{"id":20452,"date":"2018-04-25T21:10:42","date_gmt":"2018-04-26T01:10:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=20452"},"modified":"2018-05-02T15:35:17","modified_gmt":"2018-05-02T19:35:17","slug":"longtime-aurora-coach-raising-funds-for-rehabilitation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/longtime-aurora-coach-raising-funds-for-rehabilitation\/","title":{"rendered":"Longtime Aurora coach raising funds for rehabilitation"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jake Courtepatte<\/strong><\/p>\n

Almost one year to the day, Chris Speller will never forget where he was on April 30, 2017.
\nHaving moved away from Aurora after 35 years just one month prior, the 60-year old was walking home around 10 p.m. to his new home in Port Stanley when he tripped over a tree root and fell thirty feet into a ridge between two tree trunks.
\n\u201cFrom within the trees I shouted \u2018Help\u2026help\u2026I\u2019m going to die,\u2019 but nobody came. It started to rain and I was feeling the cold. It had been a nice day, I was wearing sandals, shorts and a t-shirt.\u201d
\nClose to two hours later, a volunteer firefighter was returning home from a call when he heard Speller\u2019s cries through his bathroom window, following the sounds to find Speller wedged between the trunks.
\n\u201cI continued shouting, then around midnight I heard a voice \u2018Where are you?\u2019, to which I replied, \u2018I don\u2019t know.\u2019 I then heard \u2018don\u2019t worry we\u2019ll find you, you\u2019re in good hands.\u201d
\nRushed off in an ambulance around 2 a.m., it was the start of a long and arduous recovery for the healthy longtime soccer coach, one he continues to this day.
\nA key cog in the Aurora Youth Soccer Club wheel through coaching both minor boys and girls teams, as well as a serving member of the board, the executive club came together in organizing a fundraiser, set for this Saturday, to help offset costs of the recovery.
\nThe \u201cSpellatchi Retro Dance Night\u201d at DNA Bar and Lounge in Aurora will feature live music, a silent auction, door prizes, and even an all-you-can-eat buffet, organized through Speller\u2019s longtime connections in the Aurora soccer community.
\nEver the Bridesmaid, a Toronto-based band and no strangers to the Aurora community, join a live DJ to keep guests on their feet.
\nMoney raised will go towards Speller\u2019s spinal cord rehabilitation.
\n\u201cI\u2019m determined to walk the way I did before my accident and also kick a soccer ball again,\u201d said Speller. \u201cThese are just two of the many goals I have set myself.\u201d
\nWalking again for the first time in late August, Speller returned to Aurora soon after.
\nIt was through both Southlake Hospital and a private gym in Newmarket that Speller has slowly, but assuredly, found his feet again.
\n\u201cI was going four times a week (to Southlake),\u201d said Speller. \u201cWorking hard, and I continued to recover, but unfortunately for me this program funded by OHIP only lasts for eight weeks. I was then eight months into what I was told would be a 24 month recovery process.
\n\u201cSo far, I\u2019d been recovering well, but after 24 months I\u2019m told generally not much will change. So I\u2019m sure you can understand these are critical months to me.\u201d
\nHe continues his recovery through the \u201cWalk it Off\u201d program, a private gym specialized for such a case.
\n\u201cWhile in London, I fortunately came across an advertisement for Walk It Off, a private gym in Newmarket specifically for people with spinal cord injuries,\u201d said Speller.\u201cIt took one visit and a chat with Heather and I knew this was where my rehab would continue.\u201d
\n\u201cNow in the private sector, without OHIP coverage, I continue my rehabilitation.\u201d
\nFor more information on the event, as well as purchasing tickets, email Speller at cjspeller@gmail.com. Tickets are $25 each.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Almost one year to the day, Chris Speller will never forget where he was on April 30, 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":20448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,24,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news","category-news-sports","category-sports"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/2018-04-26-09.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}