Inspirational Recovery

September 13, 2018, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

These stories lift our hopes and our hearts. They also give injured victims hope for their recovery.

Julie Sawchuk was an active woman. She was training for a triathlon and went on a solo ride outside of Blyth Ontario that would take her on a 60km loop. Cars that night were passing very close to her on the highway. One car came so close she felt the hairs on her legs rise. The next one hit her from the rear and threw her into the roadside ditch. She was alive, but had broken ribs, a broken nose, injured chin and forehead, and had broken two vertebrae in her back. She was paralyzed.

The young mother of two was devastated. Immediately following the accident, she had no feeling in her legs. She underwent several surgeries and spent months in hospital and rehab. When she finally went home, her century old farm house was not well suited to her new limitations. A new house was required with a single level and simple outdoor access. The new home will give her dignity and some independence along with improved safety.

During her recovery she began a blog site and directed her energy into advocacy work. She is part of the Rick Hansen network and lobbies for accessibility in the community. She is working towards building barrier free spaces.

She was left with anger over the cause of the accident – the driver of the car was distracted by eating and drinking coffee at the time. He was charged but faced only a fine. Sawchuk was stunned and bitter. She soon realized that to really recover she had to deal with the emotional trauma of the accident. She spoke with the officer who responded to the scene and realized that the driver hadn’t intended to hit her. The crash was preventable, not pre-meditated. The driver is remorseful. She realized she had to forgive the driver for her own well being and move on with her life.

She runs a website now, continues her advocacy work, speaks at public events and writes. She continues to live an active life biking, skiing, canoeing, and parenting. You can read her whole story here.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

It is important that you review your accident benefit file with one of our experienced personal injury / car accident lawyers to ensure that you obtain access to all your benefits which include, but are limited to, things like physiotherapy, income replacement benefits, vocational retraining and home modifications.