Spreading the word against drunk driving
Bay Roberts man doesn’t let physical disabilities keep him down
“(Chase) has overcome so many physical obstacles and is certainly living proof of the power of determination, love and a lot of hard work.” Pam Davis
Brandon Chase has a message.
It’s one he sometimes delivers on wobbly legs and through slurred speech, but he delivers it nonetheless.
It is a message of love and consequences.
A drunk-driving accident in the summer of 2015 left Chase with brain damage and severe mobility issues. He was the passenger when a Nissan Sentra performed an illegal U-turn near Cochrane, Alta., and was hit by an oncoming vehicle. Chase wasn’t aware the driver had been drinking earlier that day.
The accident left him with several severe injuries, including lacerations to his liver and spleen, a shattered pelvis and a skull dislocation.
Chase doesn’t remember the accident that left him with brain damage and serious mobility issues. He figures it is for the best.
He might not be able to deliver his message if he could remember what happened.
Chase’s street gospel is simple. He will approach people in the park, on the street or downtown in bars and tell them his story.
Sometimes they respond and sometimes they stiffen up while waiting for Chase to end his sermon.
He just talks and hopes they take even a sliver of the message he tries to convey. It makes no difference to Chase how they react.
The message is the important part.
“It’s my job,” he said of his advocacy. “I put my heart and soul into it.”
In the years that have followed the accident, Chase has found a mission.
He has become an advocate with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) chapters in Alberta and this province.
Recently, Chase spoke to a class at Algonquin College in Ottawa about the perils of drunk driving and how it dramatically changed his life.
Starting this summer, his story will be highlighted as a part of a national campaign by MADD.
A fundraising campaign will deliver his story in the hope of raising awareness about the consequences of impaired driving and the people left in its wake.
“(Chase) has overcome so many physical obstacles and is certainly living proof of the power of determination, love and a lot of hard work,” said his mother, Pam Davis.
GETTING BETTER
Spreading his gospel of safety and prevention has carried Chase through these tough days.
He attacks his physical rehabilitation in the same manner.
He is at the gym five days a week as part of his rehabilitation. Sometimes he shoots hoops or gets in some work on the jiu-jitsu mats.
His determination to help others see the pitfalls of impaired driving has helped with his cognitive development in the years since the accident.
Chase puts work into his message, and it has helped him when those conversations come up.
At least, that is how his mother sees it.
“It is something meaningful and it’s making him think and it has really helped his overall cognition improve,” said Davis. “I really believe that.”
STILL GOALS TO REACH
When each day is a blessing, setting goals might not be at the top of mind for some.
However, Chase has found attaining goals has helped him in his recovery. There are things he wants to accomplish, and he has set goals for himself.
He wants to be able to run again, and while playing rugby might be out of the question physically, it is still on Chase’s to-do list.
Chase and his mother are working on his cognitive abilities in the hope he will be able to speak live in front of a crowd or for interviews.
Standing in front of high school students and delivering his message is another of the things he wants to accomplish.
He has been writing speeches and will soon start practising speaking for when that eventually happens.
“I just need to work hard and go from there,” said Chase. “Keep pushing myself to keeping going.”
These last six years haven’t been anything like he had hoped or planned, he said.
He was just finding his way in the world when his life was altered. It would have been easy to move through the rest of his existence with a different attitude.
That isn’t Chase, though. Through sheer heart and determination, he has grown through his family’s new normal.
Perhaps, he’s even found his purpose.
“We didn’t know where we were going to land,” said Davis. “So, I couldn’t even imagine six years ago being in this position and doing this with him.”