.
Writing a book was something I
knew I wanted to do and it was only
by chance that I found the
opportunity. Contributing to Shine:
Inspirational Stories of Choosing
Success Over Adversity just seemed
to click with me, and I hope that it
clicks with those who choose to read
it. Writing has been a form of
therapy for me, I hope my therapy
may also be of use to you.
- Julie Sawchuk, May, 2019
THE INTRODUCTION
Sometimes you get to choose the
direction your life takes; sometimes
others make that choice for you. I
had been a science teacher in small
town southwestern Ontario for 15
years. I saw myself as a role model
for young women, especially those
interested in science, the
environment and fitness. But after 15
years of teaching more or less the
same subjects, I was beginning to
wonder what would be next for my
career. Would I continue teaching,
change subjects, or do something
completely different? At that time, I
had no idea how “different” my
career would become.
The year I turned 38, I decided I
wanted to be more fit. My husband
and I were happy with our family of
four and I knew that as I aged, I
would require more muscle, more
activity and some kind of goal to get
me there. After watching my sister-
in-law race the Goderich triathlon, I
decided that was my goal; I would
work to complete and compete in an
Olympic distance triathlon. Over
several summers I worked my way
up to the full distance race; 1 km
open water Lake Huron swim, 42
km. bike and 10 km. run. I finished
third in my age group (40 to 45) and
I was ecstatic.
The fall of 2014, I bought my first
road bike – I couldn’t wait for the
next racing season to begin! For the
next six months, I got up early four
to five days a week to train at the
pool, in the gym, on the ski trails, the
sideroads and even on the track at
the high school. I loved the feeling
of getting up early to meet a group of
friends to do a workout, and it didn’t
really matter what it was as long as
we broke a sweat together. Coaching
the Nordic ski team after school
meant double workouts and I got to
eat whatever I wanted.
My husband Theo and two kids
Ella and Oliver were supportive of
my goal. As a stay-at-home dad,
Theo was accustomed to getting the
kids on the bus in the morning (as I
was gone by 6 a.m. or earlier), doing
the shopping, cooking, laundry,
managing our tiny farm and doing
all the after school running around.
Although we had talked about it, I
had not yet realized how much he
was sacrificing so I could pursue my
fitness goals and work full time.
THE INCIDENT
July 29, 2015 was a beautiful
sunny morning. While sometimes I
would ride with a training group,
this morning I was on my own. The
race was one month away, and I was
feeling ready; I loved the speed of
my new bike. About halfway
through my 80-kilometre ride, a car
passed me so closely deliberately
that I could feel the wind from his
side mirror on my back. That turned
out to be the last thing that I
remembered about that ride.
A short time later, on the last leg
of my ride (20 km from home on the
very road where we live), I was hit
by a car from behind. I flew 30 feet
through the air and landed in the
ditch of a farm field. I don’t
remember what happened after that,
but I do know that my helmet saved
my life. Several drivers stopped,
including the one who hit me. They
tried to keep me calm and lying still
because apparently, I was trying to
get up. When I arrived by ambulance
at the local hospital, they knew that
my injuries were out of their league.
Meanwhile, Theo and the kids had
been called and he was able to see
me for a few minutes before I was
transported by air ambulance to
London’s Victoria Hospital Critical
Care Trauma Unit. Getting into that
helicopter scared me so much that it
must have woken up my
consciousness enough to store it in a
different place. It was terrifyingly
loud and for several weeks I reacted
with tears every time I saw or heard
a helicopter fly over the hospital.
When I regained consciousness
after several hours of surgery, I had
chest tubes and an IV and I was
attached to a ventilator as well as
several other machines. I was also
frightened, but Theo, my parents and
my brother were there to hold my
hand. In critical care, the drugs that
are meant to take away pain do
funny things to your head… the
machines designed to keep you alive
are too loud to let you sleep, and
other sick and potentially dying
people behind the curtains turn a
room meant to preserve life into a
scary space. The blurred line
between awake and not really awake
created a time of tears, confusing
conversations about what had
happened, what was wrong with me
and what was next.
The surgeons explained to us that I
had sustained multiple injuries.
Plastic surgeons repaired my
forehead, chin and nose. Spinal
surgery fused my spine to support
the two vertebrae that were
fractured; one of those bones (T4)
shattered into so many pieces that a
fragment damaged my spinal cord.
Other bones and skin would heal
with time and surgery, but not the
spinal cord itself. Nerves are like
Sawchuk details her journey in ‘Shine’ chapter
A long journey
Julie Sawchuk of Blyth, second from left, has detailed her difficult, yet inspirational story for
the new book, Shine: Inspirational Stories of Choosing Success Over Adversity. Sawchuk is
seen her with her husband Theo and children Ella and Oliver a number of years ago before
she was struck by a car while cycling, injuries from which would render her paralyzed from the
chest down. In the years that have followed, however, she has made tremendous strides
towards increasing her mobility through hard work and dedication. (File photo)
A new reality
Blyth’s Julie Sawchuk is seen here weeks after a car
collided with the bicycle she was riding, rendering her
paralyzed from the chest down. She soon began
rehabilitation at London’s Parkwood Institute, above,
focusing on strengthening her core. (File photo)
DROP IN RECEPTION
In Honour of
Nancy Michie
Friday, June 14, 2019
DROP IN RECEPTION
2 PM TO 4 PM
Brussels, Morris & Grey
Community Centre
800 Sports Drive, Brussels
Retirement
PLEASE JOIN US
FOR A
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