Alberta MLA Jason Nixon says his son Austin has regained consciousness and has been moved off a ventilator, 12 days after he was involved in a rollover crash near Sundre.
“We can finally talk to our son again and support him as he learns to move, speak and walk again,” Nixon said in a statement posted to his social media channels Saturday. “The last two weeks have been the longest and hardest of our lives but have been marked by milestones of his progress that we never expected to celebrate.”
On Dec. 1, Nixon’s 16-year-old twins were involved in a single vehicle rollover crash near Sundre. Nixon’s son, Austin, was critically injured and airlifted to hospital. His daughter suffered minor injuries.
Shortly after the crash, Nixon, who serves as the MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre and as minister of seniors, community and social services, said he needed to focus on his family and asked his staff to concentrate on his ministerial work. Nixon said he and his family remain committed to fulfilling his mandates as an MLA and minister, but his ministry, his MLA office and Dan Williams, the minister of mental health and addictions, will assist as he focuses on his son’s recovery.
“In the first days following the accident Austin remained in life-threatening condition,” Nixon wrote in his post. “Tiffany and I had to confront the unimaginable thought that our son might not survive his injuries. But our Austin is a fighter.”
Nixon said his son is now in stable condition and has been transferred out of intensive care and into a rehabilitation ward to begin his recovery.
“We will never be able to truly express our gratitude to all emergency responders, health care workers who have and continue to provide exceptional care to Austin,” Nixon said. “We will also never be able to fully express to our family, friends and thousands of prayer warriors how grateful we are for their support and care during this difficult time.”
“With Austin beginning to heal, we now look towards the road to full recovery ahead,” Nixon added. “We do not yet understand what the full needs or process of recovery will look like, but while we know it will be long, we are ready for whatever lies ahead.”
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