On this warmer-than-normal Wednesday morning in St. John’s, Geordie Horan would normally be out walking his dog before starting a 12-hour work shift.
“And I might’ve gone out again for another walk with the dog after work,” he said smiling.
Instead, the 37-year-old is at the Dr. Leonard A. Miller Centre, awaiting his daily three-hours rehabilitation session to learn how to use a wheelchair.
“I was always active, always walking or running somewhere. I certainly didn’t think I’d end up in a wheelchair,” he said looking down at his wheelchair in his small, but cozy hospital room.
“I was always so independent and didn’t need anybody for anything. I can’t describe what it’s like to one day be doing everything to the next, not being able to do the things I want. It’s catastrophic, really.”
Geordie Horan
The life-changing incident happened just over two months ago.
On Nov. 26, 2017, Horan, a driller with D.S. Drilling Services Ltd., was changing hydraulic lines at the company’s shop in Conception Bay South when a line slipped, dragging him forward and overextending his body.
Shortly afterwards, he began having difficulty breathing.
“I didn’t have any trouble walking at that point, but every step would take my breath,” he said.
Horan was so uncomfortable, he was unable to continue working and ended up going home at around 2 p.m., at the boss’s recommendation.
While at home with his girlfriend, Dayna Humphries, Horan lost feeling in his right leg and even tried pinching his skin to try and regain some kind of sensation, but he then lost feeling up to his chest and then his left leg.
He tried to walk, but fell.
“I knew something was going on,” he said, “but I honestly didn’t think it would be too serious.”
“By 4 p.m., I was in excruciating pain,” he said.
By 6 p.m., he was in an ambulance being rushed to hospital.
Once at the Health Sciences Complex, a neurosurgeon determined Horan had a slipped disc that had pinched itself into the spinal cord, which, as a result, was cutting off blood flow. It was considered unusual, as such injuries are usually caused by some kind of trauma, like a car crash.
The following day, Horan underwent surgery to relieve pressure on the spinal cord. His spinal cord was also fused together.
Doctors had hoped Horan would be able to wiggle his toes immediately after surgery, but, sadly, that didn’t happen.
It was at that point, Horan realized the severity of his injury and how his life would change.
Doctors told him it could take a long time before he could move his feet — if at all.
The man who was once an avid walker, hiker and camper had to adjust to life in a wheelchair.
“I was always so independent and didn’t need anybody for anything,” he said. “I can’t describe what it’s like to one day doing everything to the next, not being able to do the things I want. It’s catastrophic, really.”
Shortly after surgery, Horan was moved to the Miller Centre to continue rehabilitation and wheelchair training.
All the while, he never gave up hope that he would one day walk again.
However, a Jan. 18 checkup with the neurosurgeon landed him a huge blow.
“I asked (the doctor) if I could walk again. He said it would be highly unlikely if I took another step,” Horan said. “My face turned white. I didn’t hear a thing come out of his mouth after that.
“That really killed me. It crushed me.”
Horan woke up the next day to the harsh reality he would probably have to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. His thoughts were also with his girlfriend, Dayna Humphries, who had been by his side for almost three years.
“It was tough,” said Horan, who admitted he’s shed plenty of tears. “I wanted to be able to give her the life she deserves, and myself, too. I didn’t want to be limited in any way.
“It was all breaking my heart.”
Humphries was more worried about him.
“It’s really hard when you’re in that situation and people are telling you to keep your hopes up and try to stay positive,” she said, sitting cross-legged on Horan’s bed in his hospital room, as she does every night during her visits. “He would put on a happy face and try his best, but you could tell deep down, he was hurting. It was really hard to see him like that.”
But their grief turned to joy the next night, when Horan suddenly began wiggling his toes.
About two weeks ago, while experiencing a muscle spasm in his legs — a common side effect of spinal injuries — he tried to move his toes, to his shock and delight, found he could do it.
“Dayna was sat there and said, ‘Is that you doing that?’ I said ‘yes!’” Horan said laughing, recalling that joyful moment.
When Humphries asked him to stop moving, he did, and started moving them when asked.
“That was huge,” Horan said. “I cried a river. I bawled and I bawled.”
The following day, he was able to move his ankle. Soon after, he could swing his leg up.
“Now, if I do that three or four times, I’m exhausted,” he said smiling, “but it’s a big improvement.”
Horan is scheduled to be released from hospital in another month, but he’s hoping the development in his movements will alter his rehabilitation from learning wheelchair skills to learning to walk again.
“I’m not giving up hope,” said Horan, whose upbeat personality is evident as soon as you meet him.
Horan is hoping to go to the United States and get treatment at one of the more well-known centres that specialize spinal injuries, including Philadelphia’s Mcgee Rehabilitation Hospital and the Einstein Medical Centre, and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago.
To help with the cost of travel and the months of treatment, as well as the cost of moving to a wheelchair-accessible apartment, Horan’s friends set up a Go-Fund-Me page — www.gofundme.com/helpgetgeordieonhisfeet — a few weeks ago, with the goal of raising $100,000. Already, donations have reached more than $45,000.
“It’s just been amazing,” he said. “I can’t believe all the friends, family and anonymous people who are wanting to help. It’s very humbling and means more to me that I can ever say.”
Twitter: TelyRosie
