Humboldt survivor recovering well and looking to the future
Life turned upside down for Graysen Cameron on April 6.
The Humboldt Broncos bus crash survivor from Olds, Alta., suffered a broken L4 vertebrae and a slight fracture of his femur in the accident. He spent his first days following the crash in a Saskatoon hospital before he was transferred to Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary.
The 19-year-old then underwent a back fusion operation and was released from hospital five days after the surgery in late April.
He’s become a hero in his hometown, where he was welcomed back by his former lacrosse team, the Olds Mavericks, prior to the start of their season opener.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” Cameron said.
He was back at Foothills Tuesday afternoon last week to spend some time with his Broncos teammate Ryan Straschnitzki, before Straschnitzki took off Thursday to Philadelphia, where he’ll continue his rehabilitation for the next two months.
“It’s definitely very humbling to know everyone has our back and I think I’ve adjusted fairly well to it,” said Cameron.
“It’s a lot different than life was before, but I think I’ve handled it as best as I can. Everyone wants to know how you’re doing and how the recovery’s going. Definitely for Ryan, I know he’s going through the same things.”
Cameron says he remembers most of the crash. He was taking a nap on the team bus when he awoke suddenly as the bus driver slammed the brakes.
“I ended up waking up on the road,” he said. “I was just taking my pre-game nap like normal … 1520 minutes, just trying to get that extra five minutes of sleep before the game.”
The crash on Highway 35 north of Tisdale killed 16 Humboldt players, staff and volunteers as the team was en route to play the Nipawin Hawks in their playoff series, in which the Broncos trailed 3-1. Nipawin went on to take the championship in the next round.
After a couple months of uncertainty, Cameron’s immediate future is starting to shape up again. His injuries mean he’s done playing hockey, but he’s able to walk and hopes to start physiotherapy in the next month.
He keeps in touch with his fellow surviving teammates as much as possible though. He said the group continues to message each other every day.
“We’re always there for each other, if someone’s going through something, or having a rough day. We just … we’re a family now and so we’re in touch all the time,” he said.