Farming is a way of life for Taron Ham. Raised on a cattle and grain farm, the 26-year-old from Frontier, Sask. has worked alongside his family since childhood. Every season, every job and every challenge has shaped who he is today, a determined farmer with deep roots in our southern Saskatchewan community.

Taron’s meaningful connection to the land was put to the test in August 2022. One night, while driving to the family farm, his car went off the road and crashed into a ditch. Having lost consciousness, he was fortunately located by neighbours who called an ambulance.  Confused and unaware of how seriously he was hurt, Taron was transported to Shaunavon, then airlifted to Regina’s General Hospital.

His diagnosis was life-changing! A spinal cord injury had left Taron paralyzed from the waist down. He recalls it took a long time to process that he would never be able to walk again.

Taron spent five weeks at the Regina General Hospital, where he began his road to recovery. He received spinal fusion surgery, where two rods and nine screws were surgically placed in his back. He was then transferred to the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre to undergo intensive physical therapy to help him recover and cope with his condition as best as possible. His stay at Wascana Rehabilitation Centre also included occupational therapy, which helped him determine what life would be like in a wheelchair. With the help of his occupational therapist, Taron explored ways to continue farming, including using a lift for his truck and an all-terrain electric wheelchair.

He says it was a difficult time, but it was made easier because of the care he received from his medical team during the almost four months he spent in our hospitals. “The doctors, nurses and therapists worked so hard for me and with me,” Taron remembers. “They took really good care of me as I recuperated. I was able to come home just three days before Christmas.”

Today, thanks to his medical teams and specialized equipment, Taron is back on the farm, raising cattle and growing crops alongside his dad and brothers. Calving season, once a source of uncertainty due to his severe injury, is now a testament to his ability to adapt and overcome. “I’m pretty stubborn,” he laughs. “If I don’t know how to do something, I figure it out.”

Taron’s recovery was made possible thanks to significant investments by the Foundation in Regina’s trauma and surgical programs, exceeding $7 million since 2018. These investments included upgrading the technology in all 18 existing operating rooms at the Regina General and Pasqua Hospitals while adding two new ones, as well as investing in two new surgical navigation systems and a new state-of-the-art neuro-surgical microscope.

To those considering supporting the Hospitals of Regina Foundation, Taron has a simple message: “Every little bit helps. There are a lot of people out there like me who need these hospitals.”

“Stories like Taron’s are a reminder that our hospitals serve our entire southern Saskatchewan community,” says Dino Sophocleous, president and CEO of Hospitals of Regina Foundation. “Thanks to the life-saving trauma and rehabilitation care he received, he can now continue to live a fulfilling life, which is the outcome anyone would hope for after all he’s been through.”