Cory’s Story - His road to restored health.
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9/12/21 update from Cory’s mom and dad, Cathie and Raymond Gagne.
Raymond and I would like to give an update on our son Cory, but before I do that, I just want to say to everyone that has read my son’s story and has prayed for him your prayers are being heard. And I ask for you to please continue to pray for his continued recovery. Raymond and I would also like to thank all who have donated money to his Go Fund Me page. We can never thank you enough for y’alls generosity and express how much we so appreciate it. I promise to all this money is going directly to help with Cory’s present and future medical expenses.
It has been a little over a month since Cory’s last update. Cory continues to get the best brain and spine injury rehab at Memorial Herman’s Tier One program in the Medical Center Downtown. Now they will only allow one person per day, so we alternate days with Cory; mostly Raymond and I, but also his beautiful sister Amanda, handsome brother Zach, and Cory’s awesome girlfriend, Lindsey who has been here for Cory since day one have been able to spend days with Cory. We have all been so excited for every little, small progress Cory is making. Cory is fighting with everything he has. Cory now can see us and knows who we are (as of 9/7/21 both eyes open and he can see well.)
When I asked Cory if he wants to live, he said yes. I asked him if he wants to fight, he said yes. I asked him if he want to go home, he says yes. So, we will continue to fight alongside of Cory, everyday encouraging him, supporting him, talking with him, and being with him. I am learning how to take care of him and am cheering him on.
I will now list his progress, where he is at today 9/13/21. Cory, every day to the next, shows improvements on many different skills. The therapists are teaching him.
OP = sitting up and with help leaning side to side. The 1st week at Tier he could barely do this with his head down. Today 9/7/21, Cory is able to initiate his movement while going side to side, forward, and backwards. Cory is also holding his head up. Cory’s right arm is able to move, going forward and then pulling it backwards. Cory can hold his cell phone. When we put music on, Cory can move his thumb up and down to change the song.
Standing with help, he is able to now stand longer while holding his head up and without his blood pressure going sky high.
Cory is working hard to be able to regain his mobility again one day.
Speech Therapy – When we first got to Tier 1, Cory could not speak. Now 9/10, Cory is able to say Raymond, Cathie, Cory, Ice thirsty, yes, no. “Liar”, there is a funny story behind this word with the therapist messing with Cory a bit. I will tell all one day.
Introducing Cory to ice, first and second week of Tier 1 therapy. The therapists are working to see if Cory can crunch ice, then swallow, etc. Third week, Cory is able to swallow ice cream, sherbet, and pudding; he did well! Fourth week, strawberry cheesecake, bananas, and on Friday, Raymond got to help feed Cory his first real solid foods, mashed potatoes and hamburger meat chopped up. He was able to chew and swallow well.
On Sunday, Cory asked the therapist for water by himself without help. Cory is still on the feeding tube. We are praying each day that Cory will be able to tolerate food and will be off the feeding tube soon. Cory’s tracheotomy came out on 9/2/21; it was a process for about a month, but now Cory is breathing totally on his own.
Cory understands everything you say to him. Cory answers the therapist’s questions with his fingers, almost 100% of the time. OP Therapist Chelsea is amazing. She works on Cory’s arms and upper body strength. Each week there is improvement.
The doctors did not believe Cory would be where he is at today. They are all pleased with his progress.
It was told to me that if Cory would have ended up at any other hospital in Houston that they would have said there was nothing else that could be done. When Cory first arrived, the doctors at Memorial Herman Trauma in Houston had to decide whether to operate on Cory or not. The YES, outweighed the no.
We have also had a couple of other obstacles to fight through, but Raymond and I kept saying Yes. Fight, fight, fight. God knows. There are miracles. Cory is a miracle right now. I kept praying to God to save my son. I know God makes miracles happen. Cory’s will to live and his determination to keep on going is amazing.
Cory has a long road of therapy and recovery ahead of him, but with God, continued prayers from all, and the support of family and friends; I believe with my whole heart we will get my handsome son back, as much as possible by the grace of God.
Cory’s story is just beginning, with a new outlook on life. THANK YOU TO ALL for everything. God Bless Y’all. With love from Cory’s Mom & Dad.
We love you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Raymond and I would like to give an update on our son Cory, but before I do that, I just want to say to everyone that has read my son’s story and has prayed for him your prayers are being heard. And I ask for you to please continue to pray for his continued recovery. Raymond and I would also like to thank all who have donated money to his Go Fund Me page. We can never thank you enough for y’alls generosity and express how much we so appreciate it. I promise to all this money is going directly to help with Cory’s present and future medical expenses.
It has been a little over a month since Cory’s last update. Cory continues to get the best brain and spine injury rehab at Memorial Herman’s Tier One program in the Medical Center Downtown. Now they will only allow one person per day, so we alternate days with Cory; mostly Raymond and I, but also his beautiful sister Amanda, handsome brother Zach, and Cory’s awesome girlfriend, Lindsey who has been here for Cory since day one have been able to spend days with Cory. We have all been so excited for every little, small progress Cory is making. Cory is fighting with everything he has. Cory now can see us and knows who we are (as of 9/7/21 both eyes open and he can see well.)
When I asked Cory if he wants to live, he said yes. I asked him if he wants to fight, he said yes. I asked him if he want to go home, he says yes. So, we will continue to fight alongside of Cory, everyday encouraging him, supporting him, talking with him, and being with him. I am learning how to take care of him and am cheering him on.
I will now list his progress, where he is at today 9/13/21. Cory, every day to the next, shows improvements on many different skills. The therapists are teaching him.
OP = sitting up and with help leaning side to side. The 1st week at Tier he could barely do this with his head down. Today 9/7/21, Cory is able to initiate his movement while going side to side, forward, and backwards. Cory is also holding his head up. Cory’s right arm is able to move, going forward and then pulling it backwards. Cory can hold his cell phone. When we put music on, Cory can move his thumb up and down to change the song.
Standing with help, he is able to now stand longer while holding his head up and without his blood pressure going sky high.
Cory is working hard to be able to regain his mobility again one day.
Speech Therapy – When we first got to Tier 1, Cory could not speak. Now 9/10, Cory is able to say Raymond, Cathie, Cory, Ice thirsty, yes, no. “Liar”, there is a funny story behind this word with the therapist messing with Cory a bit. I will tell all one day.
Introducing Cory to ice, first and second week of Tier 1 therapy. The therapists are working to see if Cory can crunch ice, then swallow, etc. Third week, Cory is able to swallow ice cream, sherbet, and pudding; he did well! Fourth week, strawberry cheesecake, bananas, and on Friday, Raymond got to help feed Cory his first real solid foods, mashed potatoes and hamburger meat chopped up. He was able to chew and swallow well.
On Sunday, Cory asked the therapist for water by himself without help. Cory is still on the feeding tube. We are praying each day that Cory will be able to tolerate food and will be off the feeding tube soon. Cory’s tracheotomy came out on 9/2/21; it was a process for about a month, but now Cory is breathing totally on his own.
Cory understands everything you say to him. Cory answers the therapist’s questions with his fingers, almost 100% of the time. OP Therapist Chelsea is amazing. She works on Cory’s arms and upper body strength. Each week there is improvement.
The doctors did not believe Cory would be where he is at today. They are all pleased with his progress.
It was told to me that if Cory would have ended up at any other hospital in Houston that they would have said there was nothing else that could be done. When Cory first arrived, the doctors at Memorial Herman Trauma in Houston had to decide whether to operate on Cory or not. The YES, outweighed the no.
We have also had a couple of other obstacles to fight through, but Raymond and I kept saying Yes. Fight, fight, fight. God knows. There are miracles. Cory is a miracle right now. I kept praying to God to save my son. I know God makes miracles happen. Cory’s will to live and his determination to keep on going is amazing.
Cory has a long road of therapy and recovery ahead of him, but with God, continued prayers from all, and the support of family and friends; I believe with my whole heart we will get my handsome son back, as much as possible by the grace of God.
Cory’s story is just beginning, with a new outlook on life. THANK YOU TO ALL for everything. God Bless Y’all. With love from Cory’s Mom & Dad.
We love you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
7/27/21 - Good day friends, family, and to all the hearts who are moved to pray, contribute, and/or share Cory's journey toward healing. As many of you are aware, Cory severely injured his brain, neck, and back while playing in the swimming pool with his nephew on Saturday, July 3rd. Cory remains in stable condition and is now making progress after battling through multiple operations to overcome brain swelling and to repair the breaks in his upper neck and back. As of today, he remains in the hospital at Memorial Hermann Houston where he is regaining consciousness and is at the very beginning of his road toward rehabilitation.
Wonderful news came in just this morning, today Cory is squeezing his mom and dads hands, moving his foot, attempting to smile, and starting to communicate with his left hand and left eye. As a result of his progress, Cory is being admitted to the Tier One Trauma Rehabilitation Program at Herman Hospital where he will receive the elite rehab care he needs from the very best in brain trauma rehab specialists. This care is amazing but it also comes with extreme expense and sadly at the time of the accident Cory was between health care coverages. Though our family is expeditiously working to get him the medical coverage he needs, the medical expenses are growing exponentially. Cory and his family are in need of immediate financial support to continue to get him the care that he needs to hopefully some day be able to talk, walk, and play again with his three nephews.
Would you please consider donating to and/or sharing Cory’s story with as many as you can via social media, email, text, etc? Cory’s mom, dad, sister, brother, and all the family thank you for the outpouring of prayers, thoughts, and support. As Cory’s dad, Raymond, said to me on Saturday, its in times of trouble like this that you can clearly see the tremendous amount of good caring people in this world. Thank you for reading, praying, contributing, sharing, and may God Bless you and keep you.
7/10/21 Writing to provide an update on Cory’s condition; presently he is stable yet remains in ICU at Memorial Hermann Houston. Cory is initiating breathing on his own but still needs help breathing for the time being. Thankfully, the swelling in his brain has subsided, and as a result, the medical team helping Cory decided to remove the tubes from his head. Cory felt the removal of the tubes, which is very encouraging. Cory is presently sedated but the doctors have slightly reduced the sedation so he can prayerfully begin feeling things and hopefully soon, regaining consciousness.
My Aunt Cathie, Uncle Raymond, Zach, Amanda and family are incredibly grateful for the prayers, support, and donations that have been pouring in for Cory. Please continue to pray for healing and a miraculous recovery from this terrible accident
My Aunt Cathie, Uncle Raymond, Zach, Amanda and family are incredibly grateful for the prayers, support, and donations that have been pouring in for Cory. Please continue to pray for healing and a miraculous recovery from this terrible accident
7/3/21 Cory Gagne, a young man with a huge heart for helping, and who has an outrageous and contagious smile, is in present need of prayers for healing, and in need of financial support from those who can contribute.
Cory is a 28 year old son, brother, uncle, cousin, friend, fishermen, and the hardest working young man I know. Cory is presently in the Intensive Care Unit at Memorial Hermann Hosptial in Houston, Texas with extensive brain, neck, and back injuries from an accident on Saturday July 3rd while playing with his nephew, Adrian, age 10, in the swimming pool.
My name is Rusty Speed, cousin to Cory Gagne. His sister, Amanda Gagne, and I are prayerfully asking for anyone who receives this GoFundMe request to consider reading Cory’s story and donating as your heart leads you to do so.
Cory sustain traumatic injuries to his brain, neck, and back when he dove into a pool following his nephew, Adrian, who dove in only seconds before. They were laughing, playing, and cuttin’ up when all of the sudden, one miscalculation turned life altering in an instant. Cory was pulled from the pool unconscious by his girlfriend and rushed to the Houston Medical Center where he is fighting for his life. Would you please pray for him?
The main reason at this time for this GoFundMe is to help with all the daily expenses incurred for his Mom (my Aunt Cathie) and Dad (my Uncle Raymond) to commute to the hospital for the foreseeable future. Due to the pandemic, the hospital is only allowing two people into the hospital each day and they must leave by 8pm each evening and return the next day. There is no staying the night. The daily commute is very costly; expenses include $20 for parking each day, gas to and from the hospital downtown, and for medical center food which is about $25 per day, and that’s one meal. I estimate the expenses to be on the low end $65 per day. Over a 6 month timeframe that’s a minimum of $11,700. Not mentioning the yet unknown medical expenses to come.
My Aunt and Uncle earn a fair yet modest income and I know they could use this extra help, in a crazy stressful and unnerving time. We will be contributing as much as we possibly can to the point of it hurting a bit, and I ask that you consider helping them as well. The doctors are presently saying that Cory’s recovery could be 8 months to a year or longer and are not presently estimating the full amount of time he will spend in the hospital.
Thank you for taking the time to read this GoFundMe request. Above all else we ask for your prayers. We know that there is healing power in prayer in the mighty name of Jesus. Cory is in the fight of his life in the hand of God. Would you please continue to pray and please consider donating to our GoFundMe request? God Bless.
Co-organizers (2)
Rusty Speed
Organizer
Katy, TX
Cathie Gagne
Beneficiary
Amanda Gagne
Co-organizer