Local hockey community steps up after Minnesota teen breaks his neck at tournament in Burnaby, B.C.

An on-ice tragedy in Burnaby has left an American teen with a catastrophic spinal cord injury and an uncertain future.

Growing up in Minnesota, Jackson Drum was on skates as soon as he could walk.

“In Minnesota, as well as Canada, hockey is a part of our life. It’s a part of our culture. And that is very true in Jackson,” said the 17-year-old’s aunt Emily Haeg Nguyen, who recalls her nephew clearing snow off a lake near his family’s home every winter so kids in the neighborhood could skate.

Last fall, Jackson was invited to play for an academy team in Idaho.

“It was, you know, a dream come true,” said Haeg Nguyen.

His new team was playing in a tournament at the Burnaby Winter Club on Jan. 24, when the unthinkable happened.

“Jackson fell into the boards, and he hit his head in a way that, from what I understand, he essentially died on the ice. And the first responders in Vancouver were there to resuscitate him, and brought him back to life, essentially,” said Haeg Nguyen.

As both teams gathered at centre ice to pray, Jackson was rushed to Vancouver General Hospital, where surgeons fused the C1 and C2 vertebrae in his neck.

“The doctors have essentially told my sister and brother-in-law that it’s very possible that Jack will not walk again and will not be able to use his hands, and will not be able to breathe on his own. That is the severity of his spinal cord injury that he sustained,” Haeg Nguyen said.

As their son lay in a hospital bed, Jackson’s parents back in Minnesota realized their passports had expired, so they could not fly to Vancouver. VGH staff offered to write a letter the Drums could present at the land border explaining the urgency of the situation. They flew to Seattle, and were able to cross into B.C. thanks to that letter.

“Once my sister and brother-in-law made it to the hospital, Jackson was coming out of surgery, and my sister said that he saw them, and he started shedding a few tears,” said Haeg Nguyen.

“He looked up at them and smiled, and just hearing that was such a was such a relief to us, that they made it to him safely and are there to take care of him in this time when a kid needs their parents more than ever.”

Jackson’s parents also didn’t have to worry about finding a place to stay near the hospital.

“The Burnaby Winter Club came together and paid for their Airbnb, and co-ordinated that. So when they arrived in Canada, they didn’t have to worry about their stay. They could just focus on Jackson,” Haeg Nguyen said.

On Monday, Canucks centre Teddy Blueger came to visit Jackson. He went to college in Minnesota and his father-in-law knows the Drum family.

“Obviously, hockey world is pretty small,” Blueger said. ”So, he made me aware of the incident last week when we were on the road, and then when we got home, our chaplain here mentioned that he was going to visit Jackson in the hospital, and said it would be good if I could come along."

He admitted he was a little nervous walking into the hospital room of the teenage hockey player, who had just survived a catastrophic on-ice injury.

“Him and his family seemed like, honestly, really incredible. In good spirits, I guess, as much as you can be. I think he’s got a tremendous amount of courage and strength and faith,” said Blueger.

The visit meant a lot to Jackson and his parents.

“When you’re so far away from home like Jackson is, and you’re in a situation like this, it’s really scary. It can feel like the world is going on without you. And so to have Teddy visit and sit with my family and talk to them and talk about hockey, talk about their shared connections with Minnesota and pray together, it really lifted up his spirits and it meant a lot,” said Haeg Nguyen.

The hockey community is stepping up financially too, supporting an online fundraiser for Jackson that has raised more than US$80,000.

“It’s his long-term care and rehabilitation, it’s making the home where he lives handicap accessible. It’s all of these different things that are really going to be adding up for us,” said Haeg Nguyen.

“Knowing that so many people care about Jackson and want to make sure that he has the care he needs, that money is not the barrier to getting the medical care that he needs, it means the world to us because he’s worth everything to us.”

Still on a ventilator, on Monday Jackson was able to test out a device to help him speak.

“It was the first words he has said since the accident, and it was music to our ears. My sister sent us a video, and I was just bawling, just to hear his voice and see him smile meant we’re even more filled with hope,” Haeg Nguyen said.

Jackson’s parents are now arranging to have their son transferred from VGH to a hospital in Atlanta for his recovery and rehabilitation.

“He’s an athlete, he’s young, he’s determined, and we’ll fight with him. We’re going to see how far we can take this recovery,” said Haeg Nguyen,

“He kind of struck me as someone who’s a fighter,” said Blueger. ”He’s not going to quit. He’s already made some good strides forward. So, you know, small daily progress. And I think he knows what that can lead to."

Haeg Nguyen says the family wants the local hockey community and the doctors and nurses at VGH to know how much everything they’ve done for Jackson is appreciated.

“I hope that someday he will get to return to Vancouver on better terms and communicate his own thanks,” she said. “We are really grateful.”