Early Thanksgiving Sunday morning, October 13, 2019, I went down to the dock at our cottage to enjoy my coffee. The view across the lake was breathtaking, and I wanted to take pictures to send my daughter, who was away at university.

We had just put in a new dock with a long ramp. The water on Kawagama Lake gets lowered at this time of year, making the ramp super steep.

Within seconds of walking down the ramp, I slid down the morning icy dew! My foot lodged in the space between the ramp and dock, and my body kept going, dislocating my foot, breaking my leg and shattering my ankle!

I was alone on the dock and could hear James Taylor, our typical Sunday morning cottage music, playing in the distance. I cried and yelled for help!

It was bad and being a water access cottage didn’t help the matter.

My husband tried to get me on the boat but I couldn’t be touched as the pain was unbearable. I was freaking out seeing my foot just dangling there!

We called 911 and waited.

Soon, some amazing volunteers arrived by boat and strapped me to the stretcher. They carefully lowered me into the boat and off we slowly went to the marina, where an ambulance was waiting.

I was greeted at Mountain Trout House Marina by some wonderful paramedics!

The paramedics were a dream. We had a great conversation in the back of the ambulance as they tried to distract me. That was after they put my leg into a splint. Again, internally I was freaking out. I knew it was bad.

This wouldn’t be my first time at Huntsville Hospital as an emergency patient. Five years earlier I had a waterskiing accident and I partially snapped my hamstring off! That was bad too!

I was in the same room as the last time.

The ER Doctor, Dr. John Simpson was amazing! He had a way of making me feel like I was the only person there.

I was medicated for the pain, but my anxiety got the best of me that day and I requested to not be put under as they reset my leg.

Following the reset, they put a cast on my leg and took more x-rays. Even going through the x-rays was tough, as they were positioning my ankle to get all the right angles. I was exhausted but could tell that something wasn’t quite right. I could feel all the bones touching.

Dr. Simpson came in and let me know that he wasn’t happy with the reset and wanted to do it again. He knew that I wasn’t up for it but said he would feel much better if we did it again. So, I said yes but requested to be put under this time. I am sure he was happy about that as well! Cast off, a second reset and another cast was placed.

Flash forward 5 weeks after the surgery that I had in Burlington that week, where a plate, many screws and 28 staples were used to hold together my ankle and leg. Surprising all of us, my Burlington surgeon told me that due to how well my bones were healing and aligning, I didn’t need to see him again. I needed to continue with regular physiotherapy and stay in the boot, use a walker, etc.

My physiotherapists were really surprised too! Surprised that I was done seeing the surgeon after only 5 weeks. They asked me at each visit if I was sure, that it would typically be a few more weeks of follow-up with the surgeon.

I credit this to the Huntsville Hospital ER Doctor, Dr. John Simpson. He set me up for success! Dr. Simpson could have taken the easy path and left me as is, knowing that I was going to be having surgery anyway in Burlington. But he went above and beyond and treated me like I was the only person who mattered that day. He truly cared, and because of that, I feel my recovery was a success.

I was homebound for quite a few months recovering, and then COVID hit! We moved up to Kawagama Lake, just across from our cottage, in October 2020 and have been loving living up here full-time!

I knew back then that I wanted to do something for Huntsville Hospital and help give back to a hospital that we all need or will need at some point, which is where The KawagaMonster Lakefest comes in!

Introducing the 3rd Annual KawagaMonster Lakefest, where my brother-in-law, Gery Labusch, and his band, Mid-Life Chaos, come to the lake, play some great music on a barge and help us raise money for the Huntsville Hospital Foundation. Join us on Kawagama Lake on Saturday, July 20 from 6 - 9pm, 2024 for some Barge music with Mid-Life Chaos and our very own resident super star Vanessa Slack, from Mountain Trout House Marina.

Please join us on Saturday, July 20 in front of our cottage. We are next to Moorelands Camp (facing west) in Golden Bay! The band will be on the barge in the beautiful bay and will play from 6-9pm.

I would love the help to raise money for the Huntsville Hospital Foundation. We have needed the hospital numerous times over the last 23 years, as I am sure many of you have as well!

Their billboard in Huntsville says it all, “We’ve been there for you, now it is time for you to be here for us. Please Donate.”

Your generous support really does help make a difference to healthcare for life, here. The need for vital medical equipment is constant and millions are required annually to keep pace with technology. Hospitals do not get funding from the province for capital equipment. Did you know that 90% of the cost of new equipment comes from donated dollars? The very best local healthcare comes from us all.

Thank you for doing your part!

Kathleen Bokrossy