Rachel Allenbrand and her father Paul Gifford pause for a moment during the BYOC Fundraiser held at the Laurel Packinghouse in Kelowna on October 24. The event brought in $5,000 in support of Spinal Cord Injury BC’s Okanagan chapter. Gifford has been a member since April 2013.
Erin Christie photo
Paul Gifford beamed from the audience gathered in the main gallery of the Laurel Packinghouse in Kelowna on October 24 as Rachel Allenbrand scolded him in mock exasperation from the front of the room.“It figures,” she told the audience.
“Everyone else in the room is listening and you’re talking.”
Gifford laughed with the audience and Allenbrand continued with her story.
“Growing up with a parent in a wheelchair was incredibly challenging and incredibly fun,” she continued. She was referring to Gifford, her father, who is a high level quadriplegic (paralyzed from the neck down). Gifford was injured in a logging accident while working in Alberta in 1974. The family eventually relocated from Hinton AB, to the Okanagan. Allenbrand lives in Oliver while her father resides in Kelowna.
“My dad has been in a wheelchair since before I was born. This is all I’ve ever known,” she said. “Growing up in the 1980s was interesting because wheelchair access was not as common as it is today and it was definitely less common when it came to vehicles. We had this huge van with a button that we’d push to lower a ramp that my dad could wheel on to so he could be raised into the van. We used to show it off to our friends because we thought it was really cool,” Allenbrand continued. “But as normal as our life seemed to us, I knew we were different. And sometimes I wanted to be like the other kids. I wanted my dad to go hiking and take me fishing and do what everyone else’s dad seemed to be able to do and I knew that somewhere there were other families like ours.”
Allenbrand, who is now in her early 30s with children of her own, has devoted much of her time and efforts to caring for her father and advocating for families like hers. It wasn’t until five months ago that she and Gifford found what they had been searching for. Gifford’s friend Mike Stiles introduced the pair to a peer group facilitated by Spinal Cord Injury BC (SCI), a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people with spinal cord injuries or related disabilities, get their life back post-injury.
Stiles, a former jockey, became a quadriplegic as a result of an injury in 1984 and has been an advocate for accessibility and the rights of those who are disabled. Stiles is the co-founder of the British Columbia Mobility Opportunities Society (BCMOS) and has served on the boards for the Disabled Sailing Association of BC and Connectra Society. He is currently lobbying the municipality for better wheelchair accessibility in the neighbouring community of Osoyoos, where he has lived since 2001. Stiles was among the 150 guests in attendance at the SCI fundraiser Allenbrand spoke at on October 24.
Stiles has been involved with SCI Okanagan for nearly two years. He said belonging to the peer group has made a big difference in his life. Allenbrand and Gifford said they couldn’t agree more. “They’ve given us a ton of information and support. It’s a great thing to be a part of. It’s like being a part of another family,” Gifford later told the Chronicle. “After 34 years of connecting with little to no one else with spinal cord injuries, dad and I found common ground with a close knit group of guys all with related injuries,” Allenbrand told the crowd.
“For the past five months we have been meeting with the group on a weekly basis and it has brought ‘life’ back to my dad.”
But nothing could have prepared Allenbrand for what happened this summer. Thanks to SCI, she told the audience, he went hiking up a mountain for the first time.
“Thanks to this group and their amazing group of volunteers, I finally got to go on a hike and go camping with my dad. I didn’t think that would ever be possible. You might think we’re just raising money here tonight but it’s much more than that. It’s not just money. It’s a means to help people do things they don’t normally get to do.”
Allenbrand’s message clearly struck a chord with the guests. In a follow-up phone call the Chronicle learned that the October 24 event brought in approximately $5,000 for the Okanagan Peer Group. Allenbrand said to date, their recent fundraisers have raised a total of $13,000, which will go towards outings and events for SCI’s Okanagan Peer Group. SCI’s peer programs are available throughout British Columbia.
To learn more or become a member or to donate to SCI visit: www.sci-bc.ca. To see video footage of Gifford’s trip click here
Erin Christie
Oliver Chroncile
