A new milestone in Shawn Cowie's 'Race to Recovery'

Vancouver, British Columbia (November 28 2011) Canadian Top Alcohol drag racer, Shawn Cowie turned 30 years of age on Saturday Nov 19th, he did so smiling and standing upright.

People who have gotten to know me, get that I'm a quiet guy, I'm not good at small talk and I usually take a bit of time to get to know. My relationship with Shawn and his family has been no different, I was very aware of who he was for a long time before I got to know him. On track he raced like a champion, always giving everything he had to cross the line first. He had that cold steely look in the cockpit, a man unaffected by all of the activity around him. But slowly I have gotten to know Shawn and his wonderful family, and I am very lucky and proud to call him my friend. He has the quiet calm of his father Ron, and the warmth and heart of his mother Marianne.

As many of you might be aware, Shawn suffered severe injuries in a road accident earlier this year whilst travelling to the NHRA race in Charlotte. He was struck by a drunk driver while taking a scenic ride on his Harley motorcycle with his bud, Nik Duperon. All of the details have been documented in various forms via the media so there is no need to get into those, but suffice it to say, we nearly lost a good friend.

The last time I updated on Shawn's progress, it was to tell you that he had returned to Canadian soil to continue his recovery after a series of lengthy operations at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN. That was in May.

In the days since then Shawn has gone through the steady process of healing his injuries and let the surgical work take hold as his body rebuilt itself. For a while there the steely look had been replaced with a much more fragile appearance, just the energy it took for his body to heal alone was quite draining. He was in constant discomfort and clearly had lost a lot of weight. But with all that happening to him, he always managed a broad smile when my wife and I came to visit. Taylor, his fiancée, was there by his side as she has been everyday since the accident, making sure he was comfortable and had everything he needed. Family, racing, and work colleagues would show up regularly to sit and watch Canucks hockey games and eat take-out with him. For us, when we visited, we didn't go up to his room until we had picked up a triple-triple Tim Hortons coffee that was part of his staple diet everyday. As he got healthier and stronger, his mind was turning to returning to the track, when would it happen, how would it happen, and what he needed to do to make it happen. His parents would be there supporting his 'race to recovery' encouraging the positives, but keeping the expectations realistic, but all the time Shawn was planning in his mind how he was going to get back into the seat of his dragster.

Three months of healing and rehab, and a few more operations, would see a very special day in July. He got to go home for the first time since he returned to Canada. Home in this case would be a single level home in good proximity to his parents family home. And still my wife and I don't visit without a triple-triple!

Going home was such a boost for his recovery, he was in familiar surroundings and some home comforts, family was just minutes away and as always Taylor was with him all the way. Shawn had been able to lose the neck and back brace, he'd got going on a walker and things were going really well. But all this time, whenever you talked to Shawn, he knew where he was in his recovery and how tough the road ahead would be.

With the new found independence, Shawn was able to ride in vehicles and get out and see and feel places he had not been to in months, a simple visit to Canadian Tire was a great feeling as he wheeled himself up and down isles. And in August a moment a lot of folks have been waiting for happened when Shawn made an appearance at the Divisional race at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Washington. It was a physically demanding trip, but such a tonic for all involved, and it meant so much to many of his drag racing fans and friends. Just getting to hang with his good friend and fellow racer, Brian Hough, and his team bosses, Mindy and Dylan, was great. Prior to the accident at most races they would both attend, they pitted alongside each other, and have a strong, close friendship. It was Brian that had the big Shawn Cowie “Race to Recovery” decals on the side of his funny car this year, and both Brian and Mindy have been champions to the cause of getting Shawn back to where he belongs.

So that brings us to the here and now, again we are at a pivotal point in Shawn's recovery. He has been working so hard with the physio, working weights and wearing different braces to work on the mobility of his joints. With a happy therapist and the clearance from his surgeon, he was given the green light a couple of weeks ago to do some work in the pool, and now he's really getting a workout for the whole body. And you can tell, he looks stronger and fitter and he's started to fill his tee-shirts again. But much more than this, so much more, was that he took his first steps. Obviously he is using crutches most of the time, but he's upright and getting himself around. He is the first to tell you how difficult this is, and how tiring it can be, but to see him upright applying a little weight to his right foot was a very emotional moment for a lot of people.

I had not witnessed this until I saw Shawn on his birthday. My wife and I were already at his parents house and were just admiring the view from the living room window, and then Shawn appeared getting himself up the driveway on crutches. All I could say was “wow” and I looked at my wife and she had tears in her eyes. It was a very special moment indeed. And you know with a competitor like Shawn, this is only the beginning.
The evening was lovely with family and friends around to share the big evening. For most a 30th birthday is a milestone but not a big one, it just means your age begins with a higher digit! For Shawn it was much more, he would be the first one to tell you that he is just happy to be able to celebrate his 30th let alone care what the number means. And it is a big deal from where he was a little over seven months ago to be able to stand on his own two feet and celebrate getting older was truly remarkable. A proud father looks on and mom can't help but smile at her boy, and Taylor looks on with all the love that any one person could share. Everyone else is smiling with pride at how well Shawn has done and how lucky they are to know this champion of life. My wife and I feel so honoured to have been invited to share such a special evening with this wonderful family.

But again, this is just one milestone in a long journey. There is a lot of pain ahead, physically and emotionally, but the pure determination of this guy is his secret weapon, always wanting to push a little further than he needs to just to try and cut a fraction of time from the E.T. to recovery. He can now move his accelerator foot and to think that months ago he might have lost it. His knee will be a future hurdle to get over, but that will be a milestone further down the road. For now, he's just working on mobility and ability. For now he just wants to find some level of normality, maybe getting back to work and being able to drive himself around, lots of things that I, for one, take for granted. Mentally, Shawn will have a big hill to climb, some days things will just not progress as well as he hoped, and sometimes he might get set back. Then as he tries to move forward and put all this behind him, he will have to deal with people asking questions, people wanting to know about his ordeal, and he will need to remember. But if anyone can do it I believe Shawn can, and will succeed.

I also want to mention Nik Duperon. Nik may not have incurred any physical injuries, but he still has some healing of his own to do. He's still there for his bud, still by his side when he has the chance, but his life is going on and he has a job to do and things to fill his day. But please keep him in your thoughts, if for no other reason than that he was there for Shawn and he is a large part of why we were able to celebrate a birthday on Saturday night.

When it comes to drag racing, there is no talk of 'if' it's all about 'when' he will return to the strip. There's no talk of slower cars, its back to his Top Alcohol Dragster. And you can bet he'll hit the ground running. He's been watching what's going on with the help of social networks, texting etc., he picks up his ipad and checks the standings, seeing who's running strong. With a great relationship with other Division 6 TAD teams like Joey Severance, he has been keen to see how he and others were faring in the National standings. Father, Ron, and Taylor were out at the Seattle National event showing support for Joey and his charge at the title. While a lot of you will be thinking about racing much less over the off season, know that there is one guy who has nothing else on his mind but to get back out there and lay a good beat down on anyone who lines up against him. He will be planning every day to make sure he comes back strong and hard. But also know that the guy on the other side of the track in the black dragster is truly grateful just to be there and I, for one, will be grateful he's there too. Yah Buddy!

Paul Grant
Canadian Drag Racer Magazine