"Life Can Change In An Instant"

We’ve all heard the cautionary phrase “life can change in an instant”. The reality of that phrase has found its way into a few more lives this week.

On Monday, January 5th, while working on his condo renovations, Gord appeared distressed and lost consciousness. He was promptly rushed to the hospital and frankly, not enough can be said about the swift and decisive efforts of Ken and Keith, who were fortunately working alongside Gord that day and acted to ensure that Gord was receiving much needed medical care at the Maui Memorial Hospital within 20 minutes of losing consciousness.

At the hospital, a number of tests confirmed that Gord suffered a brain hemorrhage, likely from a blood pressure induced rupture of a blood vessel in the brain (as opposed to a stroke, aneurysm or tumour). As with any brain injury there is a great deal of uncertainty and since the moment this ordeal began, life has been a roller coaster ride in terms of developments. Gord remains sedated to ensure that his blood pressure stays under control. There have been signs of responsiveness (hand squeezing, reactions to pain, attempts to sit up, etc.), but the responses so far have been somewhat random rather than on command. There has been great concern that due to the location of the hemorrhage, Gord may have lost the use of his right side, although everyone involved is maintaining a positive attitude about this, encouraged by a number of subtle movements that have occurred on his right side. Perhaps the most comforting news has been confirmation from a CAT scan that the area affected by the hemorrhage has reduced in size, suggesting that the bleeding has ceased.

Many family members and dear friends have rushed to both Gord and Sheila’s side to offer love and support. Understandably, some who want to be here have not been able to make the long journey to his bedside, but the love and prayers from both near and afar have been truly received and have made this situation so much more bearable. Visiting Gord has also proved challenging for some people here in Maui who have had a difficult time seeing him in his current condition. Although Gord looks like himself, it does take a moment of pause to adjust to seeing such a vital man unable to launch into his usual heartfelt greetings of confident handshakes, bear hugs and kisses to the cheek. Trying to keep it light, a close family friend so lovingly summed up his current state by saying that “it just looks like Gord with some external plumbing”.

No one doubts that Gord knows when people are visiting him. When his daughter Stacy and step-sons Geoff and Colby first arrived in his room, he made a considerable effort to sit up and open his eyes. Twice when visited by one of his grandchildren his heart rate increased noticeably upon announcement of her arrival. As much as it would comfort us all to see him awake and have him offering a round of cold beverages in his abundantly hospitable manner, right now it is for the best that he remains sedated so his body is allowed time to heal.

The most recent and significant development is confirmation that there will be an attempt to transfer Gord back home to Calgary tomorrow (Saturday) morning via a chartered air ambulance. Initially, this transfer was being encouraged by the insurance company, who is anxious to see the medical bills converted to Canadian dollars, but medical advice from physicians both here and in Canada has suggested that this would be the best course of action for a number of reasons. For one, Gord is stable and already under the sedation that would be required for travel. To bring him out of sedation to assess him here and then return him to sedation for transport brings unwanted risk. Secondly, the family support that will be so needed over the months ahead can be offered with greater ease back in Canada. Thirdly, as we have all recently learned, the brain injury rehabilitation facility at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary is among the best in the world. Tomorrow morning, Gord’s condition will be thoroughly evaluated and if stable, he and Sheila will board a flight for Calgary at 7am Maui time. Updates will be posted accordingly.

Before signing off, time needs to be taken to acknowledge the incredible outpouring of love and generosity that this crisis has inspired. All of the family that have arrived in Maui have been provided with transportation, lodging and food by friends from both Maui and Canada. Maui is not the worst place to find yourself during a family emergency, but it also is not the cheapest so I wish to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has offered support. The Finch family in particular has our unending gratitude as they have allowed Gord and Sheila’s children and grandchild to invade their brand new, gorgeous home.

We also wish to thank Deepak for his tireless support and readily available translation of the complicated medical issues being faced here. Deepak, the combination of your medical knowledge and compassion have been indispensible. Thank you to Ken and Sue for all you have been doing and will continue to do for Gord and Sheila on the Maui front, I have heard Sheila mention more than once that your support has kept her going. Thank you to Kimokeo, who visited Gord at the hospital on Tuesday and performed a traditional, spiritual blessing. Kimokeo, your calming presence came at a time when peace and faith were being taxed, we sincerely thank you for that.

Thank you to all who organized and participated in the prayer circle for Gord, held on Thursday morning. Members of the Maui Canoe Club were gracious enough to welcome Gord’s family onboard their traditional outrigger canoes so we could honour a passion of Gord’s by paddling to and from the site of the prayer circle at the Kihei Canoe Club. As a participant in this ceremonial paddle I can attest to the tranquility of the journey and the meaningfulness of our arrival in that fashion. On behalf of the family I offer an enormous thanks to all who were involved in the paddle.

I also offer tremendous thanks to those who organized and participated in the prayer circle. We appreciate everyone who came out to offer their positive energy to Gord and Sheila and their family members. We especially thank those who did not receive word of the time change for this event and despite coming out an hour and a half early stayed to participate! To those who spoke during the prayer circle, Shel, Dave, Lydia and Andrew, your words touched us all and for those who missed it, those words were beautiful enough to inspire a rainbow over the West Maui Mountains!

Lastly, thank you to Lydia for organizing this blog. During times like this so many people wish to be involved and informed and we are fortunate enough that modern technology can offer us this mass method, thereby relieving some of the communication challenges that come with the physical distance separating such an enormous circle of concerned family and friends. Just as you so many of you have endeavoured to keep us in your thoughts and prayers, we here will endeavour to keep you informed.

Mahalo and aloha,
Laurie Bell (Gord and Sheila’s daughter-in-law)