The long road to recovery for Trent Seymour, the teenaged athlete paralyzed this fall when he was shot in the back in a hunting accident, received a boost when Canadian icon Rick Hansen paid a bedside visit earlier this month.
Normally, Hansen waits until a patient has moved onto the rehabilitation stage before making an appearance, but after some lobbying from Seymour's father, Barry, he made an exception and dropped by the intensive care unit at Vancouver General Hospital.
"We sought Rick out because of the similarities," Barry said. "He was 16 when he got injured so I thought that it would be important for Trent to talk to somebody that is going through a similar experience as he is...From a mental and emotional perspective, it's been very supportive for Trent."
Reached Friday, Hansen seemed as impressed with Seymour as Seymour was with Hansen.
"I've talked to him a couple of times since and I'm sure it's the beginning of a long relationship because he's a bright young man who has a deep understanding of the importance of life," Hansen said.
Also known as the Man In Motion for his round-the-world marathon by wheelchair, Hansen lost the use of his legs at age 15 when he was thrown from a pickup truck while returning from a fishing trip near Williams Lake.
Like Hansen, Seymour is an accomplished young athlete who also loves the outdoors.
"I think a lot of those experiences will hold him well as he faces this challenge head on," Hansen said.
Seymour faces life in a wheelchair after a .22-calibre bullet severed his spinal cord, paralyzing him from the waist down. He was near his home on the Shelley reserve when his friend tripped with a loaded rifle and the gun discharged.
One of the "most profound insights" Hansen gained from Seymour was his willingness to forgive his friend and to count the mishap as an accident.
"It's speaks volume of his character and the depth of his family," Hansen said. "Absolutely amazed."
Seymour still needs to recover from other internal injuries, particularly to his pancreas, before he can move on to the G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre where he will work on the skills he will need to live without use of his legs.
Barry said his son is also putting up with the neurological pain that comes with his type of injury.
"The brain sending signals to the legs but because of the severed spine it stops at that point and shoots out all over the place," Barry said. "So it's extremely painful for him."
Canada Winter Games chief executive officer Stuart Ballantyne also paid Seymour a visit and assured him he remains on the list for carrying the torch once it arrives in Prince George in February.
"That put a smile on his face," Barry said.
The fundraising for Seymour's trust is continuing and Hansen is making a contribution. He has donated a fishing trip - catch, tag and release of sturgeon on the Fraser - to the list of items for a silent auction that will go along with a dinner and dance next month.
It's set for Nov. 8 at the Hart Community Centre. Tickets are $40 each or $300 for a table of 10 and are available at Conifex, #100-2700 Queensway, and Gurney's House of Vision, 680 Victoria St. They'll also be on sale at CN Centre-Kin Arenas this Sunday afternoon.
For more information, call or e-mail Celeste Tarasoff at 250-640-5341or [email protected] or Sonja Towle at 250-981-5559 or [email protected] or visit Love and Prayers and Support for Trent Seymour on Facebook.
Also, all Integris Credit Union branches in the city are accepting donations to the trust account, No. 80122861.
