A retired New Westminster teacher and the wife of a two-term school trustee in New Westminster passed away last month.
Sue McDonald died nine years after becoming a quadriplegic in a tragic accident that dramatically changed the life of her and her husband, Ken.
"What's pretty amazing about her, not once did she complain, not once in nine years," husband Ken McDonald told The Record.
The freak accident occurred when the couple was staying in a downtown Vancouver hotel while Ken was attending a trustee conference (he was a school trustee from 2002 to 2008). Sue got up in the night to use the washroom, and she fainted and hit the side of her head on a TV stand. (Later, they found out she had a low potassium level, which caused her to faint.)
Sue suffered a fracture to the C5 and C6 neck vertebrae. She spent a week in intensive care at Vancouver General Hospital, a month in the spinal unit at VGH and 16 months at GF Strong.
"We were hopeful that she was going to be able to come home," recalls Ken, a longtime principal in New Westminster schools (including mine at Herbert Spencer Elementary). "I was able to renovate most of the downstairs of the house - to make it wheelchair accessible, etc., etc. and getting all ready to install the ceiling lift in the bedroom I made downstairs and then the people from GF Strong said, 'Look there is just no way. The amount of care that she requires is a lot more than what you can give her or anybody can give her at home."
Fortunately, she went from there to Eagle Ridge Manor right beside Eagle Ridge Hospital, which was close to the family home in Coquitlam.
"So it was only about a 12-minute drive so it was great to go in and see her everyday and take the dog in and feed her lunch and that kind of thing," Ken said.
Whenever he tells the story of that fateful night, Ken said he notes that the moral is: "If you don't know whether to go to Vegas this weekend or not, go to Vegas, because you never know when your whole life can change just in an instant."
Sue taught at Vernon Secondary, Delta Secondary and Montgomery Junior High in Coquitlam until she took time off after her children were born. She eventually returned to teaching, working at John Robson and Lord Tweedsmuir elementary schools in New Westminster until she retired in 2001.
Sue's health was deteriorating in the weeks before her passing; she was having trouble swallowing because of a valve that wasn't closing properly and was causing food and liquid to go into her lungs.
On the Saturday before her passing, Ken visited Sue. She was weak and had trouble speaking. That night, Ken brought in some chicken soup for Sue. She ate a few small spoonfuls.
The next morning the doctor called to she say she was unresponsive. On Monday, Dec. 1, at age 70, Sue passed away at Eagle Ridge Hospital.
Sue and Ken were married for 46 years and had three children, daughter Brenda, and sons Bob and Steve, as well as four grandchildren. A celebration of life was held on Jan. 11 at the Dogwood Pavilion in Coquitlam.
