I've made this blog for my brother Connor Dick. His friends and I thought it would be a good idea to try and raise some money for him for when he's done rehab and is able to come home. He was blessed with a second chance but we'd all love to do a little more for him, for extra expenses not covered by WCB and whatever he may need or want along the way on his road to recovery! Every bit helps no matter how big or small. If your wanting to make a donation you can do so via the PayPal donate button on the top right corner of the page.
I figured I'd start off by telling you a bit about Connor. Connor is 21 years old and is 1 of 4 siblings. He has 2 nephews that adore him very much. In his spare time Connor loves to go camping, play video games (COD), watch movies or go to the movies but most of all he loves to fish. He also loves his music, especially Drake, he has to be one of his biggest fans! When he was younger he loved to play baseball and other sports. He's a huge Toronto Blue Jays fan. Connor is very quiet until you get to know him but he has the biggest heart. He's the kind of guy that usually wont say no, even if he doesn't want to do it. Connor loves his family and friends but most of all it's so nice to see how much his friends love him!
My name's Megan Dick, Connor is my brother and this is his story...
As most of you already know Connor and our two other brothers all work together for the same company and on the same job site. On October 24th, 2013 Connor fell 30+ feet while working on the UBC building in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. We were very lucky we didn't lose Connor as people die all the time from shorter falls then his. He sustained multiple injuries and to what extent we didn't know at first. The doctors told us to expect the worst and the road to recovery would be very long. Connor fractured his pelvis in a few places, multiple fractures in his right arm and wrist, fractures to the right side of his face and head, 6 broken ribs, he had contusions on his lungs, a couple bleeds in his brain and he was on a ventilator to help him breath for a while as he wasn't breathing on his own. The worst of his injuries is a traumatic brain injury called Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI). For the first couple weeks Connor was in a coma and knowing the extent of his injuries was so heartbreaking, not knowing if or when he'd ever wake up. We would just watch him lay there, so helpless, with tubes and wires everywhere and there was nothing any of us could do other than to just be there for him. My family has stayed very strong for Connor even though there were so many "what if's" and a lot of unknowns. As the days went on Connor finally opened his eyes and from there on you could see the fight and determination he had in him! They eventually put in a tracheotomy with no telling how long he would have to have it in, but the process to get it capped happened very quickly because of Connor. The doctors had been talking about removing the tracheostomy tube one day but they were waiting until he was swallowing on his own. One night I guess he wanted it removed so bad he took it upon himself to pull it out! (The little bugger) Thankfully he was doing well enough on his own that they just left it out. Because Connor wasn't able to have any food or liquids by mouth, they had to put a PEG tube in his stomach to feed him which will hopefully be removed soon. The doctors chose to let most stuff heal on it's own but he has had surgery on his pelvis where they put in multiple screws to hold it together and he also had surgery on his wrist with a plate and pins put in to hold it together too. It will be another week to three weeks until he can fully weight bear and because of the plate in his wrist, he's temporarily lost mobility and movement in it. Connor is right handed but has been learning to do things with his left. So far everything he's accomplished and improved on has been unreal to watch.
The things he's done this far are so inspiring whether it be hugs, high-fives, throwing the ball around, learning to swallow again, using his iPhone, pretty much all the things we do everyday that we take for granted. Connor gets music therapy with the sweetest girl whom my family just adores, as does Connor. She sings and plays the guitar for him along with some speech therapy. Connor hadn't said a word until about 10 days ago when the speech therapist was working with him and all of a sudden he said mom! Since that day his speech has improved phenomenally! What started out as one word has turned into short sentences but sometimes he needs to be asked to repeat stuff a few times so that we can understand him. He's very mono toned and needs to relearn facial expressions. With that said it's so great to be able to talk to him again and have him respond. The last few music therapy sessions Connor has even tried singing along when the music therapist comes to see him. He started physio a few weeks ago and to see first hand how much it has helped him gain control of his muscles and balance again is amazing. The other day they got him to hold on to the bars and lift himself up into the standing position, keeping in mind he can only use the left side of his body for the time being. We were all in awe when he did it and stood up so straight! There's no words to describe how proud of him we all are. Day after day laying in bed, moving in and out of his wheelchair and having to relearn how to do normal every day tasks and relearn them with only his left hand. Last week they finally gave Connor a swallow test and he is allowed to eat soft foods and drink thick liquids. I don't even think he cares how it tastes, he eats what they give him so fast!
The amount of support from family and friends for Connor through all this, along with the support for the rest of our family has been absolutely amazing. With his strength, his friends and family being there every step of the way, he's come so far already! Thank you everyone for all you've done for us, it means more then you'll ever know. The prayers, well wishes and all the kind words have helped our family so much and we hope that will continue until Connor is back home <3 He will need lots of support even when he's done at GF Strong on his long road of recovery.
GF Strong will be Connor's next and last step before coming home so we hope that will be soon!
I wish I would have started this sooner but better late then never. I will do my best to put up updates as much as possible. I've also added some pics below to show how far he's come.
Here is a link to a video we made for Connor -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVokGa78tFA
Your strength is so inspiring Connor! We're all here for you. XOXOXO
