By Trevor Greenway

Dwight Leslie didn’t know what kind of life he was returning to when he arrived home in Low in October. 

After spending over five months in a Montreal hospital following a severe ATV accident this past spring, Leslie wheeled up his mobility ramp for the first time. But he wasn’t alone – he had nearly the entire town of Low behind him. 

As he was wheeling into his home, his wife handed him a flyer for a benefit show at the Low arena. When Leslie flipped it over, he realized that it was a benefit for him; all of his closest friends, including his bestie, Howard Hayes, were getting together for a night of music and fun to support their injured pal. 

“They really caught me off guard because I came home on a Thursday and the party happened on the Saturday,” said Leslie from his home in Low, speaking about the benefit that took place Oct. 26. “It made me feel so much like at home and made me feel so relaxed and excited. I bet I probably shook over 100 hands that night.”

More than a dozen local musicians – most of them Leslie’s pals – volunteered to play the benefit, which raised more than $13,000 for Leslie and his family to help him adapt to his new life. 

An accident earlier this summer left him paralyzed from the waist down. Leslie was driving his ATV in Low on May 17 when the accident occurred. 

“I ended up going up this hill by a little creek and lost control and ran into the bank of the ditch,” he said, recalling the life-changing accident. “I went flying over the front of the bike, landed on my left shoulder and busted it. That’s all I remember.” 

He said he had a broken shoulder blade and sustained injuries to his spinal cord.

Leslie said he woke up in a Montreal hospital and couldn’t move the lower half of his body. He spent over five months recovering in hospital before returning home to Low in October. 

He said he still can’t move his legs, and although doctors have told him to stay positive, he said he doesn’t think he’ll ever walk again. Leslie said it has been difficult to accept that he may never walk again, especially for an active roofer, avid outdoorsman and someone who loves working around on the farm. 

“Right now, it’s beautiful days outside. I go outside in my wheelchair, and I look around and see all the stuff I could be doing, but I can barely do anything anymore,” said Leslie. “That is the tough part. But you know what my doctors all told me? ‘Never look back. Mr. Leslie, look ahead.’” He said he’s used that mantra to move on with his life and accept his fate. He’s been spending time with local friends, watching them cut wood at their sawmills or cruising down to the end of his driveway and back in his wheelchair, which he said he’s getting good at wheeling around in. 

He said he’s trying to focus on the good things that have happened in his life. 

“I’ve had a lot of positives in my life, I’ve had a lot of good things happen,” said Leslie. The 54-year-old has lived in Low all his life and said he wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. 

Leslie said he’s aware that he has some tough times ahead of him, but with his wife, Peggy, by his side – and his scores of friends – he said he looks forward to facing the challenges head on. He said he’s still blown away that his friends were all thinking of him while he was recovering.