A fundraiser has been set up for an Okanagan man who is paralyzed and currently requires help breathing following a sports incident.
Nelson Vokey of Penticton is in hospital, with his daughter saying he’s paralyzed from the neck down and cannot feel anything and cannot breathe on his own.
According to Camelia Vokey, her dad was golfing on Sept. 12 “and ended up taking a blow to his neck with the vibrations from a golf swing.”
Camelia said her dad had been paralyzed before, years ago, when he was tripped playing hockey, flying over the net and landing on his chest, with his legs in the air.
She said he was helped off the ice, then was taken to hospital by ambulance, where emergency surgery was performed on his spine (C5-C6 vertebrae).
Camelia said the surgeon pronounced him a quadriplegic, but that her dad prayed for healing and fought to walk again, which he accomplished.
Seven years later, Nelson underwent a second surgery for a bulging disc (C4-C5) that affected his mobility.
“His perseverance persisted, and he recovered,” said Camelia.
“He did not let his injury prevent him from living his joyful life and engaging in his meaningful, fun activities like fishing, golfing and travelling.”
Then came the golfing incident.
“Three hours later he was paralyzed from the neck down,” said Camelia.
“He was rushed by ambulance to the Penticton Regional Hospital and following the CT scan indicating serious damage in his C3/C4 region and he was flown by plane to Vancouver General Hospital for immediate surgery.”
A second surgery was performed on Sept. 16 to reduce swelling around his spinal cord and to add more screws, titanium plates and rods on both sides of his spine from C3-C6 to improve stabilization.
Camelia said along with a breathing tube, he also has a feeding tube.
“He has been using his eyes and eyebrows to communicate while people guess what he is trying to say,” said Camelia.
Nelson will be living in Vancouver General Hospital’s ICU unit for the next few months before being transferred to the spinal injury unit.
“After a few months, he will be transferred to a spinal injury rehabilitation home for another few months, and this home will also be located in Vancouver,” said Camelia.
The fundraiser, verified by GoFundMe, is available online.