My story

still here. still building.

a story about losing everything, seeing the light, and coming back for my people.

where i come from

before

i wrestled out of prince albert. i won first at regionals, and that got me to provincials, where i took second.

the road outside dillon

it was september 9, 2020. a dirt road, about 15 minutes outside dillon, saskatchewan.

we had a flat tire, and the lug nuts were swollen so bad we couldn't get them off. a few vehicles passed, but nobody had the right tools. so my brother came out in his own suv, and we started moving our stuff from my car into his.

we were standing outside, just loading bags. an ordinary moment.

then my brother yelled, "watch out!"

i turned and looked at him, and then i saw them. bright lights, coming straight at us. i froze like a deer in headlights.

an suv going about 100 km/h hit me and my girlfriend.

i flew six feet in the air and landed in the back of my car. my girlfriend landed in the front.

the other side

then everything went quiet.

i saw a light. and i heard a voice i hadn't heard since october 25, 2019, two days before my birthday, when cancer took her from us.

my mom.

i asked her for a second chance.

and she said, "everything will be ok, my boy."

before i came back, i made a promise: i'm coming back for my brothers and sisters.

"45 minutes, trent"

i opened my eyes, and my uncle was running toward me, yelling, "45 minutes, trent! 45 minutes!"

i had asked for a sign, and there it was. his voice was calling me back to the living. i smiled so big. i was just happy to see him.

god gave me my life back.

waking up again

i broke about 28 bones and lost a lot of blood. i was in a coma for about a month.

when i woke up, the doctors told me something i never knew: i was born with dandy-walker syndrome.

then came recovery, the hardest thing i've ever done. i had to learn how to live again, in body, mind, heart and spirit. my faith in jesus christ, my saviour out of the darkness, carried me. so did my family and my community.

after my accident, i also lost my sister dawn. i carry her, my mom donna, my late grandmother monique and dimsey with me in everything i do.

the promise

i told my mom i was coming back for my brothers and sisters. so that's what i'm doing.

rez2ceo is how i keep that promise. it's about indigenous people becoming leaders, entrepreneurs and changemakers without losing who we are. from the rez up.

dene steam is how i keep it for the next generation. it brings our knowledge, culture and land together with science, technology, engineering, arts and math, so our kids can chase anything and still know exactly who they are.

this isn't a story about tragedy. it's a story about what grows after.

i'm still healing. i'm still learning. i'm still here.

so i'm building.

on a business trip to ontario, i went to meet ryan and see how he runs his operation.