06/02/2025
From One Momās Heart š
Itās hard to find the words to explain what this past year has been like, but I want to share a little bit about our son Owen ā not just because heās our hero, but because his story is one of strength, community, and never giving up.
Owen has played hockey with the Bedford Blues since he was a Timbit. From the very beginning, it was clear ā he loves this sport (As well as a few others!) Heās always wanted to be better than he was the year before. He soaked up every tip from coaches, laughed and learned with teammates, and put his whole heart into every shift. Heās always been that kid whoās trying to hype his teammates on the bench, cover them on the ice and always trying to make up new and interesting plays.
This past July, during his final day of hockey camp in PEI, Owen was hit in the neck with a hockey puck during a drill. It was one of those accidents that you can never prepare for. He had a seizure on the ice and was rushed to the ER in Charlottetown via ambulance. The ER doctors quickly knew he was in big trouble and needed the proper pediatric care. From there, he was air lifted via the Life Flight to the IWK in Halifax. His dad Trevor and I will never forget meeting with the Neurosurgeon and hearing him explain how sick Owen really was. He was bleeding in his brain and needed a drain to relieve the pressure.
We waited in the PICU for what seemed like forever while he was sedated and they were giving him time to heal. His MRI the following day revealed that the drain was working. His pressure was not increasing. They could wake him up soon. We didnāt know if his C-Spine was clear or if he had his motor function and memory but it was a step forward.
Over the next few weeks, our world stood still. Owen had been sedated for 6 days, had three brain surgeries, including a second drain, an emergency aneurysm coil and had a shunt placed that now helps manage the pressure in his head forever. We spent six long weeks in the hospital, hoping, praying, and holding onto every small sign of progress even with a lot of setbacks. The day his rehab doctor said he could go home was the most unreal feeling. We will always cherish those words from him.
When we finally brought him home, he was fragile. Heād lost weight, muscle, and so much of the strength he once had. But in true Owen fashion, he faced recovery with courage and as a challenge. He used a walker, went to school part-time, met with rehab specialists, and slowly, steadily, he started to come back to us.
His IWK rehab team was incredible and kept him motivated at each appointment, even with a broken basketball net! He enjoyed showing them how much he could excel from visit to visit.
His private physiotherapist allowed him to bring his hockey and lacrosse sticks to sessions ā not just to work on motor skills, but to remind him who he is. That little detail made all the difference. His eyes lit up. His drive came back. He felt strong.
Now, Owen is back to full days at school, joined a soccer team, participates in gym class and field games. Heās still healing, still working through what happened ā but if you saw him today, youād see that same passionate, determined boy. Heās still Owen. Maybe even more so now.
We donāt share this for sympathy. We share this out of gratitude ā for the incredible care at the IWK and the teams whoāve supported him. Endless nurses, techs, doctors, surgeons, child life specialists, dietitians, student surgeons, student nurses, psychologists and all of the IWK staff from the Tim Hortons to the surgery teams, they all had our boy. The teammates whoāve checked in, our families, friends and the community that quietly showed up for us in so many ways and heard all of our amazing stories of the IWK. We are beyond thankful. And mostly, we are so proud of our boy. š
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