Squamish’s Kurt Patrick was behind the wheel when the life-altering car accident happened in 1991, but the more than three decades of care and life since have been a family—and community—affair.
On March 23, Patrick will turn 50.
When he was 17 at Howe Sound Secondary—with girlfriends and sports as his main interests, says his dad, Don—Patrick was one day away from starting a job at Save-On-Foods (previously known as Overwaitea Foods).
"His work clothes were neatly folded in his room for that first day," Don told The Squamish Chief.
However, on July 3, 1991, at 2:50 p.m., Patrick, driving his prized red Firebird with a white interior, crashed into the back of a garbage truck on Highway 99 at Scott Crescent.
Patrick doesn't remember the crash at all, but it is believed he was looking off to the side at a hitchhiker on the shoulder when he slammed into the truck.
His dad recalled that the forks on the small garbage bin carrier came through the windshield, striking the left side of Patrick's head.
It is a scar that remains today.
The car was totalled.
Patrick was not expected to live.
But he did.
Recovery
He was in Lions Gate Hospital for one year, in a coma for six months of it—his family travelling down to visit him every day.
He then spent another two years at George Pearson Centre, a residential rehabilitation care facility, in Vancouver.
The crash made the local paper, and many in the community came to visit and helped along the way, his parents say.
At first, he could come home for weekend visits.
“The first time they brought him [home] in the ambulance, they brought them up to his bedroom and then the house was full of company coming in to visit all day,” his mom, Lynda, recalled.
Patrick didn't eat normally for years until a visit home from Geroge Pearson when his mom got him a McDonald's cheeseburger, which did the trick.
These days, he likes pasta, meat and potatoes, jambalaya, and a range of other dishes, but not vegetables or sweets—not even the birthday cake that will arrive for his 50th.
Patrick recently spoke to The Squamish Chief, sometimes through his parents as translators, as his ability to speak is restricted.
With the care Patrick needs—he gets some homecare assistance daily—there was the option for him to be in long-term care permanently, but his mother Lynda was having none of that.
Her boy was coming home for good.
Coming home
Over the years since, Patrick's parents—led by Lynda—have bought and renovated houses to make them accessible for their son.
They built their current Diamond Head Road home, incorporating an entirely accessible wing, with its own kitchen, sprawling washroom and accessible backyard.
"Never for one minute have I regretted it," Lynda said of the family's decision to bring Patrick home.
"We've had a good time, haven't we, Kurt?" she added.
Patrick enthusiastically responded, "Yeah."
"I keep busy. My life would not make sense to anyone if it weren't for Kurt," Lynda said.
Life well lived
And while things have not been easy for any of them the love of the family and determination to make the most of life has meant it hasn't been a boring one.
There have been cruises—seven or eight to Alaska— and many other trips to places like Hawaii and Egypt.
There were Canucks games—even going on centre ice for his 40th birthday.
For a time, they also had an RV that was modified to accommodate Patrick.
And there have been celebrity encounters arranged by friends and supporters.
Patrick met Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson when he was in town filming Walking Tall in the early 2000s.
"Kurt liked wrestling at the time. And he was a big fan of The Rock. So, when [his homecare worker at the time] found out that he was starring in this movie, she asked, 'Could he meet with Kurt?' So she took him down there. He says the police met him and took him in to The Rock and they spent 57 minutes together," Don recalled.
Craig Hendrickson, the former NFL football player, also came by and met with Patrick.
In terms of other activities, Patrick spends hours completing puzzles—there have been hundreds.
Don speaks to the community and the care many have given since the crash.
"There's so many people in Squamish that have been a serious part [of this]," he said. "Right from the first day when we had the accident.”
Although Patrick has had his struggles, his dad said it is important that when interacting with individuals living with disabilities, people see the similarities, not just the differences.
"They're real people, and they do everything that we do, they just have a hard time doing it."
