Running for the cause

B.C. man running marathon across Canada to raise awareness on traumatic brain injuries

By Jordan Maxwell

Updated 1 month ago

In 2005, David McGuire suffered a stroke which caused his brain to bleed and placed him in a coma for nine days. Doctors told his family he'd never walk or talk again.

But when he awoke from his coma and he was responsive enough to take in the news, Mcguire figuratively said what some say after receiving devastating news: 'Meh, what do doctors know anyway'?

"My family was told that if he wakes up, don't ever expect him to walk or talk again. That kind of pissed me off so then I said 'well then I'll run.'" he said.

And that's exactly what he was doing on a beautiful Sunday afternoon on Highway 1 just west of Portage la Prairie as McGuire jogged down at a moderate pace on the westbound side of the highway.

McGuire has been running across Canada since April 1 to raise money and awareness for traumatic brain injuries as part of a 'Run To Remember' marathon sponsored by BrainTrust Canada.

McGuire woke up out of his coma to find tubes in his arms, mouth, and "other places tubes should not be." He also had his part of his skull removed to accommodate the swelling and awoke to find that he had lost his short term memory.

The New Westminster, B.C native said that although he suffers from memory loss, he finds it easier to run because he forgets the run of which he embarked the day before.

"I suffer from short term memory loss so if you've ever seen the movie Memento or 50 first dates, it gives you the idea of what it's like," he said. "It's how we figure I can run everyday because I forgot that I ran."

"You just keep doing it and wake up in the morning and do it again. It's a great way to lose weight and there's no such thing as repeats on TV. Family Guy is always brand new."

McGuire added that he's doing this run to inspire people not to give up and to believe that you can achieve anything despite the doubters and critics.

"I want to inspire people, especially youth, who are at highest risk for brain injury and think it won't happen to them," he said in a news release. "I also want people to better understand brain injury. I'm not the same person I was before the injury, but I have a lot to offer and am living life to the fullest. I'm just a guy with a brain injury and I have a story to tell."

For more information on how you can get involved in the cause, call BrainTrust Canada at 250-762-3233 or log onto Twitter @r2rcanada.

Facts on Traumatic Brain Injury:

-500 out of every 166,000 Canadians suffer from a brain injury every year.

-795 out of 100,000 children suffer from a brain injury every year.

-Men from 16-24 are mostly likely to suffer from a traumatic injury

-It is the greatest killer under the age of 45; greatest disabler under the age of 44 and kills more children under the age of 20 than any other cause.