Road to Recovery After Brutal Assault

On the night of July 14, 2023 my two youngest brothers and their friend were brutally attacked outside of Club Lime in Lethbridge, AB. At approximately 12:40am they exited the doors that face the old Sound Garden, when a group of 15-20 "men" in their early 20's jumped out of their vehicles and came towards them. These people were not in the bar beforehand as far as we know, so no there wasn’t any previous exchanges that night. The group was waiting in their vehicles until the wrong person left at the wrong time. Their friend was punched in the face, and she ran back inside to find help. My youngest brother was able to defend himself for a minute, but my other brother was knocked unconscious. The bouncer came out and restrained my brother and their friend. However my other brother was left without any help. They only reason they stopped was because police were on their way. Zachary is lucky to be alive today. Ashleigh and Dawson were forced to watch as Zach was curb-stomped by the entire group. They all took off in multiple vehicles.

Zachary was taken to the ER, where an empty room waited. The triage nurse put on the finger monitor and then told him to go home and sleep it off, refusing to let Zachary see a doctor after being assaulted! He could have died in his sleep, he could have had a brain bleed. We are absolutely horrified that he was sent home from the hospital with obvious head trauma. You could also see in the immediate post assault pictures that he was strangled, his eyes swollen shut and his forehead covered in giant lumps. His face bled for two days after by the way, and his forehead is still lumpy.

The following day they went to see the LPS where an apparent investigation was started. On the Monday he made an appointment to see the Dr, and got in on Tuesday where they sent him back to the hospital. After waiting 5 hours he was in too much pain that he could no longer wait in the ER. He also stopped at the police station to follow up, where the officer said she remembered him and would send another email to her sergeant. Wednesday he went to the Coaldale hospital where he waited 4 hours, finally getting 15 head X-rays. They booked him a CT scan for the Friday (1 week after the attack.) The CT scan confirmed that he had a broken nose, FIVE SKULL FRACTURES and a separated skull. Zach went yet again to the LPS to update the medical information, only to be told that there was no file on them at all, so they finally started a case and an investigator would be in touch. (Which he hasn’t been.)

Here we are almost 4 weeks later and there are still no updates. Some of the nerves in Zacharys face have been damaged, leaving him without the sense of smell, nor feeling on the left side of his mouth/ teeth, as well as his nose unless you touch it which is extremely painful. He has a severe concussion and whiplash, which has crippled him. He's basically bedbound for months to come. Unable to work since he has been medically ordered not to lift anything, do any physical activity, video games, reading, etc. He's extremely sensitive to light and is exhausted all the time, nevermind the dizziness and severe head pain he's battling.

There is no concussion therapist in town and will possibly be referred to Calgary, minimum 6 month wait. His medical benefits from work have already been cut off so all his medical, mental, physical appointments will require paying out of pocket. Our family can already see the depression and mental health plummeting and we are terrified of what is to come! We are seeking help for Zachary, Dawson and Ashleigh so they can receive the mental, physical and financial support that they desperately need!

Thank you