doreen (in progress)
When my grandmother Doreen was 13 years old, she was on a boat that exploded. The accident in Gravenhurst, Ontario, made the front page of the Toronto Star on July 18, 1949. “Despite her burns, she kept swimming around calmly and needed no help, not even to get out of the water.” She had to receive skin grafts, leaving her with scars all over her body. The recovery was long and painful.
When talking about my grandmother, I always describe her wicked sense of humour and colourful vocabulary. But her deeper qualities are her perseverance and her appreciation for family, and for life itself. I have to think that these traits were formed by the accident.
Originally from the small town of Ingersoll, my grandmother would hitch a ride to Toronto in her father's egg delivery truck for piano lessons. When the recovery from the boat accident kept her home for months, my grandmother left school and used the time to work towards getting a music diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Despite the second and third-degree burns that the accident caused, she went on to work as a professional pianist for her whole life.
My grandmother is now 89 years old. She is an accomplished musician and has worked with famous classical singers. She still performs at concerts, recitals and church. She even works once a week at a university, accompanying the vocal students.
My grandmother has three children and seven grandchildren, who grew up calling her "Goofy Grandma." In 1996, she left Toronto for the small town of Orillia to be closer to my brother, my sister, and four-year-old me. The move ended up being pertinent in its timing. We found out that year that my dad's cancer had returned, and he passed away in 1999 at the age of 52. My grandmother was there to catch us.
While working at the university in 2021, my grandmother tripped and fell, breaking a hip. But she didn’t give up. She spent months doing physiotherapy until she graduated from a walker to a cane.
My grandmother has an exceptional memory, and she remembers the boat accident in detail. But her physical scars have faded with time, blending in with her age spots and wrinkles.
All of it is evidence of the extraordinary life she’s lived— one of gratitude and resilience.