Kristen Cameron Benefit Hockey Game at UPEI, October 5
The UPEI Men's Hockey team will help a family with long-time connections to the program when the current Panthers play a benefit game against the alumni Panthers on Tuesday, October 5 at MacLauchlan Arena. Game time is 5:30 pm.
The Kristen Cameron Benefit Hockey Game is a fundraiser to assist the 25-year-old Islander as she recovers from a spinal cord injury suffered in early September in Pennsylvania. Kristen had been working in Erie, PA as an assistant coach of the women's hockey team at Mercyhurst College.
Cameron, whose father Brian, uncles Dave and Rick, and cousin Connor, all played for the Panthers, was seriously injured when she was struck from behind by an alleged drunk driver while bicycling. Kristen was in hospital in Erie's Hamot Medical Centre until recently when she was transferred to St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.
'She has no sensation from the chest down. Kristen can move her arms and thumbs but does not have fine motor coordination in her fingers,' said Rick Cameron. 'She has been at St. Mike's Hospital since Sunday (September 26) and the plan is to move her to Lyndhurst Rehabilitation Centre soon.' Brian, and Kristen's mother, Joanne, are with her in Toronto.
'Kristen's rehabilitation will be a long haul; we are looking at months of rehab. Hopefully, it will start soon and we'll see how she progresses. Kristen is a remarkable young woman with a determined personality,' Rick added.
The benefit hockey game was something that current Panther captain Thomas Waugh and teammate Kris MacDonald spearheaded.
MacDonald, who knows Kristen's younger brother, Craig, experienced a similar situation when his younger brother, Kyle, was in an accident last year in Summerside. 'I realized after Kyle's accident how much Islanders help out and everything that people did for my family. When I heard about what happened to Kristen, I thought that this game would be the least I could do,' MacDonald said. He has created the Kristen Cameron Benefit Hockey Game on facebook. 'I sent it out to a few hundred people and it was shared with over 2,000 people in no time.'
Waugh played for the St. Mike's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League with Connor Cameron and was coached by Connor's father, Dave before both players suited up with the Panthers.
'The Cameron family has been involved with UPEI hockey for years and we (hockey Panthers) wanted to do something to support them. The idea of the fundraising game is something the whole team came up with and we thought it would raise some money to help Kristen and the Cameron family during this difficult time,' Waugh said.
'We are truly grateful for all the thoughts and prayers that people have been sending, and the community outpouring of support is remarkable,' Rick said. 'Something like what has happened to Kristen is a parent's worst nightmare and it hits deeper when it's family. We are all praying for Kristen and can't wait to see her again,' her uncle added.
Admission to the game is $5 and donations will be also accepted; a fundraising social will be held at The Wave following the game.
The Kristen Cameron Trust Fund has also been set up and donations can be made to any TD Canada Trust branch across Canada. (Information required: Transit 56803, 192 Queen St. Charlottetown; Bruce Donaldson, Branch Manager.)
