Never Lose Hope

It happened late in the third period during a game between our hometown hockey team, the Humboldt Mavericks and the Moose Jaw Lancers.

Terry Anderson was a sixteen-year-old right winger and my son's best friend and teammate.

With about five minutes left in the game and the Mavericks ahead by four goals. Terry tripped and fell awkwardly headfirst into the boards while going for the puck behind Moose Jaws' goal.

The referee immediately stopped play and skated over to Terry, who lay motionless on the ice. He immediately told Terry to stay still. Then he yelled for Terry’s coach and team trainer. When they reached Terry. He told them he could not move his legs. The trainer knew Terry needed immediate medical help. As Terry laid motionless on the ice, players from both teams gathered around him. All felt helpless, knowing all they could do was offer him words of encouragement.

Everyone in the arena stood, shocked at the sight of this young man lying surrounded by both teams and their coaches. The entire arena was silent, as everyone waited for some sign that he was okay.

Terry's father was escorted on the ice to be with his son. He spoke softly to Terry. Telling him that everything was fine. Even as he said those words, he knew his son was severely injured.

The paramedics arrived with their gurney and medical gear. They took great care as they rolled Terry over and onto a backboard. They placed a neck brace around his neck.

For almost thirty minutes, there was not a sound in the arena other than soft whispers and prayers. With great care for Terry, the paramedics lifted him onto a stretcher.

The silence in the arena was broken when Terry motioned with his right hand, letting everyone know he was okay. The arena erupted with a roar of cheers. Players on both teams accompanied Terry as they took him from the ice. They saluted Terry by banging their hockey sticks on the ice. A long-time hockey tradition.

Terry was taken to the nearest hospital, where specialists were already waiting for the young man's arrival. After a thorough exam and tests, their diagnosis was not a good one. Terry had suffered severe bruising to his spinal cord. His orthopedic surgeon told Terry's parents that Terry might be able to walk again, but it would take considerable time and effort. He stressed that walking was not a guarantee. Terry’s life would forever be changed. All because of a freak accident.

Over the following months, Terry's parents sought specialists in spinal cord injuries; all said the same that he may or maynot walk again.

Most adults would have given up and resigned themselves to a life of never walking, never being able to live their life as they once enjoyed, but not this young man. Terry was a fighter, a strong and determined young man. Each day, he had to endure hours of physical therapy. Terry was going to prove everyone wrong. He would not give up hope. He would walk again.

As the months passed, one after another, his will to continue weaken. The hope he had in the beginning started to leave him. As did his will to see his friends. Terry worried daily about the burden he was on his parents. The thought of spending the rest of his life depending on someone to help him wore on him. His mobility was limited to a wheelchair. His doctor recommended a motorized wheelchair; it would give him some freedom. Especially during a Saskatchewan winter.

The one bright light in his life was his parents. Despite the constant care Terry needed, all of Terry’s doctors’ visits, along with the changes to their home that would allow Terry to move with his wheelchair. They never showed him anything but love. It was those changes that put his parents in severe financial hardship. Now his doctor wants him to have a motorized wheelchair? Health insurance would not cover that cost. How would they get Terry such a chair?

I am a reporter with the Humboldt Courier newspaper. I spoke with Terry’s father and offered to write an article about Terry's need for a wheelchair. I knew our community would come through to get Terry his chair. Although grateful, his father did not want to bring any more attention to their son. He told me the cards and well wishes Terry had received after the injury eventually slowed and then stopped. He and his wife watched as Terry's will to go on began to disappear. A news article would just bring Terry more emotional pain.

Humboldt is a small town. Everyone knows everyone. The fact Terry needed a special wheelchair was soon all over town. I received numerous calls from people in our community, offering their financial support. I stopped over one evening to tell Terry’s parents about the offers to help. Both were grateful, but felt it was their responsibility. Terry’s parents are the first to offer their help to anyone in need, but the kind that will not accept help.

About two weeks after I had spoken with his parents, my son came home after visiting Terry. He told me that while he was there, Terry's mother heard a knock on their front door. When she opened it, she noticed a black car pulling away from the curb.

When she looked down. There was a small package wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string. There were no stamps, no return address. Written on the package was "Terry."

She gave it to Terry to open. Inside they found twenty thousand dollars in cash wrapped with a rubber band and a note that said, "For medical bills."

There also was a small black leather notebook with Terry's name in gold on the cover. On the inside cover someone had written in bold blue ink. "I believe in you. Believe in yourself." On the very last page, the good Samaritan wrote, "The power of faith and a true belief in yourself will overcome the greatest of life's barriers. One day, you will be the proof."

The money helped his parents get the chair he needed. The notebook and the words of encouragement brought new hope to Terry. From that day forward, he worked with a new determination towards his physical therapy.

Each day he wrote in his book of his progress, always ending each page with the words, "I believe."

The last entry Terry made was on the last page of his notebook, just below the words the good samaritan had written.

Terry wrote, "Your words of belief came at a time most needed. My hope to walk was restored. Thanks to you, I found belief in myself, and today, I walked with no one's help, and I will for the rest of my life."