Doctors pedal to raise money for trauma survivors
Cyclists from St. Michael’s Hospital hope to hit target of $11,000 to bolster centre’s support group
“Everyone was pretty quick to jump on and embraced the idea of doing it.” JOEL LOCKWOOD ON DOCTORS’ CYCLING TRIP
Four doctors from Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital are tackling some of the toughest climbs in the Pyrenees mountain range in France and hoping to raise money for survivors of traumatic injury.
The avid cyclists — three who work in the emergency department and one internist — are raising funds for the hospital’s recently formed Trauma Survivors’ Network, which is a support group providing psychosocial support to trauma patients after they’ve been discharged.
“We bandage them up, fix them up and then they get no real followup care,” says Dr. Alun Ackery, an emergency physician and trauma team leader, in a telephone interview from Bagnères-de-Luchon. “They go through a lot of things and there’s not really a lot of support.”
This group is the first of its kind in Canada, and its monthly meetings, which began in April, give patients a chance to come together and talk about the challenges they face as they struggle to get their lives back on track.
These are individuals who have suffered significant physical injury from incidents such as a car crash, fall, stabbing or shooting.
Even after leaving the hospital, they can face longterm challenges, such as PTSD, chronic pain, brain injuries and emotional issues.
The group meetings give them an opportunity to get information on recovery, how to best connect with supports and help in managing daily challenges.
The idea for the group was spearheaded by Margaret Harvey, 43, after suffering a traumatic injury. In 2012, while cycling in Toronto, she was run over by a garbage truck.
Her pelvis was shattered and she was rushed to St. Mike’s, where she underwent surgery and received 38 blood transfusions. Months of intense rehabilitation followed.
“When I got home I thought I’d be better, but I wasn’t,” Harvey says. “I went from being a caregiver of two young boys, and a working person, to someone who needed care.”
She grew depressed and looked for support — but there was none. She eventually met Amanda McFarlan, who manages the hospital’s trauma program registry, and they started the support group at the hospital.
McFarlan applauds the doctors’ efforts and says one of the group’s patients described their cycling route — a windy road with lots of ups and downs — as emblematic of their road to recovery.
“There’s this really nice harmony between what (the doctors) are doing and what it represents to the folks who are at our Trauma Survivors’ Network meetings.”
She says that listening to how trauma survivors are managing gives the hospital some insight into what it could do differently to better prepare patients for discharge. “It’s a learning opportunity for us,” McFarlan says.
In Toronto, there are trauma centres at St. Mike’s, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the Hospital for Sick Children.
Sunnybrook plans to launch a similar support group in December.
Ackery, Dr. Joel Lockwood, Dr. Samuel Vaillancourt and Dr. Rob Sargeant are cycling a 720-kilometre route called the Raid Pyrenean, from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.
Money they raise will go directly to the support group and help it cover costs for guest speakers and resources to help patients build self-reliance and selfmanagement skills.
The doctors planned their cycling trip — some of their climbs feature in the Tour de France — and then decided to use it as away to raise funds for the support group. Their target is $11,000, symbolizing the route’s 11,000 metres of ascent. They expect to complete their six-day challenge Saturday.
“The way we have trauma set up is that we bring people to hospitals and really work on the medical side, but often don’t work on the long-term side — that’s reintegrating people back into society,” Lockwood says.
And as great as modern-day medicine is, he says if a patient has suffered major trauma, “it’s unlikely you’re going to be at the same functioning level that you were before.”
It was Lockwood who organized the cycling trip.
“Everyone was pretty quick to jump on and embraced the idea of doing it, both for an athletic challenge and a better cause we believe in.”
To donate to the Trauma Survivors’ Network, visit the St. Michael’s Foundation website or call 416-864-5000.