SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — Lori Mahar has spent the past three weeks waiting, hoping and praying for her son to come out of a coma.
Her 32-year-old son Ryan Mahar of Emerald, P.E.I., has been in a coma since a horrific fall at a construction site in the Elmsdale area on Sept. 4.
A CT scan performed at Prince County Hospital in Summerside revealed his skull had been severely fractured. Ryan, a father of three, was then taken by ambulance to a hospital in Moncton.
Ryan was moved to Prince County Hospital late last week where he remains in a coma in the intensive care unit.
“There hasn't been any change yet,’’ says Lori.
“As far as the doctors go, (they say) every other organ in his body is working fine. It’s just the brain and there is nothing they can do until he wakes up on his own. It’s kind of a wait and see.’’
“We’re just praying that he’s going to open his eyes and be OK. At this point in time there is no way of knowing what is to happen.’’
-Lori Mahar
Lori and her husband, Dale, find comfort in being able to visit their son in hospital in Summerside, which is a relatively short distance from their home.
Lori spends three or four hours a day by her boy’s side, holding his hand and talking to him.
“It is nice that we can go in every day and stay with him,’’ she says.
“We’re just praying that he’s going to open his eyes and be OK. At this point in time there is no way of knowing what is to happen.’’
Dale says his son just started working in construction two months ago and relished the job.
He says Ryan fell roughly 20 feet landing head first on to pavement while working to build a warehouse.
The Workers Compensation Board of P.E.I. confirmed recently that occupational health and safety officers were called by the RCMP to the scene of an accident on Sept. 4 in the Elmsdale area but did not offer further details noting an investigation was underway.
Lori says the Workers Compensation Board is providing 85 per cent of Ryan’s wages, as well as covering medical costs.
An online fundraising campaign is also raising money to help with costs for the father of three.
Donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-mahar-family. Just over $3,500 had been raised as of Tuesday.
