Detour (Podcast Guests)
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Detour

Cycling, coma and living with a brain injury

About the Book

The first part of this book is about a 2002, 66-day bike trip across Canada that I completed with two friends after graduating from university. It contains my journal entries from that summer and retrospectives on each day of the trip.

The second part is about my coma and brain injury in 2003 and my continuing recovery from that experience. I was close to finishing the second term of my master's program in Victoria, BC and a month away from starting a co-op term with the Auditor General's Office in Ottawa when I crashed that same bike, that I had ridden across Canada, into a tree.

About the Author

Nick Mercer
Nick Mercer

Nick was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He graduated from Queen's University with a Biology degree in 2002. In 2003 he began his Master's of Public Administration (MPA) at the University of Victoria (UVic) and in August of 2003 he was brain injured in a cycling accident. After two years in rehab in St. John's with incredible rehab - mostly physio - therapists, he returned to UVic to complete his MPA. He has subsequently worked in Ottawa and in St. John's. He writes a blog, Concussion Talk, about living with a brain injury and about brain injury in sports. Along with writing, Nick does Pilates and recently completed a Pilates teacher training course.

Table of Contents

  • INTRO
  • Part One
  • CROSS CANADA 2002: “PLANNING”
  • CROSS CANADA 2002: THE BIKE TRIP
    • British Columbia
    • Alberta
    • Saskatchewan
    • Manitoba
    • Ontario
    • Quebec
    • New Brunswick
    • PEI
    • Nova Scotia
    • Newfoundland
  • 66 DAYS
    • AUGUST-DECEMBER 2002
    • JANUARY - AUGUST 2003
  • Part Two
  • “COMBATIVE IN BEHAVIOUR, BUT UNCONSCIOUS”
  • TEXAS, SWIM MEETS AND PIRATE SHIPS
  • ST. JOHN’S
  • DOUBLE VISION
  • THE MILLER CENTRE
  • OUTPATIENT
  • MAKING A POINT…TO MYSELF
  • OTTAWA, ST. JOHN’S AND “NORMAL” LIFE
  • RECOVERY MEANS LIVING WITH IT
  • EPILOGUE

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