The WJAC started with a sad incident when Neil Doef was injured at the WCEC. When I visited them just before Christmas in RUH the family was gathered for support and finding their way forward. Here is an update on Neil's condition found in the Ottawa Citizen.
Hockey player Neil Doef is showing many signs of improvement since a December accident that left him paralyzed at the time.
After a long journey since the serious hockey injury in December that has left him with only the partial use of his legs, Neil Doef has finally moved into his new home.
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| Doefstrong FB Page/Ottawa Citizen |
The 18-year-old hockey player moved into the family’s new house on Monday, an opportunity made possible by support from the tight-knit community of Smiths Falls. Fundraisers have raised more than $200,000 through everything from golf tournaments to birthday money, according to the Doefstrong Facebook page.
Doef was at the World Under 17 Championship in Saskatchewan in December when he crashed into the boards, leaving him paralyzed.
Today, the teen has a strong upper body, but severely limited movement in his legs. He can stand with support, but spends much of his time in a wheelchair. Rehab since the accident has improved his condition, however, and the family is optimistic about his recovery.
Pat Morell is a co-ordinator for the Doefstrong group, which has been helping the family deal with the overwhelming support and the trust fund set up for the teen through Scotiabank. The Doefstrong Facebook page doesn’t organize fundraising, but rather acts as a mediator between the family, the community and the bank.
Morell said that the new home, located not far from the old family home in Smiths Falls, will make it easier for Doef to get around and has a bedroom for him with an ensuite bathroom.
“That was one of the definite bonuses to moving to a newer home, was having an ensuite that Neil could call his own and not having to put everyone out in the family by having to share bathrooms and that sort of thing.”
The newest challenge for the Doef family is settling in after the move.
“They’re trying to feel their way through setting up a new house,” says Morell. “It’s a hard thing for anyone to do.”
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| Doefstrong FB page/Ottawa Citizen |
Doef’s mother, Bobbi-Jean, eventually hopes to re-establish her home daycare in the basement of the home.
In the four months since the accident, the Smiths Falls Bears hockey player has been hospitalized in Saskatoon, transferred to Ontario and moved to a rehabilitation centre. The move home is simply the next step on the long road to recovery. “He was a hard-working kid beforehand and this spinal cord injury has not stopped him from being hard-working,” says Morell.
She said the hockey family still has the usual teenager’s priorities after moving into a new home.
“The most important for a kid — yesterday was Internet and satellite,” she says. “With the playoffs coming tonight, those were the most important things happening yesterday in that house.”
“People are organizing things because they know Neil, they know the family, they’re trying to help them out,” says Morell. “We’re just kind of the middle man.”
Morell and her Doefstrong colleague, Berni Scott, wound up heading the page since they knew the family through minor league hockey. “Smith Falls is small. Once you’re in the arena – everybody knows everybody.”
The women were on the executive committee for the league along with Bobbi-Jean Doef. “It’s just ‘cause we’re a small community and we just kind of all stuck together,” Morell explains. “So, when Neil’s accident happened it was just automatic that we all jumped to do something.”
Thanks to Councillor Janzen for finding and sharing this article. The original article can be found here.
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