Born on January 12, 1991, Brock Thomas Bontje made his entry into the world at 3:58 p.m. at North York General Hospital. Arriving two weeks early, Brock had already started the pattern of his life – always eager, always ready to go!
Between his second and third week of life, this little go-getter suffered a brain haemorrhage that went undetected at first, thereby causing even more damage than it might have otherwise. The first diagnosis following the discovery of the haemorrhage was acquired hydrocephalus, so on Valentine’s Day 1991, Brock had a VP Shunt inserted to drain fluid from his brain. The shunt will be necessary for the duration of his life.
Before the age of seven, Brock had undergone fourteen surgeries, twelve of which were to replace malfunctioning shunts. All that might be more than enough to hold some people back, but not Brock! During that time period, he was down at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children so often, he acquired an affectionate nickname. “Bouncing Brock Bontje”, the nurses on the neurosurgery ward called him, as much for the way he bounced back from surgery as for the way he be-bopped down those hospital halls.
When Brock was two years old, a second diagnosis was made. The doctors determined that he had cerebral palsy, with right hemiplegia, which means that he has no functional use of this right arm and hand. His right leg is affected to a lesser extent but it makes his gait awkward. A reason to walk less? Not for Brock.
At about this same age, Brock’s failure to meet certain milestones alerted the doctors to the fact that there was a third diagnosis to be made, that of developmental disability. He went on to be diagnosed at the age of seven with ADHD, and at the age of nine, with Tourette’s syndrome. For some people, all this might be more than enough reason to quit before they had even started, but not for the Brockmeister.