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Son would improve with more rehab therapy says mother Continued from page 1 5 · Thursday, July 8, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com an addiction counsellor stating his experience in overcoming his own addiction could really help those still struggling. "Michael was a real lovely young man," said Pat. "He was never the type of person to put people down. He was always sticking up for the underdog." Pat went on to describe a time when she and Michael had been having lunch in downtown Toronto during which Michael suddenly walked outside to come to the aid of a homeless person who was being harassed by a passerby. Sadly, Michael's future was drastically altered when he was jumped in the parking lot of Toronto's Good Shepard Refuge one Saturday in October 2003. Pat's sister-in-law Angie Rooney said Michael's assailants beat him so badly Michael actually had to be resuscitated by paramedics after he was found. His attackers were never caught. Michael was taken to Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital where he was stabilized, but lapsed into a coma. To this day Pat still has difficulty describing what she saw during that first visit to the hospital. "He was in bad shape, really bad shape. They didn't expect him to live. When I first saw him, he looked like something in a movie," she said through tears. "His whole head was all bandaged. He was black and blue from his face down to his chest. I can remember going over to him and I put my hand just a little above him and said, `Jesus...' and I remember thinking, `He's your son and you gave him to me to look after and I'll do the best I can.'" At one point, Pat said discussions were held around taking Michael off life support and donating his organs, but she rejected this idea stating Michael deserved more of a chance. As the weeks passed, Michael began to show some positive signs of recovery. He gradually opened his eyes and tracked his mother as she moved around the room. Pat said that while Michael would watch her and the doctors as they worked, he did not speak, made no sounds and had no expression on his face. All this changed during one visit. "I went in this day and he had a little tear running down his face. So I took a Kleenex and I wiped his eye," said Pat. "Then I looked and I see this tear from his other eye running straight down his cheek and he opened his eyes and looked right at me and said, `I'm sorry.' Those were the very first words that came out of Michael." Eventually Michael was transferred to the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute where, Pat said, he received six weeks of physiotherapy. Eventually, Michael was able to stand, with the aid of the parallel bars, and take three steps. Unfortunately, Rooney said, this rehab program was not continued after the six weeks and Michael was placed back in a hospital bed and had his exercise time cut down ERIC RIEHL / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER AN OUTING WITH MOM: Michael Gunn with his mother Pat on their weekly bowling outing to Classic Bowl in Mississauga. to once a week. "We have said many times that if Michael had been left at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute for a year, maybe two years, (getting physiotherapy) we honestly believe he would be walking at this stage," said Rooney. "Now he's deteriorated so much because he doesn't get enough physio." Rooney went on to point out that Oakville's Northridge Long-Term Care Centre does have physiotherapy, but says it is only twice a week for 15-minute sessions and geared more towards seniors. She also said there are no young people present for Michael to relate to or to motivate him to do better. "I find Michael's gotten very unhappy lately. Very frustrated and very unhappy," said Pat. "He doesn't laugh a lot anymore. He calls the workers every name under the sun. All you hear from him anymore is that he wants out of there." Pat went on to say Michael could do so much better if he was in a rehab facility with people his own age where he could get enough physiotherapy to improve his situation. "If he could even take a half a dozen steps, like six steps, where he could take his wheelchair to the bathroom, stand up with a walker, take a couple steps and sit on the toilet that would be a huge improvement," said Rooney. "At the moment that young man, at 45, wears a diaper because it's not always possible for (the staff at Northridge) to get him to the toilet in time. That's not a fun thing for someone at any age to have to do." Pat said she tries to take Michael on activities he will enjoy, but said she runs into a lot of roadblocks, mostly financial. Every Monday Pat takes Michael to bowling events held by PHABIS (Peel Halton Acquired Brain Injury Services). Pat said this is an activity Michael enjoys and it also gives him the opportunity to interact with people his own age. Getting him to these events, however, has proven to be a problem. Initially when Pat wanted to take Michael to such an event or even a doctor's appointment she would need to book a wheelchair taxi. This in itself, however, could be a challenge and the cost would be considerable for a return trip. Pat is retired and lives in a one-room apartment and had difficulty paying this fee. Luckily, this particular situation was resolved when Pat was able to buy her own wheelchair van thanks to money awarded to her by the province's Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. The board looked at what had happened to Michael and awarded Pat $25,000, the maximum amount permitted. While this problem was overcome, Pat is still trying to deal with others, such as trying to find a more appropriate place for Michael to live and figuring out what is going to happen to him when she passes away. "It all comes down to the therapy really," said Pat. "If I'm cutting his nails and his arm is shaking all over the place I say to Michael, `Tell that arm to stay still,' and he looks at that arm and says, `Stay still,' and it does. He could do so well with the right therapy." Are You Happy With Your Smile? Before After 10 porcelain veneers and Zoom!® whitening Before After Full-mouth rehabilitation Dr. Phelan knows that the first step in creating a great smile and any new patient relationship is clear communication. With this in mind Dr. Phelan will spend time with you in our consultation area discussing any concerns you may have about your smile and dental health, as well as your goals for the future. 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