Ottawa teen with dreams of pro basketball returns home after life-changing crash
Ottawa teen with dreams of pro basketball returns home after life-changing crash
A teenager who followed his dream to play U.S. college basketball is now faced with a life-changing event, after a car crash in Nebraska left him paralyzed.
Stephane Okenge, 19, has a passion for sports. He grew up in Ottawa, and at nine years old, his mother Trisha Okenge's job would take the family overseas to Rwanda and Uganda, where he fell in love with basketball.
"Since he was born, he excelled athletically," says Trisha. "His older brother was a very strong basketball player, so he sort of followed in his shoes."
Okenge, the second youngest of six siblings, would keep playing, eventually carrying the ball back to the capital. To pursue his dream of playing professionally, he joined Canada Top Flight Academy (CTA), based out of Notre Dame High School, to become a member of the National Championship Team.
"Steph is an amazing young man. I had the benefit and advantage of coaching him and getting to know him for two years. He was one of the hardest workers I've ever coached and I've been coaching for 35 years," says CTA founder and coach, Tony House. "I mean, no one outworked him in the weight room, or on the court, and the work he put in really separated him from the rest."
From here, Okenge was recruited to Oklahoma, where he spent three years before heading to York University in Nebraska to play on a varsity basketball team.
But on a Sunday morning in late October, while driving to practice, the car he was travelling in crashed off the interstate highway. Okenge was a passenger.
"It seems like his friend nodded off at the wheel," says Trisha. "They ran off the interstate, through an interstate sign and smashed into a culvert, so the sudden and abrupt stop against the culvert is what created the very strong whiplash that ended up smashing some of his vertebrae."
The driver suffered minor injuries, but Okenge has been left paralyzed from the shoulders down.
After more than a month in a U.S. intensive care unit, Okenge returned home to Ottawa. He is now in the hospital at the Civic campus, where his mother says he remains positive.
"He's completely breathing on his own. He's been doing that since Nov. 15. He's also been able to eat on his own, which is also a big win," she says. "He has really enjoyed connecting with his friends, although there's definitely a bittersweet element to it."
The focus now is on rehabilitation, but the cost of all the supplies is not necessarily covered.
"We will have to retrofit the entire house. He'll need specialized transportation, equipment, and all kinds of adaptive type of equipment," says Trisha. "I've had to leave my job I was working overseas. It's clearly not possible for me to continue to work overseas."
There has been an outpouring of support from friends and community members from across the world, donating to a GoFundMe campaign.
House is helping as well. Canada Topflight Academy will host a fundraiser, raffle and silent auction this Thursday, beginning at 6 p.m., at Notre Dame High School.
"Our national gold team are going to put on an exhibition. We're going to have a slam dunk contest, a three-point contest and then we're going to have a post reception in the cafeteria," says House. "It's going to be a display of basketball like he would have wanted from the CTA, his brotherhood at the CTA, and we want to try to raise as much money as we can for the family because they are going to need it and we're really excited to just do our part."
Trisha says she is grateful for the support, and for Stephane, with his friends and family by his side, the game plan now is recovery.
"Stephane has touched the lives of many people in so many different locations and we are really blessed to be able to have the support that we have seen," Trisha says. "He's a strong, strong, strong kid. He has a strong will. He has a very strong character, and a very strong work ethic ... I am very sure that he's going to continue to touch many lives and continue to be very productive."
The federal Liberals are withdrawing a controversial amendment to their guns bill that would have added many popular hunting rifles and shotguns to a list of prohibited firearms in Canada.
The Department of National Defence says Canada is working with the United States to protect sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats after a high-altitude surveillance balloon was detected.
Hundreds of customers who scan QR codes for restaurant menus across Canada are being surprised by secret menus instead, revealing the hidden costs behind the food they eat.
Big tech companies that offer online streaming services could soon be required to contribute to Canadian content as a controversial Liberal bill gets one step closer to becoming law.
Lives were 'shattered' when Kabul fell into Taliban hands, and thousands remain in limbo, unable to return to Afghanistan. CTV News' Genevieve Beauchemin recalls her visit to makeshift refugee camps set up in Pakistani parks, and the stories she heard during that time.
China said Friday that a balloon spotted over American airspace was used for weather research and was blown off course, despite U.S. suspicion it was spying. The discovery further strained already tense relations between Beijing and Washington.
Many Canadians have continued to see an increase in their rental rates in 2023. In an column on CTVNews.ca, personal finance contributor Christopher Liew explains how to calculate how much rent you can afford.
A Quebec woman’s eyes welled with tears as she picked up her stolen Audi from an Ontario auto shop, not far from where her car smashed through the glass doors of a mall in an 'audacious' theft.
Those heading outside this morning are being advised to bundle up as the Greater Toronto Area and nearly all of Ontario experience a bout of bone-chilling cold.
Hundreds of customers who scan QR codes for restaurant menus across Canada are being surprised by secret menus instead, revealing the hidden costs behind the food they eat.
The Montreal fire department is advising people to avoid Sherbrooke Street East at Carignan Avenue in the Longue Pointe neighbourhood as a five-alarm fire is burning.
Hydro-Québec is asking its customers to take a few steps to reduce electricity consumption in Quebec as a period of intense cold weather began Thursday night in most regions. The utility predicts that on Friday and Saturday, electricity demand could exceed the historical peak consumption, which was about 40,500 megawatts (MW) in January 2022.
A beloved man who was a fixture on the streets of Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grace neighbourhood died last year from a combination of street drugs in his system, including fentanyl, a coroner has ruled.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. is holding a big reveal Friday morning: the winner of a $48 million Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball draw. CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca will be streaming live from the news conference that is scheduled to begin Friday at 11 a.m. in Sault Ste. Marie, where the winner will be presented with their cheque.
Hundreds of customers who scan QR codes for restaurant menus across Canada are being surprised by secret menus instead, revealing the hidden costs behind the food they eat.
A former high school teacher who skipped out on his sentencing hearing for sex-related crimes and was re-captured almost a week later will be back in a London courtroom next week.
A new survey conducted by Research Co. reveals that more people in Western Canada now support a change in the federal government compared to a similar poll from June.
Aaron Benneweis, 46, has been charged by Saskatoon Police with sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a minor while in a position of trust or authority.
A report written and reviewed by Saskatoon Water is calling on the city to create a warning system, in particular for drivers, when roadways become “dangerously flooded” due to heavy rain.
A former Edmonton Police Service officer believes bringing Alberta Sheriffs into downtown Edmonton is a risky plan that has the potential to backfire if not done properly.
A new survey conducted by Research Co. reveals that more people in Western Canada now support a change in the federal government compared to a similar poll from June.
CTV News has learned that four of five RCMP officers facing charges in the death of an Indigenous man during an arrest in Prince George are still on active duty.
A man who was gunned down outside of his business in South Vancouver never got the chance to meet his daughter, a court heard as his killer was sentenced.
The provincial government is looking for ways to ease the workload for Saskatchewan doctors. It is proposing that pharmacists, nurse practitioners, and paramedics play a greater role in treating patients.
The federal Liberals are withdrawing a controversial amendment to their guns bill that would have added many popular hunting rifles and shotguns to a list of prohibited firearms in Canada.
