December 31 in Kamsack will not only be a traditional New Year’s Eve celebration, it will also be an opportunity for area residents to help support a 16-year-old Kamsack minor hockey player who suffered a spinal cord injury in April.
A committee of former Kamsack Minor Hockey Association members is planning the New Year’s Eve benefit for Teddy Hudye, Darryl Binkley, a spokesperson for the group, said last week. It will include a dance to music provided by Saddles and Steel of Yorkton, a midnight lunch and an auction.
“We’re still gathering auction items, but already we’ve got 10 tickets to an Edmonton Oilers’ NHL game, four tickets to a Calgary Flames’ game and Saskatchewan Roughriders’ jerseys,” Binkley said.
The money raised will help Mike and Kim Hudye pay for their son’s therapy, he said.
On April 24, Teddy, who had been playing hockey at Kamsack from the age of five years, was going to school on his dirt bike, Binkley said. He was in a stubble field where he hit a rock that he could not see. As a result, he fractured his T9 vertebrae and severely injured his spinal cord.
That night Teddy had surgery to put rods and screws into his back and to decompress his spinal cord, he said. He has no movement from his waist down.
“Teddy has never been the kind of child to sit still. He was always doing something, whether it was all kinds of sports, especially hockey, being with friends, working, learning hands-on about mechanical things, hunting, snowmobiling, quadding or dirt biking. He has never been one to sit still.
“So to lose the use of his legs has been an extreme change in his life. He is an amazing person.
“He has never felt sorry for himself,” Binkley said. “In fact, he has said to me many times that even if he never walks again, he wants to be an inspiration to others.
“His determination to move forward has taken his progress in leaps and bounds. He has learned tons of new life skills from his awesome physio and occupational therapy team at Wascana Rehabilitation Centre in Regina, where they have taught him to transfer himself to and from his chair to bed and to other regular furniture, onto a shower chair and into a vehicle.
“Wascana is great at teaching life skills but (the staff does) not work on trying to maintain muscles in his legs or getting any kind of movement or feeling back into his legs.
“Teddy was looking for more after he was discharged from Wascana on July 9,” he said. “We found an incredible place right in Regina called First Steps Wellness Centre where they specialize in working with people with spinal cord injuries.
“First Steps’ motto is: “Recognize potential, not limits.
“In his first week there, they had him standing up in different ways with their assistance, which is something Teddy had never experienced since his accident. He has been working very hard five days a week, two hours a day with First Steps’ staff.
“We see him getting stronger all the time.
“Teddy is in Grade 12 and is very determined to graduate with his peers in June.
“While in Wascana he finished two English classes he had been taking at the time of his accident. Teddy is currently enrolled in Grade 12 at Kamsack Comprehensive Institute. He is taking two distance classes this semester so that he can devote five days a week in Regina, working on his therapy.”
Teddy lives in Regina during the week at an apartment with his mother, who took a leave from her educational assistant’s position to be with him and his sister, who is attending the University of Regina. He is taking advantage of being in the city and is trying new things like sledge hockey and wheelchair rugby.
He has also made valuable connections with other wheelchair users to learn from their experiences.
Unfortunately with spinal cord injuries, it takes a long time and a lot of hard work to possibly regain some or all movement.
First Steps is going to be a part of Teddy’s life for a long time, which is why Teddy’s family and friends are trying to help him by raising some funds to help with his therapy expenses, Binkley said.
First Steps costs are $80 an hour. Saskatchewan Health Care doe not help pay for this therapy. First Steps Wellness Centre has an incredible website that is really worth a look. It shows how incredible the place is and how it has helped people.
First Steps Spinal Cord Injury Wellness Centreis a non-profit organization providing innovative services to people with spinal cord injuries (SCI), says its webpage. “Our dedicated team provides one-on-one service for our clients as we use exercise-based recovery methods working towards improving the quality of life of people with SCI and other neuromuscular conditions.
“Improved overall health, independence, and quality of life are all part of our organizational mission as we focus on recognizing the potential of our clients and not their limits,” it said.
“We often see overall improved function of the body irrespective of the impairments caused by the injury,” it said. “For some time, research has shown that exercise helps not just in preventing secondary complications but also in improving fitness, function, health, independence and overall quality of life of people with SCI.
“Current research has shown strong positive findings for the possibility of retraining gait patterns in people with spinal cord injury, which is the ultimate aim of our facility.
“Exercise therapy needs to be keeping pace with current medical research. As society’s understanding of how the brain, spinal cord, and nervous system work after the onset of a SCI or neuromuscular injury, our way of recovering from those injuries must also adapt and evolve.
“First Steps Wellness Centre’s focus is the bridge between the latest in scientific research and exercise therapy. We achieve this by having highly specialized equipment, knowledgeable staff, and advanced training methods.
“Our dedicated team provides one-on-one service for our clients. First Steps strongly encourages its team members to update their knowledge by attending various research conferences and seminars, obtain important certifications, as well as conducting in-house training.
“Many students and masters candidates have done their internships here. Our 3,500-square-foot facility is filled with specialized exercise equipment. Our clients have shown great improvements in function, health, independence and quality of life. We are also blessed to have great support from our clients, their families and the community.
“We look forward to continued success and to provide the most technically advanced spinal cord injury recovery programs available,” it says.
The Teddy Hudye Trust Fund committee has an account set up at the Kamsack branch of Affinity Credit Union where donations may be deposited, Binkley said, urging everyone to consider purchasing a ticket for $20 in order to attend the New Year’s Eve benefit at the OCC Hall in Kamsack.
