Blake Lamontagne, originally from Wawota, will tell you himself that the first 16 years of his life were a wild ride of competition in sports, being the life of the party and looking for anything that would bring the next adrenaline rush.
Excelling in every sport and activity he put his hand to, striving to be the best was a driving force in his life. While there is nothing wrong with any of that, Lamontagne shared about the event that caused the transformation from that mindset to where he is today.
鈥淲hen I take the time and think about that day, I am amazed. I did crazy, wild stuff all the time. Three days prior, I flipped my dirt bike on the road with no helmet and then I got up and did it again,鈥� Blake remembered.
But along came July 8, 2007. A Sunday afternoon found five buddies working on an old truck to get it roadworthy so Blake could take that to and from his corral cleaning job. His new truck was way too nice for that.
After many days and hours of working on this truck, today was the day to take it out on the road. The thing just would not start. So what do you do? Wait til Monday until you can take it to a mechanic or get more parts? Nope. Like most of you farm boys reading this, you pull start that thing and get it running. At least with it running, you can test everything else and maybe see what is going on.
You know when you look back on a major turning point in life and see all the little clues, pieces that worked out for the best or things could have been even worse than they turned out? Blake recalled the two guys that 鈥渨on鈥� the right to sit in the cab of the old three-seater truck with him and the two guys that would ride in the box for this inaugural ride.
鈥淪omething inside me made me tell Jake and my cousin, Justin that they couldn鈥檛 ride in the box. At first, they were so pissed at me, but I just didn鈥檛 want them in there. Then I got them to agree because I told them we may need a second vehicle if this thing quits. That was not like me,鈥� he said, 鈥淚 would usually just say sure let鈥檚 go.鈥�
Just after they got the truck pull-started, Blake鈥檚 dad met them at the end of the lane and had a look at the truck. After finding nothing wrong, his dad said, 鈥淲ell, drive it around a bit to see how it runs but don鈥檛 run it out of fuel and get right back here. If it runs well, you can go get plates on it tomorrow.鈥�
So happy they had the okay to take her for a rip, Brody and Teddy hopped in the front with him and the other two followed behind. Keep in mind, this is a standard engine where Blake is working the clutch, brake and gas at the same time while using his right hand to shift gears. Keeping that all working in unison to keep the truck running was a feat in itself. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 intentionally mean to be going so fast, but that was just normal for me and the truck was running well. The plastic on the dash was all faded out so you couldn鈥檛 drive by speedometer, you drove by feel. We went into the ditch once, but I recovered and got it back on the road,鈥� Lamontagne retold the events.
The two vehicles met on the road, decided she was all good, and they were headed back to the yard to call it quits for the day to go meet some friends at the Kenosee Superslides.
With the beefed-up engine in this truck, big stubby tires on the back, normal tires on the front and her running so great, they could see the house when they caught a patch of loose gravel. 鈥淭he ass end of the truck kicks right out and shoots into the ditch,鈥� Blake described. 鈥淵ou know on action movies when everything is in slow motion right before the bad thing happens, then bang 鈥� it happens, and everything catches up? That is exactly how it was. I had enough time to think 鈥榠f I hit this fence my dad is gonna whoop my ass in front of all my friends鈥�, so I swerved away.
鈥淲e were sliding in slow motions and the last thing I remember is we were all screaming 鈥極h (expletive)!鈥� And then a loud bang.鈥� Blake explained the bang was the back tire blowing out and they started to roll.
This is where things went dark for Blake and the story he recalls is from what those present at the scene have recanted to him over the years. Jake and Justin pull up behind the overturned truck and watched Teddy walk around from the passenger side of the vehicle. Brody was nowhere to be seen. At that very moment, they thought Blake was dead. The way the truck had him pinned and the way his body was positioned, there was no way they thought he could be alive.
The gruesome details from that point on came out of Blake in stories ripe with emotion and amazing miracles, along with eerie details that could just not be coincidence. His uncle had died in a car accident years before, Blake鈥檚 accident happened on his grandpa鈥檚 birthday and he awoke from his coma on his grandmother鈥檚 birthday. The paramedic first on the scene that saved his life had received his licence and transferred to a new city on July 7. July 8 was his last day on call in the area.
鈥淚 was told that I flat-lined on the way to Regina after Moosomin Hospital could not stabilize me. I don鈥檛 know. It just seems so crazy. You never plan for this and you don鈥檛 think it could ever happen to you,鈥� Lamontagne sighed and shook his head.
When Blake woke up, life as he knew it was over. 鈥淲hat do you mean I can鈥檛 go to Craven,鈥� he yelled as he explained the freak out and anger he experienced after waking up. 鈥淚 played ball every day all spring and summer, hockey every day of the fall and winter. I rode dirt bikes, hunted, and did everything and anything that involved adrenaline and fun,鈥� Blake explained. 鈥淚 had a drive to be the best in everything and no broken neck or broken back or stupid wheelchair was gonna stop that. I was going to get out of this wheelchair and do things the way I had always done them.鈥�
The next seven years would prove to be the most trying and yet the greatest blessing of his life. Join us next week for the conclusion of this amazing story.
