Okanagan father struggles to recover after emergency brain surgery

A family from Enderby has had their life turned upside down as a father of four lays motionless in a Vancouver hospital.

On August 1, Gary Baker, who will be 46 this month, suffered a major brain aneurysm while playing soccer. His teammates called an ambulance to rush him to the hospital assuming it was a concussion.

When doctors realized it was actually an aneurysm, they transferred him to Kelowna to be seen by the neurosurgeon.

Gary had excessive bleeding in his brain and was flown to Vancouver General Hospital for surgery.

Thanks to the surgery, doctors managed to reduce the pressure on his brain and clamp the aneurysm to stop the bleeding.

“He has already opened his eyes and can follow some of the doctor’s basic commands,” said Baker’s sister-in-law Katherine Goertz. “Unfortunately, this will not be a quick recovery.

“Even if the bleeding didn’t do any permanent brain damage, it could take months or even years for Gary to recover.”

Gary’s wife, Erica, and their four daughters are looking for a place to stay in Vancouver more permanently so they can be with Gary during his recovery.

According to Goertz, this has put a huge strain on the family, which led her to set up a GoFundMe page, which has raised over $11,000 in less than 24 hours.

In the past year, Gary decided to go back to University and pursue a new career. Erica is already half her way through a biochemistry degree to become an epidemiologist.

Both of them have been working on framing projects through their business, BC Log Design, and Gary worked for another construction company over the summer to save up for school.

“It’s now clear that Gary won’t be able to work for several months at least, and we want to see Erica and the girls free to be with Gary as much as possible,” wrote Goertz. “We are currently aiming to raise $50,000 for the Baker family.”

Goertz said they plan to set up a large fund for them to use over the next few months while Gary is in the hospital and allow them to make payments on both of their student loans.

“At this point we don’t know how long Gary’s recovery will take, or how long the family will need to stay in Vancouver, so anything you can give is a huge help for Gary, Erica, Alea, Erin, Bree and Keira during this difficult time.”