Beating the odds
Caden Landry has made a miraculous recovery since being struck by a vehicle
Sindi Lee doesn’t consider herself a religious person, but she’s become a believer in the power of people sharing their well wishes and positivity. She’s certain it’s what’s making the difference for her 14-year-old son Caden Landry, who three short weeks ago, she wasn’t sure was going to make it through the night.
The family's roller coaster of emotions began Feb. 7.
That evening Caden was struck by a car while walking a short distance from his home to a store in Pictou – something he had done countless times before without incident.
Lee remembers looking out a side door and wondering what was taking him so long to get back when 15 minutes passed. She remembers hearing the knock on her front door and a friend telling her she had to come quick. Caden had been hurt.
She remembers seeing her son lying in the street and waiting for him to be lifted into the ambulance and then taken to the Aberdeen Hospital and later the IWK.
She remembers waiting for answers.
“The neurologist came out and said he was not looking good and he was very concerned about what the rest of the night was going to look like for Caden,” Lee said. “That was very traumatizing, obviously. I went stone cold because I couldn’t process what he was saying. His dad got very upset and we all just went outside to try to collect ourselves.”
But then the doctors checked Caden’s intracranial pressure and found it wasn’t as high as they thought.
An MRI showed he had a severe traumatic injury to his brain stem. Other injuries he sustained included a fractured thoracic vertebrae, significant lung damage and broken ribs. Doctors still cautioned the family that he had significant damage.
“We went from, ‘he’s not going to make it through the night’ to hour to hour to ‘when he wakes up he won’t be the same.’”
But then Caden started making improvements that shocked the doctors. He started waking up, gave the thumbs up when asked to by a nurse and began asking for water.
Every day he’s made more advances and is now free of all tubes, eating solid food, walking with a walker and talking.
“Cognitively, he’s Caden. Physically he’s pretty weak,” Lee said.
She knows that they still have a long road to go, but she’s happy to see him getting back to himself.
“It’s been an absolute roller coaster and a whirlwind,” she said. “I think you go on autopilot and adrenaline and just kind of get through it.”
Lee has a bit of experience when it comes to emergencies. In 2017, her infant daughter, Maci, was diagnosed with a heart problem and had to be sent to Toronto for surgery. Because of that experience, she has connections with parents of children with similar conditions throughout the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia. When that network of people heard about what happened to Caden, well wishes and prayers began flooding in from everywhere.
“I’m not a big believer in religion and I’m not a big believer in the whole concept of miracles, but I think when you have thousands and thousands of people just willing someone to get better and all the positiveness, I think that’s what has got him to the point he is,” Lee says.
Along the way, she’s been thankful for the support their entire family has received, including everything from a card signed by all of Caden’s friends at Pictou Academy to fundraisers that have allowed them to focus their entire attention on Caden and his recovery.
“When you’re dealing with this kind of situation, to know that everything else is taken care of it alleviates that stress,” she said.
Caden is out of the ICU now and has begun rehabilitation. Lee hopes that, before long, they’ll be able to get home and continue the healing.
“Thank you to every single person in the county and beyond who have helped us,” she said. “It definitely helps.”
Anyone who would like to follow Caden's journey can find out more on the Facebook page Lee has created called Caring for Caden.