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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, October 20, 2011 · 16 Buren focuses on the positive, not the past Continued from page 1 their dad to walk again, and for his back to be healed. An article and a photo from the day of the tragic accident was featured in the Oakville Beaver. This is the story about what happened to the man on the stretcher on the front page of this paper. It's also about family, friends and community spirit, but most importantly about attitude. Buren is a thoroughly charismatic, charming, athletic and a well spoken 40 year old. It was not until he asked us to lift his lifeless legs out of his hand bike, so that he then effortlessly could lift himself up into the wheelchair, that we were reminded he is paralyzed from the waist down. Of his wife Sabrina Haque, Buren said, "She is my champion and advocate. She is the one who carries all the weight." They met while they were both singing in a school musical at the University of Western Ontario, where Buren was studying sociology. For his Masters Degree thesis in 1998, he built a website looking at the social impact of the Internet. With a business spin on his sociology degree, he was hired by Microsoft as a senior marketing manager. Buren spent the first months after the accident at Lyndhurst Rehabilitation Centre in Toronto. When he arrived back to his Oakville "In the big picture, I do consider myself lucky. I can still hug my kids." Rob Buren, Oakville resident INGER MACKENZIE / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER FAMILY PORTRAIT: Rob Buren and his wife Sabrina Haque with their daughters Zara (left) and Chloe (right). Buren, who was paralyzed in an accident three years ago, has an immense appreciation for life. home in January 2009, he found the entire house renovated to fit his new life in a wheelchair. Some 50 friends, family members and neighbours had worked on the house. They took all the carpets out, enlarged the door openings and made the bathrooms wheelchair accessible. One neighbour, architect John Christie, spent his free time designing and getting an approval from the Town of Oakville to build an elevator in the garage. The elevator provides access to both the basement and the hallway. "The overwhelming support I received at my homecoming has continued ever since. This has touched both Sabrina and me and it keeps us going," said Buren. After the accident, Buren never asked "Why"? Instead he said, "I soon realized that to make the best out of the situation, I had to adapt." In December 2008, Buren felt a numbing physical pain, a "phantom pain" that over time has only become worse. "I decided that to be able to deal with the pain, I had to build up endurance and resistance. By being distracted, I might be able to ignore the pain." Buren had always had a passion for speed and anything on wheels, whether it was a motorcycle, a dirt bike, a snowmobile, a mountain bike or a speed bike. The freedom of moving on two wheels and the feeling of speed has become his best tool on his road to recovery. His first priority was to get his driver's licence back. Only four months after he was paralyzed, Buren learned how to drive a car with hand pedals to operate the gas and brake. In February 2009, he got a hand-bike, and began training. That month he also enjoyed ski- ing on a sit-ski in the Canadian Paraplegic Association of Ontario Ski Day in Collingwood. In June 2009, Buren was the very first person to take part in the Toronto-to-Niagara 200 km Ride to Conquer Cancer, on a hand-bike. He thanks his friend Brian Bourne for pushing him to get out and complete this race. The following year a team of 70, including Sabrina, joined Buren and Bourne in completing this event and raising $280,000 for cancer. In the Ottawa Fall Colours Half Marathon, he was again feeling the joy of speed, but this time in a wheelchair. His friend, Rick Vander Wal, who himself has been a paraplegic for 20 years, talked him into signing up for the Bermuda Full Marathon. They were the first wheelchair athletes to race in this marathon. Buren recounts how his hand was bloody as the skin wore off while pushing the wheelchair through the heat. Buren knew he had to stay active, and said, "Exercising gives me a shot of adrenalin." Over the next year, he completed the Wasaga Beach Olympic Triathlon, the Oakville 10 km, the Los Angeles Marathon, an open water swim race north of Peterborough and the 24 Hours at Albion. In the latter race, he and Vander Wal took turns on an off-road dirt bike. Last week, he raced on a GSXR1000 motorbike that was adapted for him. Through being a motivational speaker, Buren shares his stories and wisdom. He is educating younger students through the SMART program; on how to decrease their chances of getting hurt. He speaks to university students about how to cope and not to give up. He has also addressed the local chapter of The Rotary Club. After pausing, and adjusting himself in his chair, Buren said, "The biggest problem is not about not being able to walk. The biggest challenge is the neuropathic pain." The pain, often referred to as phantom pain, lies below the injury and feels like everything is on fire. There is no means for how to eliminate this pain. "I have tried it all, medication, massage, chiropractor, physiotherapy, even meditation. Nothing helps to control that excruciating pain. Buren's wheelchair bike boasts the motto, `Attitude is everything.' In the background, we hear the music and laughter of his two girls. "I cannot complain. I can be independent in my own home. I am not brain injured. I can think, I can get outdoors and be active. "From the moment I broke my back, I decided to focus on the things I can still do, rather than to focus on the things I've lost. And I've learned that the more ambitious my goals are in life, the more family, friends and strangers rally to achieve them. "In the big picture I do consider myself lucky. I can still hug my kids," said Buren.