Inspiring others after so much pain

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/04/2017 (3140 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At Thursday night’s Jets game, Luke Savoie got to hang out with one of his heroes.

Robb Nash, the musician behind the suicide and self-harm prevention initiative, the Robb Nash Project, surprised Savoie with two tickets to the game and a signed jersey from his favourite player, Dustin Byfuglien.

“It was one of the best nights of my life,” he said.

It’s a night that Savoie, now 23, wouldn’t have seen if things had gone another way on a dark day on a bridge seven years ago.

Savoie has cerebral palsy, and uses a motorized wheelchair to get around. When he was 15, he became depressed. Scoliosis, common in adolescents with cerebral palsy, had twisted and curved his spine, and he was living in an incredible amount of pain. “A bunch of doctors here didn’t know what to do with me,” he says. “One doctor said I had a 50/50 chance of living.”

A few weeks before he was supposed to leave to undergo spinal surgery in Chicago, the Robb Nash Project put on one of its free rock shows at Savoie’s high school. After the performance, Savoie asked his principal if he could meet Nash. Savoie had a personal story to tell him.

Facing a risky surgery with a long recovery period, Savoie felt hopeless. He felt like a burden. He thought about killing himself, even going as far as rolling onto a bridge with the intention of throwing himself off of it. Savoie says fate intervened; he heard Nash’s song, One Last Breath, which he credits with saving his life.

Savoie talked to his mom and dad, and asked for help. He mustered the courage to get the surgery. Such is the power of music.

Savoie describes his thinking at the time. “It was, ‘I am in pain a lot. Now, imagine what it would be like if I had this surgery. Can I handle this pain?’ My answer before I met Robb was ‘No.’ I’d rather end it on my terms than have surgery end it for me. As a teenager that’s how you think, right? There’s no light at the end of the tunnel.”

Now, Savoie wants to inspire others just as Nash inspired him. He’s been making his own motivational YouTube videos, discussing everything from dealing with setbacks, learning to live with fear, and taking time to relax. He would love to speak at schools. He’s into giving back to the community; a sports fan, Savoie will coach the basketball team at his former high school next fall. He wants to be there for kids who might be feeling the way he did.

Savoie says that while he feels good physically, “mentally, it’s been a little bit of a bumpy ride lately. I’ve taken a break from doing YouTube, and that was one of my biggest mistakes,” he says. “When I took a break from doing YouTube, I thought I was not inspiring anybody like I wanted to. It’s been rough, but meeting Robb last night was the kick in the pants I needed to be like, ‘OK, let’s go. Let’s start up again.’”

Another confidence boost was finding out his name was one of 117 Nash got tattooed on his arms last June, honouring the first 117 kids who decided to rip up their suicide notes and get help during the first year of the Robb Nash Project.

“I didn’t know that before yesterday,” Savoie says. “He’s like, ‘You’re one of my inspirations.’ Which was so humbling. He’s the reason why I’m doing YouTube and frankly, why I’m alive right now. To hear that I’m one of his inspirations is crazy to me.”

It’s not that unbelievable, Luke. You’re pretty damn inspiring.

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @JenZoratti