Dwayne Harrison has won a different kind of lottery.
It was back on August 29, 2013, that his world suddenly stopped for seconds.
Doing what he enjoys, playing basketball, Harrison was playing a pick-up game with friends at the Lawrence Heights Community Centre in Toronto. But that night, he collapsed hitting the floor like a thud. A
The quick work of others saved his life.
It started with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and then correct use of a defibrillator followed by guidance from Toronto EMS until Harrison was rushed to hospital by ambulance. Harrison didn't have to be told how lucky he was to have survived, he patched the stories together over and over from his hospital bed of that scary night.
"That was my first life, I went to sleep for a bit and woke up a better man, grateful for many things," said Harrison. "I have another life to live and not many get that chance. It's time to get on with it because there is so much to do."
Harrison, at 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds, has always been the kind of individual who is motivated by success. It could be in the classroom or working with others or just his drive to be a good citizen.
And there is also a soft spot for the game of basketball – something he learned while attending Atlantic High School in Port Orange, Fla., not far from Daytona Beach.
"I'm in my third and graduating year at George Brown – and I wanted one more opportunity to play basketball for the Varsity team," said Harrison, who was born in Jamaica, moved to Canada and spent his high school days in the Sunshine State. "When the doctor told me I could play, then got the support of my mother and George Brown gave me approval – it meant so much to me."
Harrison, now 24 years of age and never medically cleared, signed a waiver with no liability to George Brown.
After months of therapy at strengthening his body, Harrison is ready to put on Husky jersey No. 21 for the second half of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association season. He has gradually built up for the occasion having played in a Men's league and on George Brown's Extramural squad. But, he knows, nothing compares to the training, practicing and pace of a Varsity game.
"I'm a Husky for life, my last chance as a College player and people want to see me get back on the court and do what I enjoy," said Harrison, who also works part-time as a security guard. "I was so emotional when (George Brown) said I could join the team and now I have to prove to my teammates that I can help them."
Helping is something Harrison also does very well off the court. He's studying in the Child and Youth Worker Program and doing a co-op at the Youthdale Treatment Centre – a facility that offers services to troubled youth and their families.
"I grew up in a low income area of Toronto where the odds can easily go against a young person, but the mentors in my life always told me I would be a success," said Harrison, the recipient of a George Brown academic award in past. "Working with adolescents in good situations and difficult communities is what I want to do." - DG
