Amanda’s journey
A joyous Christmas night with family turned into tragedy, when Amanda K was thrown from the horse drawn carriage she was riding in. St. Joseph’s exceptional care team gave her the care and tools she needed to return to the warm embrace of her family and community and live a full life.
Amanda K. is pure joy. From the moment you meet her, you can see and feel her love of life, family and community radiating from her tiny frame. The eldest of nine children, she has already lived a lifetime—and is wise beyond her 25 years.
Amanda was born and raised on her family’s farm, which is nestled into the hilly landscape surrounding Chesley as part of an Amish community.
“It’s beautiful here,” she says. “I’ve lived here all my life, and we have fun times, we play games, help with the farm, and spend time together as a family.”
Eight years ago, what was expected to be another joyous time with family to sing hymns and share fellowship on Christmas night quickly turned into a tragedy. The horse-drawn buggy that Amanda was riding in was hit by a car.
Amanda was thrown from the buggy and would spend the next three weeks in a coma—with a poor prognosis for recovery. For her parents, Alvin and Mary Jane, it was exceptionally difficult to see their daughter struggling to survive in the intensive care unit.
“At the beginning, we didn’t really understand the extent of the seriousness of her type of injury. But what was hardest was when we were asked to consider taking her off life support,” recalls Alvin emotionally.
With her mother by her side, Amanda slowly regained consciousness. And against all odds and the expectations of her care team, she started to show improvements and was transferred to St. Joseph’s Parkwood Institute for rehabilitation therapy.
Unable to sit up, eat solid food, bath and dress herself or walk, Amanda was starting from square one.
As she gained more strength, her rehab regimen became more intense with six therapy sessions a day. She worked closely with Manny and Lorna, her occupational therapists, her rehab therapist Liane, her physiotherapists Melissa and Sara and her speech therapists
Corrie and Stephanie, as well as her vision therapist Mikela and her recreation therapist April.
Along with her team of therapists, Amanda recalls Dr. Keith Sequeira coming to see her every afternoon. She welcomed his thoughtful check-ins and honest reflections and feedback.
Early on in her rehabilitation Amanda set a goal with her care team that she would be able to walk by her 18th birthday on March 1. Sure enough, two days before her birthday she successfully walked without the support of her wheelchair. The achievement was a true testament to her determination and the circle of support and encouragement she received from her family and care team.
With each day, Amanda surprised everyone with her progress. Soon, she could be found scootering around the halls of the building, playing pool, shuffleboard and air hockey and joining other residents to sing in the choir. She found peace, joy and friendship during the choral sessions, singing Amazing Grace and Battle Hymn of the Republic.
“With everything new I was able to do, I would think to myself I’m a lucky girl,” she says.
Soon Amanda was heading home. But her recovery was not complete—something that her care team reinforced with importance to her family. Alvin recalls the care team recognizing how their small and cohesive community would play a big role in Amanda’s recovery, and noting how much hard work Amanda would need to continue giving, every day.
As Amanda settled back into the embrace of her family and community, her care team and their support were never far from her mind. She found great comfort and joy as she wrote them letters of gratitude with beautifully descriptive updates about her progress and life.
And nearly two years to the date of her discharge, Amanda and her family enjoyed a visit from several members of her care team. It was an afternoon of storytelling, laughter and shared tears of joy and appreciation.
Today, Amanda says she feels well, and she is actively living her life. She continues to help on her family’s farm and works with her cousin who has a small housekeeping business.
Her adventurous spirit has led her to tackle a new journey—hiking the Bruce Trail, an 800km trek that stretches from Tobermory to Niagara. She and a group of friends are doing 20 kilometres at a time, determined to complete it.
Reflecting on her care at Parkwood, Amanda and her family feel tremendous gratitude. She has kept a diary of her experience, which dates to some of her first few days in Parkwood and details her journey of care, her goals and her thoughts. It’s an important reminder of the hard work she has done to build her life back and the people who were by her side the entire time.
“It was a blessing in my life to be in a place like Parkwood,” says Amanda.
Alvin echoes his daughter’s feelings.
“We are so thankful that the Lord has provided a setting such as Parkwood and such smart and giving people – who provided our daughter with care.”