Henry’s ride: From resilience to possibility
When you talk to 16-year-old Henry— a teenager with big dreams and an easy laugh—you quickly forget you’re speaking to someone who has spent more than a year in hospitals. His voice is steady, his humour quick, and his words often wiser than his age.
“Being patient, especially being in a hospital setting, is one of the top things you need to have,” he says thoughtfully.
“If you get angry too quickly, it’s just not going to be a good time.”
And it’s that patience that carried him through the latest chapter of his life.
In June 2024, Henry was riding his bike downhill with a friend when he lost control and struck a tree. The crash resulted in a spinal cord injury that led to him becoming quadriplegic.
While staying as an inpatient at Holland Bloorview, Henry quickly became known not just for his medical journey, but for the determination that defined him.
“We just felt a huge sense of welcome from all of the staff,” says Lianna, Henry’s stepmom, “And I think it’s just been a great place for Henry to rebuild his strength and confidence, and to pave the way for the next phase of his life.”
And Henry agrees, recalling, “They were great people to have around to support me.”
During his stay, nurses walked with him outside, swapped jokes, and made his care feel personal. He participated in on-site cooking classes (making smash burgers was his favourite), and pet therapy.
Now an outpatient, those small moments became sparks of joy and belonging in a time defined by recovery.
Henry has found his own sparks, too. He loves hockey (the Toronto Maple Leafs and Las Vegas Golden Knights are his teams) and video games, even if playing them looks a little different now. Adaptive technology has helped him keep playing, and he’s learned to focus on what’s possible after a spinal cord injury.
“There’s lots of things you think you won’t be able to do, that you will be able to do,” he says. “You just have to try.”
That same spirit carried him through one of his biggest steps forward this year. In the summer, Henry became one of the youngest people in Ontario to undergo a nerve transfer surgery—a groundbreaking procedure where healthy nerves are rerouted to improve function in other parts of the body. For Henry, he hopes to regain some movement in his hands and fingers.
Recovery after surgery takes time, often months before any progress can be seen. And while Henry knows it’s a slow process, he meets it with the same steady focus that has carried him through the past year.
That determination was mirrored by his community during the Ride for Henry.
In 2025, a hundred cyclists gathered just north of Toronto, riding distances from 25 to 50 kilometres. Together, they raised $133,424. Seventy-five per cent is helping to build Henry an accessible home, with the rest donated to Holland Bloorview.
As Henry looks back on the year, he knows his journey is still unfolding and so is the public’s understanding of spinal cord injuries.
“People don’t know enough,” he says. “For the average person, they don’t really know about spinal cord injuries until it happens.”
His hope is that by sharing his story, others begin to see both the challenges and the possibilities.
“At first, I thought it was the end of a lot of good things,” he says.
“But with the right mindset, it’s not as bad as you think. You can still do so much. You just have to believe it.”
