Oscar Hanke is lucky to be alive.
A fundraiser has been started for the young man from Chemainus who was hit by a city garbage truck on Aug. 12, while biking in Düsseldorf, Germany during his first trip to Europe. Oscar's mother, and fundraiser organizer Jennifer Fink said the initial trip was planned for her, Oscar, and his younger sister Scarlett but it had been postponed from the summer of 2020 due to COVID.
"The initial plan was for the three of us to spend two weeks together and then myself and Scarlett would return home and Savanna Moore, Oscar’s girlfriend of two years, would join him on an extension of the trip," said Fink, who works as teacher at Ladysmith Secondary School. "Since the accident, Savanna has arrived as expected and is spending every day by his bedside in the hospital."
Upon impact with the refuse truck, Hanke hit the windshield and was thrown roughly 30 feet onto the pavement. When paramedics first arrived on scene, they were uncertain that he would even survive this tragic crash, but his spirit is strong.
Hanke broke both hips, his pelvis, his tailbone, and had open fractures to both tibia (shin bones). He has already had two two surgeries since the crash and is awaiting more.
The silver lining is that it could have been much worse. Hanke only suffered mild head trauma and had no spinal or abdominal injuries.
On the day of Hanke's accident, his family had several hours of worry, not sure where he was when he didn’t return from his bike ride. They called his phone, hospitals and police stations to try and track his location, but came up empty. He was found by chance when the coverage of the crash hit the local media nearly five hours later.
With both hips and legs broken, learning how to walk will surely be a slow and complicated journey for him. While Germany offers top notch physiotherapy programs, unfortunately they are not covered by his insurance and his home on Vancouver Island cannot offer the types of supports that he will need. The program is very expensive and will also involve an extended stay in Germany.
Hanke, who is 22, has been an avid cyclist for years, a gym enthusiast, as well as a long-time baseball umpire — his friends and family describe him as an overall active and happy guy.
"He is well loved in his community and by his family and long-time girlfriend, and is well known for his generosity," said Fink. "He tips lavishly, gives whatever he has to whoever needs it, regardless of whether or not he knows them. He even brings donations of clothing and necessities to people facing homelessness and/or struggling with addictions. Every day Oscar expresses how lucky he is, how grateful he is to be alive, and how dedicated he is to his recovery. Those who know him, know that he has an indomitable spirit and is a deeply kind young man. He loves to cycle more than anything and is dedicated to getting back on his bike."
Fred Hanke, Oscar's father, arrived in Germany on Aug. 20, as he had to stay back in Canada for the first week because the family needed someone to be in the correct time zone to make phone calls, change flights, and alert the insurance company. Hanke's best chance of regaining full mobility is if he stays in Germany in order to access the comprehensive physio program they provide.
"We are all currently with Oscar and trying to make arrangements for his physiotherapy here in Germany before we attempt to fly him home," said Fink. "The whole experience has been really difficult and very scary at times. We are mostly just profoundly grateful though. There have been so many lucky breaks for Oscar and us. We have had immense help from the Köster family in Düsseldorf, the friends we were visiting when the accident happened. Oscar is in good spirits overall but the long days in a hospital bed are wearing on his patience. He misses home and is anxious to return. He is very dedicated to his recovery and is doing light physio even now while he waits for his final surgery. He hasn’t lost his sense of humour and I think his positive outlook will make a huge difference in his recovery."
To step up and help Hanke get the therapy he needs, visit the Oscar's Recovery fundraiser page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/3sa869-oscars-recovery.
"The outpouring of support through the GoFundMe and personal messages have been so heartwarming and humbling," said Fink. "It is a terrible thing to go through, but an incredible gift to receive support like this from your community. There is no way we can ever adequately thank the people who have supported Oscar, but we hope they know that their generosity has affected us each in ways there are no words for. We are humbled and grateful every day."
