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“I’m home!”: Kamloops man beat the odds thanks to mother’s determination

Jessie Simpson spent 10 months in a coma after an attack with a metal baseball bat on June 19, 2016
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Jessie Simpson went home on the weekend for the first time since being attacked with a metal baseball bat in June 2016 (Sue Simpson/Facebook)

Nearly six years after an attack that changed his life forever, Jessie Simpson finally got to return home.

His mom Sue Simpson said you could feel the peace in her house this weekend finally having her son back under her roof.

“He wheeled in the door and he’s like, ‘can I scream?’ and I said sure. He’s like, ‘I’m home!’”

Jessie suffered life-altering injuries from an attack in Kamloops on June 19, 2016. Doctors told the family it was likely Jessie would never go home.

READ MORE: Kamloops man heading home six years after catastrophic injury

But a determined mom made her goal a reality, spending more than $40,000 to renovate her home and accumulating costs elsewhere, such as vehicle maintenance for Jessie’s wheelchair.

“The van was a big barrier which broke down on us,” Sue said. “Right now, we’re waiting on a quote for repairs on that. It needs modifications to the seat belt and a tracking system, so I need to go to Kelowna for that.”

Without the van to transport Jessie, his mom said she is looking at $1,200 per month just to get Jessie between home and the care facility where he lives on weekdays.

Sue will bring Jessie home to Kamloops on Fridays and take him back to care on Sundays as many times this summer as her bank account will allow.

“The biggest hurtful part for me is saying ‘Jessie you have to go back’. He needs his rehabilitation at the home. They have a facility to bathe him, I don’t. And they have more care there than we do at home.”

In order to bring Jessie home permanently, Sue said it would take about $3-million for the equipment and care, and at this point, she explained they haven’t seen any of the $6.9-million the accused from the attack was ordered by a judge to pay.

READ MORE: Kamloops man to pay $7M to victim after life-altering attack

While at home, Sue said Jessie was visited by some friends, enjoyed the fresh air, and put up a stink when it was time to go back to the care facility.

“I’m going to see what I can afford to do. If I can afford to bring him home every weekend with the cabbing or we can get our van repaired,” Sue said, noting their GoFundMe page is still collecting donations. “I’m hoping that someone will hear our story and help us to purchase a new van. That would be absolutely a dream come true for us.

“The look on Jessie’s face said it all weekend, it was kind of a peace that we’ve been looking for for the last six years. We haven’t had any time alone, so having that time together and just looking at Jessie… seeing him laid back and chill and just at peace.”

Sue said she can’t wait until next weekend to do it all again.


@thebrittwebster
brittany.webster@blackpress.ca

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Brittany Webster

About the Author: Brittany Webster

A video journalist with Black Press Media. I recently made the exciting move from my radio anchor position at AM 1150 to this new venture.
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