Inspirational Story of HFTM Student Drew Cumpson

Drew Cumpson inspires me and many others
Guelph Mercury Article By Jakki Jeffs

I would like to introduce you to Drew Cumpson, a young man I had not known until a month ago. Even now, my knowledge is via some friends of Drew's or articles and YouTube videos.

Drew is 23, and in May 2011 his world changed dramatically after a freak accident at a beach in Peru. Drew was in Peru because he has a big heart and wanted to help those less blessed than he was in life. He joined a trip with the University of Guelph working in what can only be termed "shanty towns," and helped to build steps up a mountain to provide the community access as well as other tasks.

On his last day while body surfing, Drew was lifted by a massive wave and crashed head first into the seabed. The result was that Drew was left a quadriplegic.

Drew was a second-year hotel and food administration student at the University of Guelph at the time of his accident, and while he can take online courses, his dream is to get back to school. Unfortunately, this is hampered because Drew cannot breathe independently and requires a pretty hefty respirator unit attached to his wheelchair.

Those who know him well describe a determined and courageous young man who is always smiling. However, the three years since his accident have been fraught with medical complications including peritonitis, respiratory complications from the sea-water, feeding tube problems and much more.

But Drew does not know how to quit and he wants to be able to help others as he did before his accident. Check out this YouTube videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kicMCphZqM. In December 2013, Health Canada approved the NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System in Canada for Canadians with spinal cord injuries, and these can be stocked in hospitals as medical equipment. Recently, Drew discovered that OHIP will cover the device and its installation. A CTV question about the pacing system to the Ontario Ministry of Health garnered this information. Drew himself has been frustrated at the lack of response from government. The pacing system is like a heart pacemaker for your diaphragm and it would make life so much easier for Drew and bring his dream of returning to school much closer.

The big problem is that Drew has been trying to access information that will help him access the system that could transform his life, and after six months he is still no closer.

As part of the research on the Diaphragm Pacing System for this article and in an effort to assist Drew, I contacted the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation in Toronto. Corinne Kagan, who is the senior program director for acquired brain injury was an angel and gave me two routes for Drew to check.

The first was to contact a regional office of Spinal Cord Injury Ontario, and the secondly to get in touch with the Assisted Devices Program at the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. She thought the pacer might be available through them, or at least a good percentage of the cost may be covered. She also advised that Drew would need to see an occupational therapist who could work with him to determine his need and make the order.

Because of the lack of response to his requests, Drew has been hosting an online fundraiser and yesterday received a wonderful donation which has helped him raise almost $35,000. It was his understanding that OHIP would cover the surgery but not the pacing system device itself, and so he set about financing it himself — God Bless him.

The second part of Drew's dream is to go home, but until he is designated the personal support worker hours he needs, he must remain in a rehabilitation hospital.

As I said before, I do not know this young man but I admire his indomitable spirit and even more so in the climate in which we live because Drew breaks the mould. He is demanding that he be provided resources to live, not pleading to be assassinated by medical professionals.

Drew has faced and conquered his worst nightmare and yet he still wants to be able to help others. At 23, he has a maturity to accept his changed life and a human spirit that sees no limit to what he can do. We need to thank Drew for showing us what makes us different from all other life on earth.

However, I worry about others in similar situations who do not have his strength or the love and support he has received from his beloved family and his friends. What would six months of no response do to them, especially in a world that believes it must offer its most vulnerable physician-aided killing? I am quite certain it would not have taken six months to offer them medical killing if it were legal!

We owe Drew an immense debt of gratitude for showing us how we, too, can dig deep when the going gets tough — after all, it is what humanity has done for centuries faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

There is a classical harp concert on Friday, Sept. 26, at the University of Guelph's University Centre Room 103, for Drew's ongoing costs. Please consider attending it.

Never give up, Drew, and thank you!