Jacob Hunter Wilson has an incredible life story, albeit a shorter one than it should have been.
His mom, Shirley Wilson, knows it鈥檚 a story that could change attitudes and change lives.
It began in 1997, and includes a sister who loves him, friends who cherish him, and sure, a few troubles at school over the years. But Jacob eventually found success in a trades program and was finding his groove in life.
Sadly, that life he was building was interrupted when he was run over by a car at the age of 21. He was resuscitated three times by medical teams that night 鈥� a fact that becomes more important the more you know about how Jacob did die.
Over the last years of his life, the devastating injuries he sustained led to isolation, psychosis, drug addiction, and finally, his death just 17 months ago.
Before he died, he spoke with his mom, about the power his story could have for others. He even used ICBC settlement money, a lot of it, to pay his way into a program at one time. He wanted to come out as a success story. He did have hope.
In fact, when he died, Jacob wasn鈥檛 unhoused. He wasn鈥檛 broke. He had never been arrested. He wasn鈥檛 a criminal. He was 鈥渏ust鈥� addicted, and while the coroner鈥檚 report is still outstanding, it鈥檚 likely he died from fentanyl overdose.
Now that Jacob will never be able to tell his story, his mom is telling one. She has been working with the Abbotsford Police Department, who have helped her create a moving, raw, video explaining what she witnessed through Jacob鈥檚 life, and how it鈥檚 impacted her family since.
They鈥檝e released the video on their YouTube channel, in the hopes that it will compel change, in big and small ways.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 tell Jacob鈥檚 story,鈥� she said in a recent interview with the News. 鈥淏ut I can tell our story.鈥�
There are so many lovely things about Jacob that make Wilson smile. While the community may know her from her many roles, notably as an Abbotsford school board trustee for nearly 18 years, but also within the non-profit sector. She is now using her reach to share her heart-wrenching story.
The 13-minute video starts out with images from the scene of the crash that altered his body so tremendously. Those images are accompanied by the voice of a 9-1-1 operator, explaining the situation to first responders.
There are photos of Jacob prior to that night, his bright smile beaming into the camera. There are photos of him hooked up to so many cords, monitors, tubes that Wilson said she wasn鈥檛 even sure it was him when she looked through the window at Royal Columbian Hospital.
鈥淗e was fully run over,鈥� she said.
His skull was altered to the point of reshaping his eye sockets. He didn鈥檛 suffer from pain after the accident as much as he suffered from psychosis, she explained. And when you mix in drug use with psychosis, the results are 鈥� difficult.
Wilson told him he had to leave the family home. She was firm, loving, but couldn鈥檛 enable his lifestyle. And there really isn鈥檛 a place for people with concurrent issues like Jacob was living with.
There is a shortage of 鈥渇ront-facing services,鈥� she said, that by the time someone gets a bed, society has already left them behind.
Ultimately, when her son was dying due to drugs, instead of being saved, he was turned away. And she discusses that in the video, through her tears.
They saved his life three times the night he was run over by a car, she repeated. But in the days he needed his life saved from his own mind, they turned him away from the Abbotsford Regional Hospital twice in 48 hours. They didn鈥檛 deem him a risk to himself, Wilson said.
He died within hours of the second release.
鈥淗e was the same person,鈥� she said.
Talking about her son鈥檚 death is not a way to bring herself closure, she said. The video took more than three hours to shoot, and a Victims Services counsellor was in the room the entire time.
鈥淣o, no,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淚 want to bring awareness. I want to reduce stigma. I want people to know that if it can happen to a school trustee that has been doing this for a long time, it can happen to absolutely anybody.鈥�
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jessica.peters@abbynews.com
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