The road to recovery has been a long one for Hélène Levasseur after a suffering a brain injury on Aug. 20 1989.
Levasseur had been golfing with a friend when her golf cart rolled back down a hill which Levasseur fell off landing 15 feet on her head. She was taken to Royal Columbian Hospital where she remained in a coma in the intensive care unit for one month. She only realized the severity of her injury while doing rehab at Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody.
Her right eye was crooked and her vision was causing her to see triple. Her mouth became crooked and she had difficulty speaking. She was unable to speak French, her native language. She couldn’t hear from her right ear, she had mood swings, she couldn’t walk in a straight line, she was unable to focus or concentrate on things, she was unable to taste or smell or read and write, she couldn’t name objects and had bouts of paranoia, to name just a few of the conditions she now found herself dealing with.
She was unable to return to work as a trade and consumer show manager, a career she had excelled at for a decade.
Three years after her accident Levasseur started keeping a journal. She began writing songs, lyrical poetry and music. She learned to play the guitar and found the music was lifting her spirits.
Levasseur is also a cancer survivor after being diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2005 and then ovarian cancer in 2008. Both of which she is currently in remission from.
In 2009 she founded the monthly drop-in poetry group the Holy Wow Poets to connect others with a love of verse.
In January Levasseur launched her second book of poetry called Wayfaring Wounded Wondrously.
Her first book she launched in 2011 for her family, but, she said, it was too expensive. it was 160 pages with full colour and cost $90 for anyone to purchase.
She learned from that experience and made sure Wayfaring Wounded Wondrously was affordable at $25.
The 110 paged book of poetry is about Levasseur’s 28-year journey. There are about 80 poems in the book with photographs of Levasseur during recovery. She was inspired to write it to try and help others who might be going through what she had to go through.
“I can remember when it happened to me I was looking for books or to meet people that had had the same thing, that had recovered and I couldn’t find them,” said Levasseur.
“Sometimes it’s just good to read about someone else’s journey,” she said.
Now, 66, Levasseur is as well as she is going to be.
“I’ve recovered really well,” said Levasseur.
“I’m still in the disabled state for focus and concentration and things like that but I’m really, really good,” she added.
Her favourite poem in the book is the title poem Wayfaring Wounded Wondrously.
“She lived in a fog. All choked up in a smog. Lost in a polliwog. Feeling like an underdog,” goes the poem.
“She prayed to be free from this calamity. Immersed in misery and anxiety. Yearning for harmony whole heartedly. She’ s now wayfaring wounded wondrously,” reads another line.
Poetry has been a source of healing for Levasseur.
“I transformed my life from a tragedy to beauty in the process,” she said.
Levasseur will be doing a reading from her new book at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 15 at the Maple Ridge Public Library, #130-22470 Dewdney Trunk Road.
For more information email tsos@telus.net.