British Expats - Some difficult news from Oakvillian

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Some difficult news from Oakvillian

Hi everyone,

We have some bad news to share with you about one of our regular posters. Some weeks ago, On 7 November, Oakvillian’s ten year old daughter, Rosie, was cycling to school when a bus pulled out of a parking lot, knocking off her bike and running her over. She was transported to hospital and is recovering. Those of us close to Oakvillian have been following her progress but have been keeping to Private Messaging to protect the privacy of the family. However, with the family’s permission, we are now sharing with the wider BE community.

Rosie's injuries have, unsurprisingly, been severe. Her respiration has been the most concerning as the bus did damage to one lung and punctured her diaphragm. She has had her spleen and part of her large bowel removed, and has some kidney damage. However, she is getting stronger and stronger every day and is mostly breathing on her own. It looks like she will be able to leave the ICU in the next few weeks. The good news is that she was wearing her helmet, and was wearing it correctly, and as a result has no head or neck injury.

Unfortunately, and this is where it gets tough, although Rosie had no skeletal damage to her spine, the soft tissue injuries she suffered are so severe that Rosie will not regain the use of her legs and will be getting around in a wheelchair. Once she is out of the ICU, she will be transferred to a centre that specializes in rehabilitation for kids with spinal injuries, and the family is hoping to have her back home in the spring.

Oakvillian's family is understandably dealing with a lot right now as he, his wife, and their two sons support Rosie in her recovery and adjust to their new world.

To prevent Oakvillian from being swamped with PMs, if you have any message you would like to pass on, please send it in a PM to one of us and we will send it to Oakvillian in one email, along with any messages of support left on this thread. If you want to contribute in other ways, his friends and neighbours have set up a fund to help the family with their numerous expenses in the short term (including making their house accessible for Rosie), and the fund will also be used by Rosie later in life as and when she needs it.

I have spoken to Oakvillian (Doug) and he has given me permission to post the links to Rosie's funds.

There are two ways to donate.

The first is at any RBC Branch. If you are in Canada and able to do this, this is preferred as there are no fees incurred. You can go into any RBC branch and ask to make a donation to The Rosie Sparkles Fund. If you are an RBC customer, you can pay with your bank card, and if not then go in with cash. The account number is 01532 5179189.

The second is through GoFundMe. This has been set up primarily for those overseas or in areas without easy access to RBC. Here is the link: https://www.gofundme.com/the-rosie-sparkles-fund There is a message from Rosie's family as well as a bit more information about what happened there.
We are all pulling for Oakvillian and his family, and with Oakvillian's permission, will post updates in this thread as and when.

HGerchikov and SchnookoLoly