The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor 'He's a really strong kid both mentally and physically.' If ever there were a statement that captured the essence of a person, it is Jane Dupre's description of Joe McDermott. McDermott, 18, was in a serious vehicle accident in February 2011 on the road between Creighton and Denare Beach. He spent three weeks in a coma, suffering a brain injury along with a punctured lung, lacerated liver, cracked sternum and broken rib. His recovery has been gradual but phenomenal, something Dupre, principal at Creighton Community School, where McDermott is a senior, has witnessed over the last year. Almost as remarkable has been the outpouring of support McDermott has enjoyed from the community. 'I'm really thankful that this community could help out people who are really in need of it,' says the teen. Much of that help came from Creighton Community School, which held bake sales, delivered meals and babysat McDermott's siblings so his mother could spend more time with him. 'Everybody wanted to pitch in and help the family out,' Dupre says. Plush bears The broader community has also lent a hand by buying plush bears, provided by Sears, at a Bomber game earlier this season. Sears was originally going to use a portion of the proceeds to cover the cost of the bears, but instead gave all funds collected _ $1,070 _ to McDermott. 'My Sears manager at the time said we should do something for Joe, and we did,' says store owner Ryan Watt. 'It was more like a community donation that was done through Sears.' Money donated to McDermott will go toward his education. His goal is to become a welder, a trade in which he already excels in his high school welding class. Dupre says McDermott is a student who has really matured over the years, taking a more active role in the school and serving as a positive role model. Those traits are more present than ever as McDermott completes his recovery. He says he is at about 80 per cent as he continues to work with specialists on his brain injury. The son of Carol Michel and grandson of David and Charlotte McDermott, he feels fortunate both in his recovery and to live in an area with such generosity. 'I'd like to thank everybody for their donations and their help,' he says.
