Comments From Supporters
When I look at Caylan, I see the bright light that shines within and it's this light that touches so many. The events of July 30th have had a profound impact on all who know Caylan. I want to assist in helping Caylan to let his light shine, so that his special place in the world can be experienced by many more.
Why am I involved with this group of people who are supporting Caylan?
That's a good question. I don't know Caylan or his family. When my nephew Adam first told me that his friend Caylan had been paralyzed, I was profoundly distressed even though I could only remember being introduced to him once in the darkness of my back porch when Adam and several of his friends were there enjoying a beer a couple of weeks before the accident.
I struggled to imagine what life might be like for Caylan and how difficult his paralysis would be for him to accept. Throughout it all, what I wanted was for Caylan to accept that he wouldn't walk again, but at the same time realize that science is always advancing. I hoped that Caylan could have a constructive, fulfilling life despite being confined to a wheelchair. I was greatly relieved that the accident hadn't caused significant brain damage. But how could I, as someone who didn't know him, be of any use to him or even talk to him? My opportunity arose when my sister Marianne told me Helen was gathering people to brainstorm about what we could do to help young Caylan along.
My hope is that this devastating accident will offer new opportunities and perspectives for Caylan and make him a bigger and better person than he might have been had he not suffered so.
In my mind, Caylan's education is paramount to him being able to lead a productive and happy life. He obviously can't be a labourer or perform other physically demanding jobs, so he has to use his creativity and his intelligence, which can be incredibly rewarding.
Having met Caylan, I'm convinced that he is charismatic, intelligent, grounded, and creative. He has an optimistic and realistic attitude. There is absolutely no reason why Caylan can't have a great job and a great life. I would like to encourage Caylan, when he's ready, to dream big about his potential.
My interest in Caylan is to do what I can to offer creative options that will allow him to be fulfilled and productive. I'd like to be a resource that he can use to find out more about what's out there, to bounce ideas off of and to give him a perspective that he might not otherwise have. I'd like to be able to facilitate what I can to help him achieve his goals and to lead a good and satisfying life. I'm happy to be part of his support network.
I think Caylan is such a beautiful person who has so much potential. I would do anything to help him achieve that. There is something that is so likeable about him. He gives off a really good energy!
Caylan has a passion for life that just radiates from him. It is so beautiful to see that in someone and I have just grown so fond of him because of it. He has potential and I would do anything to help him achieve that.
It took only a matter of minutes for a debilitating accident to happen to Caylan. That exact moment in time has had an overwhelming affect on so many lives. It has caused and created a change in the way of living for his family, friends and community forever. We have been blessed to know Caylan and his mother Helen for about twenty years. Helen is a very caring person and has taught others to live with a positive lifestyle.
We admire Helen's faith and now in her sad time it is our turn to be the givers. Our clocks do not allow us to take back time; our calendars cannot change events that have already happened. Let's unite and find a way to fill a need for Caylan first and keep a copy of that floor plan for other paraplegics. "Faith" sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible.
Caylan has the frame of a colt and the heart and soul of a stallion. He will be able to succeed and have a productive life in the new path he chooses. He is a survivor! My heart feels he will survive with help and time. Caylan will show the world that life does not quit when your legs do not carry you or run with you anymore. He is young and brave. He will always be able to run in his mind. Caylan has always given his time to my entire family. By this I mean he has helped us move, walk our dogs, or done the dishes after a meal. He has always been courteous and reliable--a true friend, though we have an age difference. I will do my best to help him and his family at this difficult time. I believe he will make wise choices not only for himself, but for those who need encouragement, when they experience similar tragedies. I have loved this young man for over 15 years and always will.
The Chinese word for "crisis" is made up of two words: "danger" and "opportunity." This is what I see in Caylan's situation. The danger he faced with the unfortunate car accident is certainly terrible. There is still danger ahead of Caylan in his quest to build a life afterwards. His timeline through this life has changed, or maybe this is Caylan's timeline. I sense from Caylan that there is tremendous potential to achieve greatness that would not necessarily happen in another timeline. I sense great strength, wisdom, and creativity in Caylan. I see an outcome that has and will continue to positively impact many people's lives.
I met Caylan through his mother, Helen McPhaden, a dynamic, intelligent, caring, and beautiful person. Her work with Native women is first rate and continues to help those that need her guidance and strength. Helen's strength has certainly been tested with what has happened to Caylan. Helen's work and her life experience helped her somewhat to prepare for this.
I am committed to help Caylan and Helen through these difficult times and beyond. My role may not necessarily be related to my professional work but I can at least help to assess places suitable for Caylan's home and work environments. The future is not written for Caylan, but when we have love from all these people, great opportunities are created.
Caylan is an intelligent, down-to-earth young man, whose life has been disrupted by a tragic accident. He has much to offer us, bringing with him joy wherever he goes. We, as members of his support group, need to help guide him towards a fruitful, productive, and fulfilling life so that he may continue to enrich not only our lives, but those of many others.
Caylan is my buddy. We had made lots of plans for the coming year and beyond. After the firefighting season, we had made plans to travel to Costa Rica and Tahiti. Traveling was something we really had been eager to do. I enjoyed hanging out with Caylan and now even though our plans have changed, our relationship has not. He is still my friend, loyal through thick and thin. I am there for him and his family in any way I can be. Yes, Caylan is now in a wheelchair, and we will not be able to travel as planned. We will make new choices and different plans for our future.
I don't have specific reasons for wanting to help Helen with the challenges she and her son are facing and will continue to face. I just know Helen and she is my friend and my colleague and she is hurting. This is what you do for people who touch your life and who you consider friends.
Twenty-five years ago, my younger sister, Joanne G. Horn, a 24 year old RCMP officer, was seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident near Cutknife, Saskatchewan. She was transported to the University Hospital in Saskatoon where she remained in a coma for several weeks. Today, Joanne is a paraplegic who has been bed-ridden in institutions and extended care facilities since May 23rd, 1979. I can safely say I understand how Helen feels and I understand the fear and the concern and the utter feeling of helplessness when you look at your loved one. I am not a mother so I don't know what that must feel like, but I do know about the anger, the guilt, the frustrations, the helplessness, the pain, the anguish, and the endless praying and wondering about why, why this had to happen to such a young person with a whole life ahead of him/her.
That is why I am involved. I have been through this and am still dealing with it, 25 years later. It never goes away. Each time we leave the hospital or the extended care facility, we leave because we can, because we have the choice and freedom to go; we have places to go and things to do. Joanne never will and Caylan can't, not yet. With our help, love, and support, hopefully Caylan will be able to leave. I look at Caylan and I see all the things he can do for himself and I think of how lucky he is to be able to make a phone call, turn on a TV, read a book, comb his hair, brush his own teeth, feed himself and eat whatever he wants. Joanne can't do anything for herself... nothing. She is completely dependent on someone else for her care and for all her needs. She cannot even pull a "call bell" if she needs help. So, I see Caylan's situation through very different eyes. He is and will continue to be strong.
Some days, I wonder if I prayed too hard the "wrong way" that day all those years ago when I walked into ICU and couldn't even recognize my sister who was lying in the bed directly in front of me, all bruised and battered with tubes coming out of her. Helen knows all too well what that was like. She knows how I felt and how my mom felt, and I know how she felt. That is why I am here for Helen and Caylan--because she can understand and help me, and I can understand and help her. In her world and mine, that is what you do for people who you consider your friends and who have touched your life. Helen, thank you for touching my life.
My heart is always so full when I think of Caylan. I pray that his life will be so very fulfilling. I am so thankful that everyone says what a special type of young man he is. I guess God knew that there were not many young men who could continue to bring him honour in such a difficult situation, but he knew that Caylan could. I do not believe for one moment that God was responsible for the accident, but he is responsible for Caylan's survival. The world still needed Caylan. I am so very blessed and honoured to be just a small part of Caylan and Helen's life. May God continue to hug you both and give unto you in the manner in which you have always given to others. "Whatsoever a man sows, that also shall he reap." Big hugs.
I want to help Caylan and [his family]. It would be a lot harder if you didn't have any support to get through this tough time. It would give hope to other patients and families, too, [to see] that they can achieve something if they are determined to do so.
Leanne Armitage - Model