When Mark Edwards ended up in the burn unit of a Toronto hospital after a house fire last Sunday, it was like a nightmare his family couldn’t wake up from.
The 34-year-old Guelph resident was taken to Sunnybrook Hospital with second and third degree burns on 30 per cent of his body, mostly on his back, as well as his arms and face. As a result, he’s going to need several surgeries, and will be in the hospital for at least six to eight weeks.
“It was a huge shock,” his sister Christine Vachon said. “You see that kind of stuff in movies, but you don’t expect it to happen to your own family member.”
Vachon said he was unrecognizable in the beginning, but now the swelling has gone down a bit and he’s starting to look like himself again.
He had his first surgery Wednesday morning, which she said went well.
Even in this condition, she said he’s still in high spirits and making a lot of jokes.
“He’s always been a comedian,” she said. “He’s always made people laugh, and made really good impressions from movies, so he’s still trying to keep that side of him, even though he’s in pretty bad condition.”
Overall, she said he’s doing a lot better than he was when he first arrived in the hospital on Sunday.
The fire ravaged his Brant Avenue home, leaving him with nothing.
To help him get back on his feet once he’s out of the hospital, Vachon and their brother Nick Edwards launched a GoFundMe campaign.
The goal was initially $5,000, but has received so much support that community members asked Vachon to raise it to $30,000. So far, there have been 63 donors and they’ve raised over $9,000.
“It’s not necessarily just the financial help,” Nick said. “Seeing all the names there, seeing all the people that do care, I think is a good motivation for Mark, but for the family too.”
They’re grateful for all the support from the community, Vachon said, from her mom’s coworkers giving her gas gift cards for the drive from Guelph to Toronto to visit Mark, to anonymous community members donating to the GoFundMe.
They’re also collecting physical items, primarily clothing right now, since all his were burned in the fire.
Nick said he’s working on replacing all the precious memorabilia and sentimental things that Mark lost in the fire. An old teacher donated a high school yearbook from Mark’s time at John F. Ross, as well as some John F. Ross clothing.
Mark is a huge sports fanatic, Nick said. Especially when it comes to hockey. He had a lot of Montreal Canadiens memorabilia they’re trying to replace for him as well. They’re also hoping to replace his collection of old gaming systems and games.
“There are things he actually mentioned on one of the visits. So I feel like that would be really beneficial towards making him feel better,” he said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
