| Nov 27, 2019


“I’m not someone who lies around all day, this is my second speech today and I have a concert tonight,” Drew Cumpson told the audience at Community Living North Frontenac’s 43rd Anniversary Celebration last Thursday night at St. James Major Church Hall.

Cumpson grew up in Frontenac County, attending Hinchinbrooke Public School, Loughborough Public School and Sydenham High School. He had just finished writing his second year university exams when he went to Peru to do humanitarian work (a dental hygiene program).

“We took some of the kids to the park and did some body surfing,” he said. “A wave slammed me into the ocean floor, injuring my C4 vertebrae.

“It left me unable to breathe on my own.”

Cumpson said he doesn’t remember any of it, friends having told him of how they had to take him to hospital in Peru in the back of a police car while friends gave him breathes all the way.

“The body has its own coping mechanisms,” he said. “Without friends telling me I wouldn’t know any of it.

“Thank God for travel insurance. It cost $55,000 for the air ambulance to get me back to Kingston General Hospital.”

As you might expect, it took awhile to get to the point he’s at now. But thanks to the Direct Funding Program, he’s managed to build himself a life and a business.

“I travel — Mexico, Vancouver, several trips to Toronto, since my accident,” he said. “If someone tells me I can’t do something, I’m going to do my best to prove them wrong.”

But, he acknowledges that he needs some help.

“I need care 24/7 as I’m on a ventilator,” he said. “I have eight staff who work for me and my life is in their hands.

“If my ventilator pops off and nobody’s there, I die.”

The Direct Funding Program has allowed him to hire staff, people he’s comfortable with, and even run his own consulting business. For example, he’s doing work for the HIV and AIDS Resource Centre, doing their social media and marketing.

“I’m a huge advocate for disability rights,” he said. “I’m working on a pamphlet on body image and sex.

“I started my business to help other businesses become AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) compliant by 2025 because I know what it’s like.”

CLNF executive director Dean Walsh said Cumpson’s story is an inspiring example of what can be done. He said the program Cumpson is on is similar to the Passport Program many CLNF clients are on.

“It allows people and families to purchase services to live in their communities,” he said.

“And, it allows people to have a say in their lives,” said manager of support services Sarah Price.

By way of example, Johnathon Wisteard told of how he’s used his Passport program to indulge his love of trains and pay for transportation to his summer job at the Caboose in Sharbot Lake.

Bob Miller told of how his son Daniel’s Passport Program has bridged the gap from high school (which he attended until age 21, he’s now 32), giving him opportunities he wouldn’t otherwise have had.

“He’s grown, socially and intellectually,” Miller said. “We’ve purchased six to eight hours a week from Community Living for things like life skills, sports, walking on the trail and socializing — which is extremely important.

“Inactivity is not life. The funding has allowed us to round out his life.”

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