Boots and Beer fundraiser is ‘goal’ for recovering fire captain injured on Highway 97, says wife

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. —  A recuperating Dawson Creek fire captain’s wife says a June fundraiser honouring him was about “setting a goal” to keep his mind focused.

Tryna Gower’s husband, Brooks Gower, was struck by a vehicle late last fall on Highway 97 near Groundbirch while responding to an unrelated incident. 

The Boots and Beer fundraiser, taking place on Saturday, June 6th, will have a dinner and dance, silent auction, door prizes and 50/50 draw, with a portion of those proceeds benefitting the Dawson Creek Firefighters Charitable Society. Music will be provided by the Montney Coulees Band.

“I initially had this idea to plan the event to give my husband something to focus on in his recovery,” said Tryna to Energeticcity.ca. “I felt like if he had a real goal, he could keep mentally, physically and emotionally focused.

“He mentioned that he really wanted to thank people and see people in public. We have had an online presence, but we haven’t necessarily had those in-person connections and relationships.  This is a chance for him to be in person to say thank you to many people who’ve been supporting [him].”

Tryna described her husband as “broken from his ankles to his vertebrae,” after the October incident, and said the medical staff in Vancouver, where he was airlifted to, told her Brooks “shouldn’t have lived.”

“[The] charitable society is working on a project to provide space for the public and healing families in [the Dawson Creek and District] Hospital,” said Tryna. “We want to put funds toward that project because we know how valuable having a comfortable, safe place in the hospital really is.”

While Captain Gower is out of harm’s way, he is still on the road to complete rehabilitation. It involves physiotherapy thrice weekly, and he has “outgrown his wheelchair,” and now uses a cane for mobility, his wife said. 

However, future procedures still remain, including shoulder surgery.

“We are doing a lot of things for healing,” said Tryna. “But the event itself was to really celebrate the fact that he actually made it through and this is what healing looks like.

“This is what having a goal and a positive mindset with the community around us cheering us on and taking the actual steps to make this miracle go all the way around 360 degrees.”

The Boots and Beer fundraiser will happen on Saturday, June 6th from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Cutbank Community Hall in Arras.

To purchase tickets, call Dawson Creek Fire Rescue at 250-782-9898.