Honduran doctors will attempt to bring former Ottawa Valley educator Dennis Spencer out of a medically-induced coma on Sunday, according to a work colleague.
The 59-year-old Pembroke native was shot in the upper body on March 27 in the northern city of San Pedro Sula, after his vehicle was hijacked and a wild shootout began between two rival gangs.
"We won't know definitively how he's responding until Monday morning," said Ron Vair, superintendent of the English-language school where Spencer had been working.
Spencer responded well by moving his legs and trying to open his eyes when doctors took him off medication on Saturday, Vair told CTV Ottawa.
Doctors are cautiously optimistic he will recover, but told Spencer's family there was more potential risk than reward in returning him to Canada, Vair said. Colleagues, students, and family members have kept up a vigil at the local hospital where Spencer remains.
Spencer has a rich career in education, spending years teaching at Bishop Smith Catholic High School in Pembroke, where he encouraged students to open themselves to the possibility of experiencing life through travel.
After retiring from the Pembroke high school, Spencer decided to take his teaching career south where he spent two years teaching in Mexico before moving to Honduras, where he's been principal of Escuela Internacional La Lima for the past four years.
Besides teaching, Spencer is also involved with charity work. His most recent project includes raising funds to build an elementary school for underprivileged children.
A Facebook group dedicated to Spencer's recovery has more than 1,300 members with hundreds of messages.
