B.C. man overcomes 'nightmare' burns to create 'dream come true' life
When John Westhaver woke up in the hospital that day, he was terrified.
“What’s going on?! Where am I?!” John thought, realizing he was attached to countless machines and wrapped in bandages from head to toe. “What happened?!”
The last thing the then-18-year-old recalled was hanging out with his three friends. There was no memory of the fatal crash that made front page news, leaving John the sole survivor, now waking from a month-long coma.
“My whole world had changed,” John says. “I began living a nightmare.”
John suffered life-threatening burns over 75 per cent of his body.
“The pain was hell,” John says. “Hell on earth.”
The physical pain could be overwhelming. The emotional pain was unrelenting.
“I was devastated by the fact that I had lost those friends,” John says. “And I was like, ‘Who’s going to want to date me? Will I be alone forever? Will I have a family?’”
John says he learned to endure the trauma by developing a tough exterior fuelled by anger, until his dad encouraged him to forgive the driver of the other vehicle who caused the crash.
“At first I was like, ‘No way!’” John says.
But he took time to reflect and eventually did it.
“That simple act of forgiving him increased the quality of my life automatically, because I let go of a lot of that anger,” he says.
It was the first step in a journey of healing that eventually led John to stop suffering about his past and start being hopeful and courageous in his present.
“Why live in the past when your future’s ahead of you?” he says.
So John committed to turn his adversity into an opportunity, and began inspiring others through speaking engagements across North America.
He also tried online dating.
“To let somebody in to love you,” John says. “That’s the scariest thing in the world.”
But if you’re brave enough to open your heart, you just might find you're fortunate enough to find the perfect partner.
After countless “butterfly feeling” dates, Bri said “yes” to John’s proposal, followed by “I do” on their wedding day.
“If you would have told me that I would have this life, back when I woke up from the coma, when I was saying, ‘Why Me? Nobody’s ever going to love me again,’” John smiles. “I would have said, ‘You’re full of crap!’”
But love — it’s said — begets love. And now John, Bri and their three daughters are creating a life full of it.
“This is possible,” John smiles. “A guy that looks like me can have a happy, successful, full, rich life, like a rock star!”
You can turn your nightmares into the best dreams come true.
“And they’re still coming true,” John adds with a smile. “I just keep dreaming.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'