It was a great party in Kamsack on New Year’s Eve when about 325 people got together at the OCC Hall to ring in 2016 while raising money to help with medical expenses being incurred by a teenager who had suffered a spinal cord injury in April.
A group of former Kamsack Minor Hockey Association members planned the New Year’s Eve benefit for Teddy Hudye, who prior to his accident had been an active hockey player.
“The net result was about $31,000 raised for Teddy, plus another $10,000 to $12,000 that was made in individual donations,” Darryl Binkley, a spokesperson for the group, said last week. “We received about $7,800 at the door where the admission had been set at $20 per person. The raffle table made about $900; three ‘special’ raffles organized by a ladies’ group comprised of Barb Trofimenkoff, Trudi Binkley and Colleen Hunter raised $1,500, and the silent auction raised another $16,100.”
All the items for the raffle table and silent auction were donated by Kamsack residents and businesses, Binkley said. Probably the highest-selling item at the silent auction was the Carey Price hockey jersey that went for $2,700.
The Jayden Schwartz jersey sold for $1,500, he said, adding that the tickets to Edmonton Oilers hockey games sold well.
The doors to the hall and the bar opened at 8 p.m., he said. Teddy Hudye was in attendance at the opening and stayed all night.
Percy and Diane Smutt and friends volunteered to man the bar, the beef brisket and pulled pork was donated and barbecued by Jeff Parnetta and Nathan Hudye and several volunteers prepared the coleslaw, he said.
Saddles and Steel of Yorkton provided the music, and Teddy’s father Mike thanked everyone for attending.
At midnight, New Year’s party favours, including hats, leis and horns were distributed and then supper was served, he said. “We had two 15-seat vans that were available after the party to drive people home in Kamsack and at Madge Lake.
“It was a fun time with a good variety of people,” Binkley said. “It was a great party and everyone was in a good mood. All-in-all, it was a nice New Year’s event.”
The money raised will help Mike and Kim Hudye pay for their son’s therapy.
On April 24, Teddy, who had been playing hockey at Kamsack from the age of five years, was going to school on his dirt bike. He had been in a stubble field where he hit a rock that he could not see. In the accident, he fractured his T9 vertebrae and severely injured his spinal cord.
That night Teddy had surgery to put rods and screws into his back and to decompress his spinal cord. He had no movement from his waist down.
“Teddy has never been the kind of child to sit still,” Binkley said. “He was always doing something, whether it was all kinds of sports, especially hockey, being with friends, working, learning hands-on about mechanical things, hunting, snowmobiling, quadding or dirt biking. He has never been one to sit still.
“So to lose the use of his legs has been an extreme change in his life. He is an amazing person.
“His determination to move forward has taken his progress in leaps and bounds. He has learned tons of new life skills from his awesome physio and occupational therapy team at Wascana Rehabilitation Centre in Regina, where they have taught him to transfer himself to and from his chair to bed and to other regular furniture, onto a shower chair and into a vehicle.
“Wascana is great at teaching life skills but (the staff does) not work on trying to maintain muscles in his legs or getting any kind of movement or feeling back into his legs.
“Teddy was looking for more after he was discharged from Wascana on July 9,” he said. “We found an incredible place right in Regina called First Steps Wellness Centre where they specialize in working with people with spinal cord injuries.
“In his first week there, they had him standing up in different ways with their assistance, which is something Teddy had never experienced since his accident. He has been working very hard five days a week, two hours a day with First Steps’ staff.
“We see him getting stronger all the time.
“Teddy is in Grade 12 and is very determined to graduate with his peers in June.
“While in Wascana he finished two English classes he had been taking at the time of his accident. Teddy is currently enrolled in Grade 12 at Kamsack Comprehensive Institute. He is taking two distance classes this semester so that he can devote five days a week in Regina, working on his therapy.”
Teddy lives in Regina during the week at an apartment with his mother, who took a leave from her educational assistant’s position to be with him and his sister, who is attending the University of Regina. He is taking advantage of being in the city and is trying new things like sledge hockey and wheelchair rugby.
He has also made valuable connections with other wheelchair users to learn from their experiences.
Unfortunately with spinal cord injuries, it takes a long time and a lot of hard work to possibly regain some or all movement.
First Steps is going to be a part of Teddy’s life for a long time, which is why Teddy’s family and friends tried to help him by raising funds to help with his therapy expenses, Binkley said.
First Steps costs are $80 an hour. Saskatchewan Health Care does not help pay for this therapy. First Steps Wellness Centre has an incredible website that is really worth a look. It shows how incredible the place is and how it has helped people.
The Teddy Hudye Trust Fund committee has an account set up at the Kamsack branch of Affinity Credit Union where donations may be deposited, Binkley said.
