Concert for Hudson man recovering from brain surgery
Friends, neighbours and local musicians are coming together to organize a fundraising concert to support a Hudson man recovering from emergency surgery following a sudden brain aneurysm a few weeks ago. Cole Dreger, 32, had been experiencing symptoms of dizziness, blurry vision and vomiting for days before his two brothers finally convinced him to go to a hospital. According to close friend Stephanie Lapointe, the delay almost cost him his life. “There were two aneurysms in his brain. One had popped. They said he was lucky that it didn’t kill him,” said Lapointe. On March 28, Dreger had a lifesaving 11-hour emergency brain surgery at the Montreal Neurological Institute. While the prognosis for Dreger’s recovery is positive, doctors said it will be six to eight months or more before he will be well enough to return to work. Lapointe and seven other friends teamed up to organize a “ColeApalooza” fundraiser (facebook. com/events/1989555417928131) on Saturday from 1-5 p.m. at the Château du Lac, 460 Main St., Hudson, to help relieve financial stress during Dreger’s recovery. “The prognosis is great and he shouldn’t have any complications, but it’s a long road ahead of him,” said Lapointe. The event will feature live music from local performers The Guilbros, The Black Cadillacs, André Maillet, Dave Randall and Morgan Weinmeister. Organizers have also invited semi-pro players and musicians from local jam groups to bring their instruments to keep the music going between the bands’ sets and following the event. While many of the musicians have a personal connection to Dreger, others, like the Black Cadillacs, have never met him. “They just heard it was a local and signed up and were willing to help us,” said Lapointe. There is no cost to attend. Money will be raised through donations, raffle sales, a silent auction and the sale of tickets to play games such as darts, a bean bag toss and plinko. Jay Dreger, Cole’s brother, said Cole is out of hospital and recovering at home, and intends to come out to the fundraiser if he can. “He can’t believe how much people out there care about him,” said Dreger. “Cole is so grateful for everyone pitching in to help him in this time of need. He won’t be able to go back to work for a long time so this help is going get him through.” Dreger added both he and his other brother, Matt, consider their little brother a hero for his perseverance and kindness despite a string of challenges in recent years, including a series of head injuries and the sudden loss of their mother 10 years ago. Jay said Cole had been a motocross champion in South America, but a 2001 crash left him in a coma for weeks. After his recovery, he returned to Canada, where he was involved in two car crashes that left him with still more head trauma. “Our brother Cole means the world to us. He is the strongest person we know,” said Dreger. “He must have a horse shoe you know where. To be honest he’s lucky to be alive right now.”