It’s been a goal of mine, since I was paralyzed on my entire left side, to make it to the B.C. provincial dart tournament.
It was May 27, 2011, around 5 a.m. I was at work and had just finished my lunch break. That’s where it happened — blood vessels in my brain burst and I laid on the floor, my body shaking uncontrollably.
I was two hours north of Fort McMurray and had to take a two-hour ambulance ride to the nearest hospital where I soon was diagnosed with an AVM rupture (right frontal lobe of my brain), which caused a hemorrhage.
I then had a one-hour flight to Edmonton. During the flight I quit breathing, then woke up two days later in Edmonton, right before my first of two brain surgeries. I spent three months in three different hospitals and survived two brain surgeries.
I lived all this but had no movement on my entire left side. I was unsure if I would ever walk again. At the hospital I started physiotherapy. I was just learning how to walk and to stand again, when I asked my therapist if I would ever be able to play darts again. He told me it depended on how hard I was willing to work towards that goal.
From that day my goal was to get better, no matter what. I made a promise that someday I would be well enough to attend the B.C. provincial dart tournament. I set a goal for myself that day in the hospital before my first step, unsure if I would ever reach it.
I talked to my dad about it, and he said if I made it he would come watch me play in the Canadian National Championship dart tournament. I then asked “Do you think I can make the men’s provincial dart team?”
He said, “Son, don’t worry about asking the team, you will make it. Just look what you have accomplished. Making the provincial dart team will be one of your easiest challenges you will have to face in the last year and a half. I believe you can make the dart team. I believe after what you have shown me there isn’t much you can’t do if you put your mind to it.”
I surprised myself because a lot of the time I’d get frustrated and want to give up, then would think: “What if I made the team by some fluke?” It would be one of the greatest comebacks of all time.
I’ve had to learn to stand, to walk and to throw darts all over and to do this I had to gain strength on the left side of my body, as well as gain confidence. I practiced playing darts working on my balance for a year and a half for two hours a day at home.
My journey has been a long process of rehabilitation and doesn’t have an ending yet. The Caribou Brain Injury Society and the Williams Lake youth dart program has joined in a joint fundraising venture. All funding will be split evenly between the two organizations.
For just a $2 donation you can help me start a Williams Lake Youth Dart League, associated with the National Darts Federation of Canada. The money will also help fund our trip to the B.C. provincial finals touranment.
We will be going door to door in Williams Lake, or you can drop off your donation to the Caribou Brain Injury Scoeity at 301-19 North First Avenue.
I would like to thank the Caribou Brain Injury Society for helping me along with this journey and to anyone who donates — it’s much appreciated.
- Wayne O'Neil