Back on the bike

Rounding off this week with an image of Gary working away at his exercise bike in Toronto. A fitting way to capture his determination in returning home.

Halfway there

Gary's all smiles this week as he marks the halfway point in his 12-week program at Toronto East General. As we near the one-year mark since Gary first fell ill, it's worth noting some of the remarkable progress he has made in his ongoing recovery.

He's regained the ability to consume small amounts of food and drink, has been able to pedal an exercise bike, given a video shout-out to his friends, and is spending more and more time each day off the ventilator. Each day, he grows stronger and stronger and moves one step closer towards coming home.

All the while, he's still been providing Muskoka Chautauqua staff with key direction and guidance, reviewing Chautauqua matters with Gayle at his side, and is constantly thinking of what's next for Chautauqua.

New time record!

This just in - Gary's cracked the five-hour mark off the ventilator! He's also celebrating the halfway point in his 12-week program at Toronto East General this week. Keep up the good work Gary. We're all rooting for you.

Making good time

Gary's set a new record for time off the ventilator! When Gayle went down to Toronto last week, Gary was breathing on his own for a straight one hour and 20 minutes. His endurance off the breathing apparatus has grown by leaps and bounds since his move from Barrie awhile ago. Starting off with a time of 30 minutes breathing on his own, he went on to pull an hour and five minutes, then one hour and 15 minutes in the days leading up to Gayle's visit last week.

Move further south brings Gary closer to returning north

A move further away from Muskoka is bringing Gary one step closer to coming home.

Earlier this week, Gary was moved from his bed at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre in Barrie to his new home at Toronto East General, where a special program exists to hopefully help Gary ditch the ventilator for good. Though the shuffle has put an extra hour's worth of driving between Gary and his good friends in Muskoka, the transition to this special program been an encouraging and major step forward in his ongoing recovery.

Gayle made a trip down to Toronto mid-week in anticipation for the big move, and after some delays, Gary got settled in nicely in his new home in the city.

 

He not only gets a wonderful view of the CN Tower in the distance, but also appears to have a lot less snow to look at than his dear friends currently do in Muskoka.

Shout outs from Muskoka

As Gary continues to recover, his friends and neighbours in cottage country are still eagerly awaiting his return. During a benefit concert earlier this month in his honour, dozens of Muskokans lent their faces and voices to a series of video shout-outs to wish Gary good health and a speedy recovery. Gary was overwhelmed with emotion when he saw the video of his good friends in the north. Both Gayle and Gary want to say a big thank you to all who came out that night to show their support.



In the second video below, there are also a few clips of singer Ian Thomas performing, just shortly after Parry Sound - Muskoka MP Tony Clement showed off his own musical talents on the guitar.

Stay tuned to this blog for more great news in the coming weeks!

Massive Muskoka turnout for Bring Gary Froude Home concert

Love and generosity flowed lavishly from the hearts of about 300 Muskokans who turned up for a night of music dedicated to bringing home one of their beloved own. 

Seats were a rare commodity when Juno-winning musician Ian Thomas and Lunch at Allen's bandmate Marc Jordan took the stage at the Bring Gary Froude Home benefit concert on Saturday, Jan. 4. Gary, who was named Muskoka's 2012 Citizen of the Year for his work in promoting the arts, has been hospitalized since May after contracting a mysterious virus which left him paralyzed. 

The concert took place at the JW Marriott The Rosseau Resort and Spa. 

"People like Gary are really the spine of culture in our community," Thomas said in his pre-performance speech. 

Peering out at the sea of concert-goers, Thomas said the success of the event was profound reflection of the positive change that Gary's work has achieved in Muskoka over the years. Scores of supporters and local dignitaries also lent their faces and words of encouragement to a series of video shout-outs for Gary, which Muskoka Chautauqua staff are currently in the process of compiling and editing. 

Thomas and Jordan both jumped aboard fundraising efforts as soon as they heard of Gary's condition. Funds raised from ticket sales and a silent auction preceding the concert will be used to help Gary his wife Gayle make modifications to their Port Carling home, in order to accommodate extended apparatus once Gary is healthy enough to return. 

Citing Gary's demeanour when he was handed the Citizen of the Year Award, Thomas described the dedicated Rotarian as a man bound by a sense of humility rivaled only by his passion and love for serving the Muskoka community. 

But the large turnout on Saturday, Thomas said, was a reflection of just how much Muskoka loves Gary back. 

"You realize what a large part of the culture in his area that Gary has played in," he said. 

Though Gary was unable to attend the concert, he had reached a remarkable series of milestones in his ongoing recovery over recent months. He gained enough strength to sit up on his own in late November, and was pedaling away on an exercise bike by the end of that month. 

After a series of adjustments to his ventilator, Gary spoke clearly for the first time in early December, thanking his friends and supporters for their spiritual support in a cellphone video. By Christmas, he was taking his first sips of coffee with Gayle and eating pureed food for the first time since summer. 

Since then, Gary's also beaten a brief spell of pneumonia he contracted shortly before the concert. 

All the while, stories about Gary's condition, community contributions, and the benefit concert itself made headlines in local newspapers and radio broadcasts. 

Numerous local sponsors came together to make the fundraising event possible, including the JW Marriott The Rosseau Resort and Spa, Hammond Transportation, McLaren Press Graphics, North 45 Communications, PSAV, Muskoka Tourism and Explorers' Edge. 

Stay tuned to this blog for updates on Gary's reactions to the evening's events and video shoutouts.