MOUNT FOREST – A local woman is turning to the community for support in the wake of an accident involving her son this summer.
Barber Adrianna Cea said she was in the middle of an appointment on July 20 when she learned her son Max Power had been hit by a car.
“I had to get a guy out of my chair and he actually drove me to the scene, and I got here before the cops did,” Cea stated in an email to the Advertiser.
She found her 12-year-old lying with his hands behind his head, looking like he was watching the clouds, “cool as a cucumber,” while paramedics looked after him, she said.
According to police, it was determined the driver of the vehicle was not at fault and no charges were laid.
But Max’s leg was broken, and the road to recovery is not short.
“We were told he will take six months to be getting back to himself,” said Cea, adding Max will need a wheelchair for four of those months.
In early September, realizing the financial implications of the situation, Cea started a GoFundMe campaign to help her and her family cover the costs they’ve incurred.
After his accident, Max ended up at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton. His injuries included a tibia and fibula break, and a small fracture and torn muscle in his shoulder, Cea said.
The leg break required pins to put it back together, and while it heals, he cannot put weight on it or he might end up with a permanent limp, she said.
“We are very thankful his head and back were okay,” she said.
Having broken his back, Max’s dad is disabled. He is a stay-at-home dad and he home-schools Max, while Cea is a barber at Hairforce One.
But Cea has had to take time off work, both to help care for Max and to get the house wheelchair ready. It means money has been tight.
As she put it on her GoFundMe page, “With ramps, seats, transfers, walkers, all rentals, wheelchair purchase, constant biweekly trips to Hamilton, gas is getting expensive and the rainy-day fund is … well, it’s been raining.”
Max had been on his way to meet his mom at the barber shop when he was hit.
They were supposed to go to the during the Mount Forest Fireworks Festival’s car show together then grab lunch before Max joined friends for a day of carnival rides and bouncy houses at the fireworks festival.
It’s sort of an early birthday celebration that has become an annual tradition.
Cea said ever since he was tiny, they have celebrated his birthday by going all out at the festival, but this year, he didn’t get to enjoy the Saturday festivities because he was in the hospital.
Max turned 13 a few days after his accident, and was allowed out of the hospital a little early because of his birthday.
While Cea said she was grateful for this, she was also sad to see her son miss out on the fun he had been anticipating.
“It was heartbreaking. He kept his admission (wristband) on for days, not willing to give it up,” she said.
In addition to raising money to cover additional expenses, Cea is also hoping there might be some extra leftover to put on a fireworks show for Max – “to maybe replace the memory with a new, better one with people that care and helped him get better,” she stated in her GoFundMe post.
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