'Long road ahead of him': Employee shot at Edmonton Pizza Hut enters physiotherapy
'Long road ahead of him': Employee shot at Edmonton Pizza Hut enters physiotherapy
The Pizza Hut employee who was shot at his workplace earlier this month is on the long road to recovery, his sister has confirmed Tuesday to CTV News Edmonton.
Leslie Albert spoke to CTV News Edmonton about her brother from her home near Regina on Tuesday, the day after the funeral for the two officers.
"Rich is progressing day-by-day," she said.
"He has a few setbacks from time to time, but thus far, he’s doing fairly decent given the circumstances."
Rich was placed in intensive care at the University of Alberta Hospital following the shooting. On March 24 he was moved to a rehabilitation facility, Leslie said, and on Monday he began scheduled physiotherapy and speech therapy for his injuries.
"He was shot in the head. The bullet passed through the left side of his eyebrow, right above his eye is where the bullet entered. He has lost the use of his eye, he will be blind in one eye for sure," Leslie said.
"He is going to have a long road ahead of him, and in what functionalities, brain wise, being a traumatic brain injury, so we don’t know at this time what, if any, cognitive issues he will have, memory issues, coordination, everything is just brand new."
Leslie said her brother is able to speak, and walk, and he recognizes his family members, including his wife and adult children, but the Rich they knew isn't the same.
Rich Albert and his wife Norma. (Source: GoFundMe)
"He’s got such a vibrant personality. He can talk to and be around anybody, and people love him. And to see that part of him taken away for the time that he’s here in the hospital. I can’t describe it in words. It’s horrible."
Leslie said Rich worked part-time at the Pizza Hut delivering pizzas for the past six months, while maintaining a full time job during the day.
She said he loved delivering pizzas.
"He lived and grew up here in Regina and he delivered pizzas when he lived here, he delivered pizzas when they moved to Winnipeg, he loved the aspect of socialization in that respect. He genuinely enjoyed it. So he continued that when they moved to Edmonton."
'A HORRIBLE SHOCK'
With Rich now recovering, the family is struggling to come to terms with the events that landed him in hospital, and the killing of two police officers.
"It was definitely a shock. I mean, a horrible shock," she said.
"I guess, like the general public, I have seen and followed some of the media that has surrounded these events, and I’ve got the same questions that people do. How does a 16-year-old acquire a firearm?"
Leslie said Rich is aware that he was shot, and of the deaths of Constables Jordan and Ryan.
"He has spoken about the shooter, he has spoken about the shooter’s mom. And that he is one of the ones who has survived."
Rich has a long road ahead of him to recover, but Leslie said he's motivated to come home.
Rich Albert (Credit: Albert family)
"He’s a fighter, and I know that he has his goals, I think in his own mind, to get back home and get back to life. So he does have his own personal things I believe that will drive him to get better."
Leslie said they're grateful to everyone who has donated.
"Rich’s family loves him, and is praying for him. We appreciate and thank everybody for their prayers and support with the GoFundMe, and I’m hoping that he recovers to the way he was."
With the latest hike bringing Canada's key interest rates to levels not seen since 2001, one mortgage broker is warning that it may be 'the last straw' for some homeowners with variable mortgages.
It's been a busy, tumultuous few days for Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex as he took his place on the witness stand in his trial against the Mirror Group Newspapers. Here are royal commentator Afua Hagan's top takeaways from his two-day grilling.
Poor air quality is forecast to persist into the weekend across parts of Ontario, as plumes of wildfire smoke blanket the province and prompt school boards to limit outdoor activities.
The Bank of Canada's latest decision to raise its key interest rate comes at a time when many are struggling to afford their homes. CTVNews.ca wants to hear from people in Canada who are going to great lengths to find affordable housing.
One of the architects of the law that governs Canada's prison system says it's understandable people want revenge on killer and serial rapist Paul Bernardo, but that's not what the prison system is designed for.
With social media ever-present in modern life, figuring out when and how to introduce it to children is something every parent will have to deal with eventually. CTV's Your Morning spoke to a child-life specialist about how parents can have that conversation and be positive role models too.
The man who was found not criminally responsible in the stabbing deaths of five people at a house party in Brentwood more than nine years ago is seeking more freedoms.
Family and friends gathered at the spot Haven Dubois's mother pulled his body from the water eight years ago, ready to embark on a cross Canada journey in his honour.
The chief of the Shelburne Volunteer Fire Department says the blaze near Barrington Lake, which is now classified as “held,” is unlike anything he’s ever seen.
Halifax media outlets were given a tour of the neighbourhoods hardest hit by the Tantallon wildfire Tuesday afternoon and saw firsthand the damage and destruction left behind.
Irving Oil says it’s undertaking a “strategic review” with an eye to its future. In a release Wednesday, the company says it’s looking at a number of options, including the sale of its assets.
The air quality in Toronto has become so polluted due to forest fires in Quebec and Ontario that strenuous outdoor activities could leave you coughing and with an itchy throat.
A regulatory body has revoked the licence of a Mississauga homebuilder after it says that the company demanded that a buyer pay an additional $518,000 for a property that they already had a contract to purchase.
Further evacuations are necessary in Abitibi and Nord-du-Québec due to forest fires. Although the situation has improved on the North Shore due to rain, no precipitation is expected further west until Monday.
In an interview on CJAD 800 Radio, Quebec Conservative Party leader Eric Duhaime said the new measures in place related to Quebec's ammendments to the French Language Charter have made Quebec a 'laughingstock' and that phone and website messages are 'offensive.'
On Wednesday, the Montreal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) filed a writ of intervention with the housing tribunal (TAL) to plead in favour of two tenants opposing the clause in their lease prohibiting them from owning animals in their dwelling.
High levels of air pollution have developed in Waterloo region and Wellington County as smoke plumes from wildfires burning in Quebec and northeastern Ontario continue to blow into the region, Environment Canada says.
A northern Ontario forest fire that started west of Sudbury on Sunday morning has grown to more than 1,000 hectares and has prompted officials to issue an evacuation order for the immediate area as the number of active fires in the region grows.
Poor air quality is forecast to persist into the weekend across parts of Ontario, as plumes of wildfire smoke blanket the province and prompt school boards to limit outdoor activities.
A reward of $100,000 is up for grabs as police in Metro Vancouver renew calls for help finding 36-year-old Cody Timothy Casey—a man wanted Canada-wide for a total of 17 drugs and firearms offences.
The pounding sounds of running on hardwood, the smash of the ball hitting the boards and the cheer of the crowd—it’s officially lacrosse season at Queens Park Arena in New Westminster.
A large wildfire burning on Vancouver Island Wednesday continues to impact traffic on Highway 4, the only highway leading to the west coast communities of Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet.
Rich Albert and his wife Norma. (Source: GoFundMe)
Rich Albert (Credit: Albert family)
