VANCOUVER - Even the smallest victories are being celebrated by Roland Nulada and his family, as he recovers from devastating injuries suffered in the Lapu Lapu festival attack in Vancouver.
On Monday, it was Nulada’s first meal in 16 days — soup and baked macaroni, “the very soft ones,” says his older sister, Pinky Nulada, in the Vancouver hospital room where her brother is recovering from brain surgery, as well as operations on a broken arm and leg.
He can sit up now, for 30 minutes at a time in a wheelchair, and greets visitors with a smile. He has trouble raising his arm to wave, and suffers from short-term memory loss as he recovers from his brain injury.
But now he can recognize his family members, and his appearance is improving since he regained consciousness on May 4, eight days after the April 26 attack that killed 11 people when an SUV drove through a street crowded with festivalgoers.
He’s getting better and better every day, said Pinky.
“Unlike before, when his face was really swollen,” she said. “I asked him today, ‘Are you in pain? How do you feel about your body?’ And he said: ‘I’m in pain, but I can manage the pain.’”
Nulada’s family is bracing for a long road to recovery, as well as the cost of caring for his three children with his wife, Carlyn Nulada.
They are familiar with B.C.‘s health system, but from a different perspective — both Roland and Carlyn are health-care assistants. Roland, 53, is already worrying about when he can get back to work at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, B.C.
Other survivors of the tragedy are facing similar dilemmas, said RJ Aquino, chairman of festival organizer Filipino BC, an advocacy group that is also helping co-ordinate fundraising in the wake of the attack, along with United Way BC.
Aquino said the lives of victims’ families “have been changed forever,” and they will likely need lifelong support.
“We want to make sure that those supports are in place so that they can continue to lead fulfilling lives after this event. It’s a matter of getting all of the support that we’ve received, all of the resources that are available, and making sure that things are set up for them as they continue to recover,” said Aquino.
Aquino said they want to provide income support to minimize any financial hardships.
“We also want to make sure that this interruption in their life doesn’t come at the cost of being unable to pay their bills, being unable to take care for themselves, being unable to take care of their family, and being unable to take care of their own,” said Aquino. “Those are the things that we want to directly address, too.”
Police said Tuesday that eight of the 30 or so people injured in the attack remain in hospital.
The suspect, Adam Kai-Ji Lo, has been charged with eight counts of second-degree murder, with police saying more are likely. A judge has ordered a mental health assessment to find out if Lo is fit for trial.
Aquino said Filipino BC had been visiting victims in hospital and reaching out to families to identify their specific needs, and the group will soon have Spanish- and Tagalog-speaking case managers to offer support.
Filipino BC and United Way BC have raised more than $800,000 for a victims’ fund, covering immediate costs such as child care and replacing lost cellphones.
Kim Winchell, United Way BC’s chief program and impact officer, said the funds are also covering meals, car rentals, hotels, rent subsidies and flights for family members.
Winchell said United Way was supporting Filipino BC and increasing operations to respond to the festival tragedy, “today, tomorrow, and into the months and years to come.”
“We’re not just here for the short term. That will be a very long-term effort to breathe and recover as well as they can from this tragedy,” said Winchell.
‘THEY NEED A FATHER’
The path has been a painful one for the Nulada family since the chaos of April 26.
Pinky said that she and her brother’s families attended the festival to celebrate their Filipino heritage. The joyful day was transformed in an instant as a black Audi SUV barrelled down East 43rd Avenue.
Pinky said she pulled her grandchildren off the street and shielded them from the vehicle. Her daughter suffered minor injuries to her arm.
But they were separated from Roland, and it was only late that night in the emergency room of Vancouver General Hospital that his family found out he had been gravely injured in the attack — a doctor gave Carlyn her husband’s wedding ring in a pill bottle to confirm his identity.
Pinky said she cried a lot as her brother lay unconscious in intensive care.
She said she held his hand and whispered: “I don’t want you to just end like that. You need to fight for your children because they are still young. They need a father.”
When Roland woke, his first thoughts were for his family.
“He asked what happened, how long he had been there, and then he asked me, Did you sleep?” said Carlyn. “Then he asked: Where is my son? Where is my daughter?”
Pinky said she suspected her brother remembered some of what happened at the festival, but he “doesn’t want to say anything … it’s traumatizing.”
Pinky said she and Roland are among nine siblings in a family that immigrated from the Philippines 18 years ago.
She called her brother a family man who worked long hours, and he now worried he wouldn’t be able to return to work soon to support his family.
Pinky said she and Carlyn had been reassuring him that “recovery is very important, and you don’t need to worry about us.”
The family has received online support, raising more than $156,000 on the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe.
Pinky said they don’t like to ask for help, especially in Canada, where health care is free, but the family has suffered “a big loss.”
“If my brother cannot go back to work, their life will be different,” said Pinky of her brother’s family.
Carlyn, a health-care assistant at Lynn Valley Care Centre, said there are no clear answers about how long her husband’s rehabilitation will take, or when he can return to their home in Burnaby.
She said their mortgage is manageable, but she needs help with her two younger children at home, and she hasn’t had a decent night’s sleep in more than two weeks.
“I have to cook for them, prepare their food. I have to send the kids to school. Then I have to come to the hospital,” said Caryln, who is back at work.
“Sometimes your mind is really tired, your body is very tired. You cannot say, I’m tired, but what can I do? I still need to do it. That’s life,” said Carlyn.
Pinky is trying to stay optimistic. She said her family, who lives in North Vancouver, had bonded with Roland’s since the attack.
Before, they only met up on special occasions, she said.
“But what happened is getting us closer. I need to look after my brother,” said Pinky. “I believe things will get better.”
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