MONTREAL -- Bruce Wayne Kobuke and his wife, Charlene, were on a dream retirement vacation to Hawaii last month when things suddenly took a turn for the worse.
The 71-year-old was on a beach on Kona when he was struck by a large wave that violently knocked him down. As he fought to keep his head above water, two additional waves crashed onto him.
Kobuke suffered severe injuries and was airlifted to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Honolulu to be treated.
“Following his arrival in Honolulu, he underwent immediate surgery to address fractures to vertebrae C3, C4 and C5 (in the neck),” the couple’s sons, Ben and Nathan Kobuke explain. “It was also confirmed that he sustained severe damage to his spinal cord. As a result, our father was paralyzed from his shoulders down.”
The family was told that Kobuke may never walk or regain full use of his arms ever again.
“To make matters worse, he then contracted pneumonia – a consequence of inhaling ocean water,” they add.
Ben Kobuke told CTV News that his mother had insurance through her credit card and thought they were covered, but it appears insurance won't pay the bill.
"They refused a claim because of age restrictions and I don't remember if it was because he was over 65 or 70 but one way or another he was outside their range of eligibility," he said.
The hospital bill climbed to about $444,000 USD, the family said.
After receiving treatment in Hawaii, Kobuke returned to Montreal and is currently being taken care of at Sacré-Coeur Hospital. The brothers say he has since regained some feeling in his fingers and back, though a possible road to recovery is still a long way away.
The couple's children have since started a GoFundMe campaign in the hopes of overcoming the costs of their father’s medical expenses.
“Growing up, our favourite superhero has always been Batman. Other than the obvious…he also happens to share the same name with an even greater hero, our father,” the brothers write. “Together, with our mother, both worked tirelessly to provide for us and have always shown nothing but love and support for all our endeavours.”
They say they still don’t know how much the fees will be – but they can only assume the amount will be monstrous. In addition, the 71-year-old will most likely require specialized home care, equipment and modifications to his house to adapt to his new needs.
The family says they are remaining positive, even giving regular updates on Kobuke’s condition.
“While working to massage his aching joints over the sounds of one of his favourite songs, ‘American Pie’ by Don McLean, we caught him with his eyes closed, trying to sing along to the lyrics,” they say. “Our father is a guitar player and loves to sing. This moment brought us all to tears.”
As of Monday morning, the GoFundMe campaign has raised over $46,000.
With files from CTV Montreal's Matt Grillo
