Craig Brososky's Recovery

My name is Tania Jacobs and I am a friend, fellow runner/cyclist, and former physiotherapy patient of Craig Brososky. I reached out to him many moons ago asking if I could start a fundraiser to support him, and it is only now that he has accepted. I am honoured that he chose to share his full story with me, and is allowing me to share it with you so that we can do what we do best in the Edmonton run community (and beyond): come together to support Craig in getting back to doing what he loves.

In March of 2022, Craig had Covid for a second time (the first time was not so bad) and developed long Covid symptoms. At the same time, he had some issues with his landlord of his WePhysio clinic space off 142 St and had to relocate. He was evicted on his birthday, March 10th. Needless to say it was a stressful process relocating while he was trying to recover physically. In August of 2022, he then had a bike accident while training to recover that left him with a severe concussion. He was unable to drive for 10 months and only able to work in a very limited capacity.

In June of 2023, as he was healing, a friend "voluntold" Craig to run a leg of the Banff - Jasper relay. He was still physically suffering and getting to the start line was the longest he'd driven since his concussion the previous summer. The run itself was torture: on a 28C day and carrying little sustenance or water because he was used to being much faster... well, we've all had days like that. But, the win was that he finished his leg under the time cut off, allowing his team to continue, and this meant to him that his brain was getting better. He describes the drive home as the best part of the event - a quiet, middle-of-the-night drive, where he felt his old self returning.

In mid-August of 2023, Craig managed what would be his only road bike ride of the year, 3.5 hours. He was able to take his dog Nuala for short runs the following two days and finally felt like life was going to turn around for the better. Then, that weekend he fell ill with Covid for the third time. This time he became dangerously ill. He was admitted to emergency at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in September and was told if he had waited longer he would likely not have survived. He was discharged but admitted again two more times (the most recent in April 2024) for ongoing medical complications.

I remember seeing him at the 5 Peaks Devon trail race at the very end of September 2023 following his first release from hospital, and being shocked at how physically weak he looked. He explained tearfully that he still had blood clots throughout his body, and was facing a very uncertain future.

"Recovery Guy"

By the spring of 2024 when I met Craig for coffee one day to check in, he had lost a significant amount of weight, grown a long beard to hide it, and was wearing several layers of clothing and a puffy coat even though it was a warm day. He explained that he no longer had the ability to regulate his body temperature. He was also struggling with memory, eating, recurring nightmares, and energy levels in an extreme way. He explained that he was taking small steps to get his physical health back but that progress was frustratingly slow. He had not been able to work and was now facing many financial stresses, including the foreclosure of his clinic space. Still, however, he remained hopeful that this would be temporary, and denied my suggestion to start this fundraiser.

Currently, although Craig has certainly made progress, it remains slow-going, and having Covid a fourth time this fall set back his growing capacity once again. "Otherwise, I'd be working again by now," he explained. While still a bit uncomfortable with this idea, he now recognizes that giving his community an opportunity to support him will allow him to take care of outstanding pieces of his physical and mental health so that he can ultimately get back to doing what he loves most of all: helping others.

Please help me in getting Craig more fully back on his feet. Any little bit will be deeply appreciated.