(Warning: The following story contains a graphic image of injuries incurred after an e-bike accident.)
To say, it's been quite a two-week span for a Midland family would be a huge understatement.
On Sept. 30, Angie Knowlton's 15-year-old son Cash was in Little Lake Park when he met some boys he knew from Georgian Bay District Secondary School where he’s a Grade 10 student.
An older boy, who was with the group, had an e-bike and Angie Knowlton suspects they thought it’d be fun to see what would happen if Cash, who has mild cerebral palsy and autism, gave it a try.
A short time later, Cash, who struggles with sensory overload, was on the bike. Knowlton suspects he was startled by the sensation of a gas-powered throttle and tightened his grip rather than loosening it once the bike started to move.
While going at top speed, he crashed head-first into a tree. He wasn't wearing a helmet.
"The boys goaded Cash to take the bike for a spin for their amusement," she says. "They were hoping to get a cheap laugh at a neuro-divergent kid's expense. Hoped he'd fall and get some road rash and they could laugh."
As Cash lay on the ground bleeding profusely, Knowlton says the boys quickly dispersed, and "left my child in a bloody heap in the grass."
Luckily, Cash’s sister Nahanni was also in the park walking their dog Lucy and came upon her brother, who was in obvious distress. A good Samaritan also happened upon the scene and called emergency services.
Cash was taken to Georgian Bay General Hospital and eventually rushed to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto with severe facial trauma. He soon underwent emergency surgery to wire his broken jaw shut and mend his broken nose. He also lost several teeth as a result of the accident.
“It was pretty severe,” Knowlton says, noting that while she can’t thank the medical personnel, firefighters and police officers along with the good Samaritan who came to Cash’s aid enough, she’s distraught that the other boys would just take off as another person experienced such pain and suffering.
“One of the kids he knows from his former public school days. The eldest boy’s mother has since come forward and apologized to me, but the boy hasn’t said a word.
“I think they need to be accountable for their actions. You need to stay with your friend. I’m really disappointed that no one stuck around."
Cash is pictured prior to surgery to repair a broken jaw and nose. Supplied photo
Knowlton says she would like to see the town create some sort of registration system for e-bikes since drivers aren’t currently required to register, licence or insure them.
But Cash’s accident wasn’t the end of a very eventful two-week spell.
Earlier this week, Knowlton, who has end stage renal failure and undergoes dialysis three times a week, was called by Toronto General Hospital to say they had a donor kidney for her.
She went to the hospital, underwent a barrage of tests, was prepped for surgery, intubated and put to sleep.
But when she awoke, she learned that surgeons had found a cancerous growth on the donated organ and her surgery was thereby cancelled.
“It shows you how great the surgeons are. It’s just sheer luck they found this cancerous tumour,” Knowlton says. “This was my third call, but this was the first time I’ve gone to the OR.
“I’m still at the top of the list. Another call will happen.”
Angie Knowlton is seen in Toronto General Hospital's transplant ward earlier this week. Supplied photo
As for Cash, he will be away from school for the next four to six weeks while he recuperates.
Knowlton says Cash's upper jaw was literally destroyed and required a bone graft while his nose had to be reconstructed so he could breathe. His adult teeth were also shattered and needed to be removed while his jaw will be wired shut for four weeks.
“He does outpatient follow up,” Knowlton says, adding that his speech has suffered as a result of the facial injuries.
"The doctors are amazed he wasn't more severely injured or killed. He’s on a soft diet instead of hard food, but is doing really well. He's a brave little trooper."
