Remembering Colton Quast
February 25, 1994 - February 19, 2020
"Colton was my earth angel. He was placed here with
intention. He was my son, but he was also my teacher, my
strength, my guide, my miracle and my gift from our Creator. He
was my first unconditional love and taught me what it was like
to love from deep down within a place that I never even knew
existed. He came into my life unexpectedly, just when I
needed him the most. As an adult he was a solid best friend, my
forever soul connection and just the best darn son you could
ever ask for. We always tend to think that our children are
born to us and that it is our job to teach them. However, I have
always said that I believe Colton was here to teach me. I was a
free spirit that needed to be grounded in order to find my path
back to my life's purpose as a healer and a communicator, and realize my life's work. He led me
here, to my path as an Integrative Health & Nutrition Coach and
a Professional General Counsellor. He
continues to guide me and is my daily inspiration."
"My work here
is dedicated to him."
The following story was published in the December 2023 - "20
year anniversary edition" Threads of Life Newsletter.
THREADS OF LIFE Blog Post Story
“Larger than life”. That is how most of
Colton’s friends and family have described him since he
unexpectedly left this world. He lived his short life to the
fullest and is remembered most for his kind and loyal heart,
gentle and dedicated spirit, his fierce love of friends and
family, and his larger-than-life attitude and presence.
Colton was, quite honestly, the most amazing young man.
Colton graduated from high school in 2012 after a very
successful year of football (his passion). He was so honored and
excited to represent all of southern Alberta as a member of the
Senior Bowl South team where he was scouted for a few Colleges
and Universities. After a few injuries had sidelined him, he decided it was time
to hang up his cleats rather than sustain more injuries that
could possibly affect his desired career in law enforcement. After 1
year of Criminal Justice studies, however, he made the decision
to follow his heart, and his beautiful girlfriend Taylor.
Together, they moved
from our hometown of Medicine Hat to Edmonton in 2015, where she
attended university to complete her final 2 years of her
teaching degree. Colton took a job as an apprentice electrician,
and over the next 5 years, Taylor graduated and settled into a
job with the Edmonton school district teaching grade one, while
Colton worked for a commercial electrical company and went to
school to complete his journeyman’s ticket. They got engaged in
the summer of 2018 and had the most beautiful life planned ahead of
them. Until the unimaginable happened.
You never expect your child to go to work
one day and not return home. On February 13, 2020, we received a
frantic call from Taylor that changed all our lives forever.
There had been an accident at his workplace, and he had been
electrocuted. We had no idea of the severity, and my mind
instantly went into denial. He’d be ok. This stuff happens to
other families, but it just can’t happen to us! We quickly
packed our bags and began the 5.5-hour drive north to the
hospital they had transported him to. As we pulled onto the
highway, I made a call to the emergency room at the hospital to
see if I could get more information. They immediately put me
thru to the hospital chaplain, and in that moment, I knew it was
much worse than my mind was allowing me to believe. We were not
given much information, but we were told it was in our best
interest to get there as soon as possible. My husband made the
trip in 4 hours. I remember rushing into his hospital room
thinking that he would be sitting up and would greet us with his
humorous grin and some funny "smart-assed" comment, but instead, his body
appeared lifeless, and he was connected to a countless amount of breathing
tubes, machines and monitors that were keeping him alive. The
sight of seeing my son like that took my breath away and nearly
knocked me to my knees. Panic overtook, and I was somehow living in
the midst of a mother’s worst nightmare. I just
wanted to wake up.
The following 6 days were filled with
doctors, specialists, respiratory therapists, and many tests
being conducted. The final prognosis ... an anoxic
brain injury due to his injuries and we were forced to make the
unthinkable decision to remove him from life support. On
February 19, 2020, 6 days before his 26th birthday and 5 months
before he was to marry his soul mate of 7 years, we watched our
25-year-old son take his last breath while being surrounded by
his family and a few very close friends. It is an image that is
forever imprinted in our hearts and minds. Life felt so unfair.
How in the world do you move forward from something like this?
In the days and weeks that followed, I
remember having a counseling appointment set up for us thru my
husband’s place of work. The phone call lasted 5 short minutes.
It was obvious, despite being a counselor, that he lacked the
capacity or empathy to really truly understand what it was like
to lose a child. What was even more appalling to me in that
moment, was learning he didn’t even have a child. I knew the
meeting was over. I needed support, but I needed it from someone
who completely understood and had lived this same heart-breaking
journey that I was trying to navigate.
The very next day we were contacted by OHS
to discuss the investigation into the accident. Our case worker
suggested we talk with someone from Threads of Life and offered
to put us in touch. Being in touch with this amazing
organization, reading stories that are very similar to ours, and
hearing about the countless other families who have experienced
the same grief, tremendously helped me feel less alone. I felt
seen, heard, and understood. When we are grieving a loss, that
is all we want. And in that moment, I knew I’d found a
supportive new family and realized that I’d get thru this like
so many of them had before me.
As I write this, we are only a few short
weeks away from surviving 3 years without the presence of our
amazing son in our everyday lives. Honestly, it still seems so
surreal some days.
Since that time, I have
found that being there for other families who have also lost
children, helping them navigate their own paths and allowing
them to be truly heard and understood, has been an important
part of my own healing journey. I believe in paying it forward. I am also thankful for
my very strong spiritual connections that have played a huge
roll in being able to move forward, and the importance of
passing along that important message of hope to those who need
it most. I believe the best way to heal our mind
and body from such a life altering loss, is to stand alongside
others who are also needing to heal themselves on this life
altering journey no one would ever hope to travel.
Threads Of Life -
Bringing Hope and Healing
The Association for Workplace Tragedy Family Support, known as
Threads of Life, is a Canadian registered charity dedicated to
supporting families after a workplace fatality, life-altering
injury or occupational disease. The network of family members
and corporate partners believes traumatic workplace injuries,
occupational diseases and deaths are preventable.
If you or someone you know has been affected by a work related
tragedy, please consider getting involved with "Threads of Life"
organization for support and healing. Please consider a donation
as well..
DONATE to Threads of Life
GOOD GRIEF SUPPORT PAGE
If you have lost someone close to you and are having a
hard time adjusting, please join my "GOOD GRIEF" face book page
for community support. Although I hold a Professional Counseling Diploma
and a Professional Grief and Bereavement Diploma, my focus has
shifted to assisting autoimmune clients through my health coaching
practice. If you are experiencing stress related health issues
that have arisen due to your loss, please reach out. I
understand the struggle and would be more than happy to
jump on a call with you and chat to see if I am able to assist
you.
Join "GOOD GRIEF" on Face Book
SCHEDULE a FREE APPOINTMENT
