Olds athlete Graysen Cameron says he's slowly recovering and hopes to get a job coaching hockey in Central Alberta after being injured in a collision between a semi-trailer and the Humboldt Broncos team bus.
The crash, which occurred April 6 about 200 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, killed 16 people and injured 13.
Three vertebrae in Cameron's back had to be fused.
He says he's taking it easy, but the recovery continues.
"It's been kind of a slow road for the most part, recovering. But things are getting a lot better pretty fast here. It'll be a long recovery, but I've just got to stick with it," he says.
Due to the spinal fusion, Cameron can no longer play hockey or lacrosse. He was a big part of the Olds Mavericks Tier 1 lacrosse team.
That's been tough to get used to.
"It's been kind of hard to watch the Mavericks play without being out there," he says. "I wanted to get out there for sure and help the boys out. But I'm just trying to support them as best I can from the stands and give those guys the best support I can."
Before joining the Broncos, Cameron played Midget AAA hockey for The Red Deer Optimist Chiefs.
He's resigned to the fact he won't be able to play hockey now, but that opens up the opportunity to take his love of the game to the next step.
"I'm looking for a coaching job next year. I've got some things that might be lined up, so I'm looking forward to that," Cameron says.
The 19-year-old is also considering taking some kind of post-secondary education, possibly related to sports.
"I've just got to figure out something I want to go to school for," he says. "I don't want to jump into anything too soon here. The options are wide open, so it's all up in the air right now."
Meanwhile, Cameron is following his medical advice and simply resting.
"I'm not supposed to be doing too much for the next month and a bit. Then I can hop back into rehab and get into shape again and get back into doing all the regular things I can, for the most part," Cameron says.
He's even looking at eventually lifting weight again.
"I'll be able to slowly get back into that; just build strength back in my back," he says.
During his recovery, Cameron has been able to meet a couple of times with some fellow players and others connected with the Broncos.
"I'm in touch with all the guys," he said May 23. "I just saw them last weekend, and the weekend before that -- a couple of them."
"A couple of us met at the Memorial Cup in Regina there. I went out there for a day and got to see some families. It was really good to see all the families and be with them and get back in touch with them and be there for them," he says.
Cameron is really grateful for all the support he's received from Olds and area residents.
On May 23, he received a cheque for $1,518.25, exactly half of the money raised by the Olds Fun-raisers for him and Olds and District Special Olympics during a fundraiser, held May 5 at the Evergreen Centre.
"I just want to again thank everyone for everything. The generosity just doesn't seem to stop around here," he says.
