(Right) Local U11 hockey coach Graham Lindquist. (Supplied)

By Alessia Proietti

Over $160,000 raised

Local hockey coach feels community support following spinal injury in Mexico

Feb 15, 2023 | 2:01 PM

Three weeks have passed since a pool accident in Mexico changed the life of local hockey coach Graham Lindquist, but his family says it has been the community’s support in Red Deer that have helped them through.

On January 23, Lindquist was vacationing in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, with his wife Chandra and some friends when an accident occurred as he jumped into the hotel swimming pool resulting in a complete spinal fracture and dislocated C7 vertebrae. As of yet, Lindquist still has not regained mobility in his legs.

A GoFundMe page was quickly set up four days later and sits today at over $160,000 in funds raised by almost 800 donors to help rebuild the life of Lindquist and his family of five children.

Family friend Brad Balon organized the page with a starting goal of $35,000, but was surprised to see the page raised around $71,000 in the first night.

“The community bypassed our goal. They set our goal for us, not us. At the end of the day, they saw a family in need. Graham has been a devoted member of this community for a long time. He’s volunteered and coached several teams, hockey, baseball, and they stepped up and supported him right back,” he said.

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Although Balon was not on the trip himself, he says he heard from various accounts that the freak accident was caused by a belly flop or cannonball made into a fairly shallow pool, but doesn’t have further details.

“I’m a hockey parent; I’m a hockey coach as well. Every year we all try to get away on our hot holiday and you think of how many times you jump into the pool with your kids or with friends and it just shows how it can happen to all of us really quickly,” he said.

Lindquist underwent a 6-hour surgery to stabilize his spine that day at a hospital in Cancun, Mexico before being transported by air ambulance to the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton roughly two weeks later.

Unfortunately for Lindquist, however, the journey home was made worse by contracting a fever and Clostridioides difficile (C. diff), a germ causing diarrhea and colitis that could be fatal if not treated and contagious requiring isolation. Lindquist also faced other digestive issues, potentially due to the paralysis which can cause the digestive system to slow down, rendering him unable to eat for a few days and requiring a nasogastric tube to help him feed.

But the roller-coaster had upward moments when on February 3, Lindquist’s wife Chandra shared that he was beginning to show movement in his arms and hands, ruling out the initial worry of becoming of quadriplegic.

Graham Lindquist starts to show movement in his fingers, hands and arms on February 3. (Supplied)

Before returning home on February 4, Chandra expressed concerns of the reality they would soon have to face.

“We are so happy to be coming home, but I’m not going to lie, it has made me feel incredibly overwhelmed. Here in Cancun, I have only been responsible for Graham. That’s it. Back home I will be responsible for our five kids, who will need me more now than ever, as well as Graham who will need my support in Edmonton. I will definitely be torn between trying to be a good mom and a good wife at the same time,” she said in a GoFundMe update on February 2.

Graham Lindquist being transported by air ambulance to the University on Alberta hospital in Edmonton on Feb. 4. (Supplied)

As of Monday, Balon says Chandra has still been unable to return to Red Deer to see the children as Lindquist’s stomach condition had not stabilized. He says he expects Lindquist to be in hospital for up to four months before moving to the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital where he will relearn how to complete daily tasks.

However, Chandra says that what keeps the couple motivated is how the community has rallied together to show their support.

“When I find myself falling apart, I take time to read the wonderful posts people are sharing on the GoFundMe page and social media. All the caring comments bring me out of my darkness. I have seen many smiles and happy tears from Graham. Thank you for making this horrible situation feel so much brighter,” she wrote on a February 5 update.

Balon began to list a myriad of examples of how Red Deerians have shown their support, beginning with the central Alberta hockey community. He says the Blackfalds Bulldogs shared the GoFundMe page during a game announcement, local hockey teams were donating money leftover in their budgets, every player in the Red Deer Classic U13 Tournament made cards for Lindquist and teams hosted tribute games, including Lindquist’s own hockey team, the U11 Phone Experts. Balon says the team played Sylvan Lake, one of the strongest teams in the division, and ended up with a 6-6 tie in Lindquist’s honor, with a 13-year-old lineman even giving his $26 paycheck to Coach Chad Huesby to give to the family.

“He’s that guy that you want to run into the hallway at the rink. He’s always got a smile on his face. He would be that guy that a lot of kids would see as their favorite coach. He’s one of those guys that he makes the sport better, he makes life better,” he said.

Balon says businesses like yoga studios have donated proceeds from classes to the page, tire shops, including where Lindquist works, have donated funds, the Locker Room Hair Company barber shop offered to cut the hair of Lindquist’s boys for free for the remainder of the year, his family in Barrhead raised funds through a bonspiel, and an abundance of other examples of generosity.

With the new fundraising goal to $200,000, Balon says the funds will only begin to help the family rebuild their life with new expenses like a wheelchair, adapted vehicle, modifications for accessibility to their home, transportation costs in the meantime to the hospital, and so much more.

“After many x-rays and tests, we are at a standstill which is extremely hard on him physically and emotionally. My heart breaks for him. I miss his smile and uplifting personality so much,” said Chandra on a February 11 update. “Thank you just never seems like enough! Please continue with your prayers. They honestly help to lift Graham up, and he needs a lot of that right now. At this point, I just want to see his beautiful smile that I miss so much.”