One day in summer, as Terrypassed through the crossroads, a truck ran a red light, crashing into his carviolently, throwing him out of his seat belt and sending him flying five metersthrough the air. Within minutes, Terry's unconscious body was picked up by the medicalworkers at the side of the road. Noticing his skin had taken on a deep bluecolor — indicating a lack ofoxygen — the medical workers put apipe down Terry's throat, and he was rushed to nearby Oshawa General Hospital." By the time Terry came in, we were ready and waiting for him, "said Marianne Timmermans, one of the nurses who initially worked on him. He wasin severe condition.
Moments later, policearrived with the news. Lorraine, Terry's wife, remembered seeing him in theIntensive Care Unit for the first time after the accident. There was nothingbut ma-chines all over him. He wasn't a pretty sight. He lay deep in a coma (昏迷). But Terry's powers of recovery were as unbelievable as hisinjuries seemed to be. Three weeks after being thrown from his vehicle, he cameout of his coma. Although he was by all appearances intact, Terry would soonreveal an injury far more severe than whatever damage had been done to his body.
When Terry awoke from hiscoma, he had been all but reduced to the level of a child. Everything from hisability to talk and walk to his understanding of what it meant to be a husbandand a father seemed gone. Much as Terry had a problem, he never gave up and healso had the support of his family, marked by small victories and a renewedbond between him and his three daughters when they taught him how to playfootball again.
It has taken years torebuild his shattered life, but today, more than 20 years since his playingdays, Terry is a highly popular motivational speaker. He tells his story ofperseverance and courage and family's support in his presentation Seize Each Day.
