In early December 2024, Stephanie and her family experienced every parent's worst nightmare. Her son, Brady, was involved in a motor vehicle accident near Peterborough, Ontario. The reality of the situation set in when police officers arrived at their home to inform them that Brady was critically injured and would be airlifted to Sunnybrook Hospital.
 
Stephanie immediately left with the officers to Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC), where Brady was being stabilized in hopes to see him before he was airlifted. When she arrived, she saw that her son was in bad shape but was awake. “I told him I’m here and that I loved him” Stephanie recalls.
 
The medical team at PRHC worked urgently to assess his injuries while Stephanie and her family were in the waiting area. Ornge paramedics came out to speak with the family a while later informing them that Brady had suffered a cardiac arrest and it had taken them approximately ten minutes to revive him.
 
Brady’s condition was critical. Due to the severity of his injuries, including a broken femur with compromised blood flow, the Ornge team placed his leg in traction during the flight. “Without doing so, he could have lost his leg,” Stephanie shared. Brady received extensive medical intervention, including multiple blood transfusions before and during the transport as well chest tubes to drain fluid from his lungs.
 
Paramedics, Warren and Jonathan ensured that Brady arrived safely at Sunnybrook, where trauma specialists took over his care. “They are our heroes,” Stephanie said. “They worked on Brady after he went into cardiac arrest and made sure he got to Sunnybrook to see the best trauma doctors.”
 
Brady's injuries were extensive—broken ribs, pneumothorax, lacerations to his liver and lungs, and significant swelling. Doctors kept him in a medically induced coma to allow his brain and lungs to recover. “After three days Brady was stable enough to have his femur operated on, and the surgery went well” Stephanie said. However, he developed complications, including pneumonia and a pulmonary embolism, conditions the doctors had warned might arise.
 
After 17 days, Brady was finally able to breathe on his own. “It was the most amazing moment to see him awake and breathing,” Stephanie recalled. Although he faced a long road to recovery, each day brought progress. He moved from the ICU to patient care, slowly regaining strength and mobility.
 
Following his hospital stay, Brady entered the brain rehabilitation program at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, where he made remarkable strides. After five weeks, he was discharged to continue therapies closer to home.
 

“These sorts of injuries have no time line and no one knows what tomorrow holds for us. All we do know is we are all ensuring he receives all the right treatments and therapies to continue to a full recovery. With time, he will be able to do everything he loved before the accident, and anything his heart desires. We will be forever grateful for the hero’s who saved his life and got Brady to where he needed to be that night. Miracles do happen and our hero’s showed up when we all needed them.” - Stephanie

The picture above captures Brady meeting with Paramedic Warren.

Brady’s journey is a testament to resilience, the power of expert medical care, and the dedicated professionals who made his survival possible. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to paramedics Warren and Jonathan, pilots Tristan and Brandon, and the Operations Control Centre (OCC) team for their coordination of Brady’s transport.
 
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• Patients and Families