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WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2022 | Volume 35 No. 20
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AT LAST, JESSIE SIMPSON IS COMING HOME MICHAEL POTESTIO
STAFF REPORTER
michael@kamloopsthisweek.com
A
Savona man who nearly died after being assaulted with a baseball bat on a Brocklehurst street six years ago will this weekend be able to spend a night at home for the first time since the life-altering attack. While out celebrating the end of the school year on June 19, 2016, Jessie Simpson, now 24, was beaten into a coma by Brocklehurst resident Kristopher Teichrieb, who has since been given statutory release after serving two-thirds of his seven-year sentence for aggravated assault. Simpson wandered onto Teichrieb’s property in the early-morning hours and the attack, which took place predominantly in the street when Simpson fled, left the then-18-year-old with permanent brain injuries, confined to a wheelchair and in need of 24-7 care. Simpson spent 10 months in a coma and currently lives at The Hamlets at Westsyde, but has gradually recovered over the year to the point where his mother, Sue Simpson, is now able to bring her son home on weekends, beginning this upcoming Victoria Day long weekend. Numerous retrofits have been done at the family’s Savona home. “It’s been a long time coming,” Sue said. “I’m ecstatic. I cannot wait to have him home. It’s been a long journey not
Lawns
Gardens
even knowing if he’s going to live, never mind coming home.” Sue said she has received approval for the return from her son’s various care providers, having stocked up on supplies and equipment and put medical and transportation plans in place. “It’s been a few weeks of meetings having them come to the house to approve everything,” Sue said. The retrofit included adding a hospital bed with a lift assist and installing a ramp, a wider door, a new deck, a cement pad and new flooring to accommodate Jessie’s wheelchair. Her son will be picked up at The Hamlets this Friday and driven 45 minutes to his hometown of Savona, where he will now be spending weekends. During the week, Jessie will still live at The Hamlets, where he receives rehabilitation. Sue said caring for her son alone on weekends will be a big job as he requires constant attention, but she added she is looking forward to spending time alone with him. “Jessie’s still in a diaper, he still needs to be washed and changed and fed and watched 24 hours a day, but he’s a joy,” Sue said, noting she is curious to see her son’s reaction to being home. “I think it will be a lot for Jessie to take in for the first weekend. His routine is his routine,” she said. “To sit down and have a meal at our own kitchen table and just to be together at home is pretty exciting.” After the attack, Sue said she was told
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by doctors Jessie’s brain was so damaged that he may never eat on his own or talk again and that he could possibly be on life support his whole life. Jessie, however, has exceeded expectations in his recovery, as he is now able to speak in full sentences, feed himself and put on his own shirt. Sue credits that to the care he has received and his youth. “Jessie is starting to be a little more independent,” she said, adding, however, that a specialist who makes her son’s leg braces said he will never walk again. “Jessie’s feet are too turned in now from not standing over the years,” she said. Sue plans to have a 25th birthday/ homecoming party for Jessie at the end of July now that he can be home on weekends. Those who wish to send him a birthday card can do so by mailing it to PO Box 233 Savona, B.C. VOK 2JO. Meanwhile, Sue plans to begin a Justice for Jessie petition, the details of which are still being determined. Simpson sued her son’s attacker and won nearly $7 million in damages. To date, she has not received a penny. Lawyers representing Jessie have accused Teichrieb of hiding assets after the attack in anticipation of a lawsuit. Teichrieb is alleged to have sold his $587,000 Clifford Avenue house to his parents for $1 six months after the assault. That issue is being dealt with in a separate court proceeding, which has yet to begin.
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Jessie Simpson today (top) and as he appeared before the June 2016 attack (above). At left is his retrofitted room in his Savona home. SUE SIMPSON PHOTOS
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