Six weeks after a freak accident left him paralyzed; a local young hockey player is making amazing strides towards recovery.
It was only weeks ago, after the young hockey player fell while playing with his friends, that Ethan Lockwood's future looked bleak.
To see the spunky boy now though, one might never think his doctors would have said he might never walk again – and inspiration from his progress is contagious.
"Just how strong he is, just how courageous he is," Roger Lockwood, Ethan's father said Friday. "Something like this happens that changes your life, and he just deals with it [and] works through it."
In November, Ethan was playing road hockey with his friends, when he fell into a bush.
In a bizarre twist of fate, a twig went through his eye and into his brain – leaving him mostly paralyzed.
He spent weeks in the Stollery Children's Hospital without much change in his mobility, until a few weeks ago.
"One day my leg started to move," Ethan said. "Then a few weeks later my arm started to move."
Since then, he hasn't looked back, his parents said his motivation didn't only come from his will to recover – but the outpouring of support he's received since his story made the news.
Messages of support have come in from as far as Germany, from his favourite hockey players and his own team.
The support will play an important role in his upcoming recovery, although he's come a long way, he still has a long way to go.
He still has some therapy ahead, and he's working on overcoming the injury to his brain.
Ethan's future obstacles are not standing in the way of his next lofty goal though.
"[I want] to be walking without anything by the end of December."
With files from Scott Roberts
