BELIZE (16 May 2008) What was supposed to be a dream trip turned into a continuing nightmare for a Tillsonburg man. Denis Turcotte was snorkeling in Belize on April 21 when he was struck by a boat in the leg and head. The trip was intended to be a 60th birthday present to himself. Turcotte is well known in the community, having worked for many years in diagnostic imaging at the hospital and being involved in the Knights of Columbus and St. Mary's Church. Turcotte is now in the intensive care unit at University Hospital in London. His son Alden described his father's condition as "stable but critical" and noted there was improvement each day. Alden accompanied his father to Belize. Their goal was two-fold - to dive with whale sharks and find a place for Denis and wife Alrae to stay for a couple of months next winter. Belize is just south of Mexico on the Caribbean Sea. It was Denis' third trip to the Central American country. After arriving on Friday, April 18, the father and son duo could only go scuba diving once over the weekend due to weather. Then, on the Monday they went snorkeling with a cousin who lives in Belize and another friend. After snorkeling in one spot and fishing for a short period, three of them went back in the water to do some more snorkeling. Alden remained behind on the boat due to a headache. Despite a buoy designating a dive area, another dive boat came racing through the site. "The boat came so close to me I could practically see the captain's face," Alden recounted. "Then I heard one of them (the divers) say 'Dive.' The three of them dove down, but only two came up and I knew my dad was hit." He saw his father laying face down in the water and could see blood all around him. What Alden learned later was the twin-engine boat struck his father twice, with one propeller hitting him in the head and slicing into his brain and the other shattering his leg, just above the ankle. The divers in the water managed to wave down the other dive boat. People on that boat lifted Denis out of the water and raced him to hospital. Fortunately, two of the people on the boat were doctors and one was a nurse. Although he had gasped and was breathing when he was turned over in the water, Denis stopped breathing on the boat and CPR had to be performed. It took an hour to get from the dive site to a medical clinic in the village they were staying.
"By the time I got to him, I didn't know if he was dead or alive for an hour," Alden recounted. After being reunited with his father at the clinic, he accompanied him to the closest hospital, which was 45 minutes away. From there, he was airlifted to Belize City to a major hospital. Over six hours after the incident, Denis went in for surgery there. He had a shattered skull, the sack around the brain was ruptured, and there was swelling of the brain. Still, he was talking to Alden prior to the five-hour surgery. "I was in my bathing suit and T-shirt for two days," Alden recalled. After a two-day hospitalization in Belize City, both were airlifted to Miami. A doctor and nurse accompanied them on the air ambulance. Alden's mother and sister met them in Miami. Two more surgeries on his father's leg followed in Miami, plus a procedure to drain fluid off Denis' brain. "They did such a good job in Belize they didn't have to go back and do brain surgery which is good because it's less trauma to the brain," Alden said. | | On May 7, another air ambulance transfer brought Denis back to Canada and University Hospital in London. His brain swelling is starting to go down, he can whisper and recognizes his family. Another leg surgery was performed in London and a second is scheduled for Friday. The full extent of the brain damage could take some time to be known. Taking some time out from hospital visits on Day 23 after the accident, Alden and his mother expressed gratitude for the support they received from Tillsonburg. Although medical insurance covered all Denis' costs, his family's expenses were only covered for a week after the accident. Alden had $1,500 in cellular phone bills alone from providing updates to his relatives at home. As a firefighter, Alden needed to contact Tillsonburg Fire Chief Bob Parsons to let him know he would be away. After Parsons learned of the tragedy, he contacted the Miami fire chief. "He (Alden) was all alone in the City of Miami and his father was fighting for his life," Parsons said. "We simply asked they send their padre to his side. Within 30 minutes, there were two firefighters at his side. They made sure he had some sleep Alden had been awake for 36 hours at that point and provided transportation from his hotel to the hospital. I was really impressed with what they did for our firefighter." While Alden slept, a firefighter stayed by his father's side. Parsons said the firefighters who helped Alden were dive officers with the Miami fire department and felt a natural connection to the cause. At home that evening, Parsons got on the phone and contacted Tillsonburg's volunteer firefighters. They immediately provided $500 out of their kitty and organized a boot drive outside local businesses to collect another $1,100. Both Denis and Parsons are members of the Knights of Columbus. That organization and others connected to St. Mary's Church made contributions. Both staff at Tillsonburg hospital and Woodstock hospital where Alrae works also donated to the cause. More than $5,000 was raised to help the Turcottes out with expenses. "Everybody's been great," Alden said of the support. "It's nice because down there it was just the two of us supporting each other," Alrae added. Alden plans to return to work next week for the first time in over a month. Hospital visits will continue, though. Denis is expected to be in hospital for several months. His family is hopeful he'll be home for Christmas. SOURCE - Tillsonburg NewsSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
