Here is part 2 of the Dane Issigonis story. The following is an interview with Dane’s mom about his road to recovery!
1. What was the significant change in Dane’s life?
Dane was a very atheltic 12 year old hockey player who suddently found himself having to re-learn to hold his head up, sit up on his own, and then eventually walk and run again. He will tell you that the most significant change in his life is being unable to play contact sports – hockey in particular. Dane was a hockey fanatic and like many kids his age had dreams of playing in the NHL someday.
2. What were the reactions of Dane and Family?
Shock and devastation in the beginning. It was very difficult for all of us to comprehend the severity of Dane’s injury when everything had been so normal up until that morning. His oldest brother Joel had left on Christmas afternoon for Calgary with his teammates (Vancouver NW Giants) for the Mac’s tourney and had to return home less that 24 hours later when he received the news that Dane was in critical condition.
3. What were the steps to recovery (critical care, physio etc…training)?
Dane underwent emergency surgery at Lions Gate Hospital, followed by 9 days in intensive care at BC Children’s Hospital and another 10 days in their recovery ward. From there, he spent 4 months as an inpatiet at Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children as part of their intense rehabilitation program.
For most of the first month, Dane was unable to move. He slowly regained mobility of his head/neck and torso, and then his arms and legs followed. He gradually moved from his wheelchair to a walker and then to walking with the aid of an orthodic. In the spring, Dance began training once a week with Jens. He had trained with Jens before and loved it and getting back into the gym with him was huge for his mental health.
Dane returned to school in September for half days as fatigue was still a big factor in keeping him from doing the things he was used to doing. Currently he still has regular physiotherapy sessions as well as extra strenth and balance exercise, which help to restore many connections in his brain.
4. How has his life changed since the incident and how is Dane coping with everything?
Dane’s inner strength and “never give up” attitude still amaze us every day. He is incredibly mature in coping with the circumstances and continues to work hard at his goal to get back to 100%.
5. What is he up to these days (activites, social, sports, etc.)?
His is playing inline hockey, weekly one-on-one sessions with his martial arts instructor and last spring, he became a junior Member at the Mt. Semour Golf Club.
Click on the link to read more about Dane’s inspirational story : http://www.bc-cfa.org/?page=1&story=141
The JK Fitness athlete of the month for July features Colton Sissons. He has been training in the spring and summer strength & conditioning program for the past three years with JK Fitness. Colton is an extremely hard worker in the gym and is very serious when it comes to working out. He has a great presence at the gym and in this way inspires those around him to work that much harder and smarter. One can easily see the level of professionalism he portrays at the gym, from his punctuality to his meticulous attention to details when performing exercises. It is his attention to details in the gym and his creativity on the ice that will rocket him into the player he desires to become. He is eager to learn more and to grow not just as an elite athlete but as a person as well.
