Gilles Needs Wheels

cWelcome to my page! My main goal in this is to raise sufficient funds for my father Gilles to be able to acquire a proper power electric wheelchair to make his journey in life more comfortable. He is currently in a manual wheelchair that is extremely difficult for him to manoeuvre with his one leg, and is putting further wear and tear on his arms, hands and body as a whole. He cannot get around for grocery shopping, to take his dog out, or to do really any every day activities that come so easily to people like myself or even you reading this, without the assistance of someone else.  Absolutely any donation as small or large as it may be is more appreciated than you will ever know, and will make a life more worth living in so many ways. Below you can read my dad's story and hopefully it resonates with you in some way. Thank you all. 

 "In 2012 in Edmonton Alberta Canada I was struck by a motor vehicle  while crossing the street at a marked crosswalk.  I sustained numerous injuries including three fractures to my spine, numerous broken ribs, a small fracture in my skull and damage to my knees in addition to preexisting injuries in that area.

 In the span of six months after the injury, my mobility (walking) was becoming worse and worse.. Experiencing water retention, swelling, extreme pain, discolouration in tissue etc.. at one point in 2012 the pain had become so severe I had to be brought into emergency at the Royal Alexandra hospital where the doctors performed a "knee tap" which concluded that there was infectious fluid in the knee joint of my left leg. I underwent debridement surgery which is essentially the flushing out and cleaning of the joint. The doctors could not determine exactly what caused the infection but suspected it was likely caused by and through the many wounds/cuts in my legs that were sustained during the accident. 

After three months of hospital stay I was released only to have the infection reoccur six months later and returned to the hospital for a repeat surgery. I was then released once again after another 4 months of hospital stay. My next visit to the hospital a short while after would see me having a knee replacement done due to the damage the infection had done to the bone and cartilage in my knee. Thinking this would be the end, it was only the beginning. From 2012-2015 I had a total of fifteen surgeries done. I had two surgeries on my spine which involved the removal of two vertebrae and having two 12 inch titanium rods and ten titanium screws inserted in my spine to prevent paralysis. In addition to the two surgeries in my spine I had 13 surgeries on my left knee, 11 being debridement surgeries for reoccurring infections and two surgeries being knee replacements. Over the last five years my life has changed dramatically. I found myself living in constant pain, dealing with depression, major weight gain, and dependency to pain killers used daily to deal with the chronic pain and suffering I was going though. Basically my life has been in disarray for the last five years of my life. I was always a very engergetic and outgoing person, very active, upbeat and full of life.. no longer was I the person I once was in many ways. 

March 2017: it being over 18 months since my last surgery and out of the blue I started having further difficulties with my left knee. It was sore and was giving out when I would walk with or without my crutches. Over two weeks it progressively got worse until I was back at the hospitals emergency room once again. Within two weeks of being back at the Royal Alexandra hospital I was approached by a surgeon from the orthopaedics department. The infection in my knee was back once again... this time though the story would end differently. He explained to me that he had met with his peers, a group of other orthopaedic surgeons familiar with my case, and that they had come to the conclusion that after all of the surgeries I had over the last five years and all their efforts to save my leg in hopes that my quality of life would improve that something drastic needed to be done. Feeling that there was nothing left for them to do they suggested an above the knee amputation explaining to me that as drastic as that sounded I would at least be, with the knee gone, finally pain free and be able to live a somewhat normal life. I agreed, and so we went forth with the surgery. I was admitted to the hospital on march eighteenth and released October second for a total of six months and fifteen days of hospital stay this time around. I am currently living in a one bedroom barrier free apartment for persons with disabilities with my small dog, and best friend, Wally. And the doctors were right.. life is hard not having my left leg but I am now free of multiple pain medications and living with considerably less pain and on my way to living a fulfilled life once again. Moving from a manual wheelchair to an electric wheelchair will drastically improve my quality of life. Your assistance in this manner I sent greatly appreciated. Thank you and God bless you all." -Gilles