Meet Carol P., our Talent Spotlight of the day!

Carol has had a life full of challenges including a robbery, being held at gunpoint, house fires, and a life threatening accident. But she has remained positive to show her daughters to remain strong when life throws you a curveball. 

She makes her the most of her time with her family and life! She decided to take a leap and invest in herself by joining Max Agency.

Carol is a mom of 2 and a grandmother of 5. She moved to Oshawa 25 years ago as a single mom to find work and support her family. It has been her home ever since.

Carol worked at a pub in Whitby where they were collecting funds for local children who would do without at Christmas. They got a list of children’s names and ages from local family services, Salvation Army, children’s aid, etc. What they called ‘The Grinch Fund’ would be used to buy Christmas gifts for the children.

The night before Christmas Eve turned out to be one that she will never forget. As she was covering a shift for a good friend, she saw 2 men in masks come out the kitchen door, one holding a gun and the other a knife. She instantly felt “scared to death”.

Carol recalls, “I felt angry when the gun-wielding one was leading me to the cash register and asking about the safe and my purse. When we were on the floor in the front of the house and it had been quiet for a few minutes I pulled out of the tape and ripped it at my ankles and sneaked to the kitchen window in the door to see if they had gone – they had and they had taken the whole safe!

I saw the cook come through the door – he got out of his tape as well, and I dialed 911 from the office beside us. They answered and I just started screaming so the cook took the phone. I went to the patio door and saw a police cruiser pulling in so I opened the door and threw myself out onto the sidewalk – the officer opened his door and I heard the call over the radio – they had pulled in by coincidence!

So many emotions that night and the days that followed…and every Sunday night I have closed the pub since that day. “

How did you move on from that?

Carol: “The staff, owners, customers, my family – there was such a big group of family there – some related, some not. We talked about it and the ability to do that with everyone was definitely what helped me through it.”

Carol has also been through 3 major house fires, all of which resulted in complete losses. After rebuilding her world for the third time, her longtime friend and she decided to take her youngest daughter, Courtney, on vacation to Cuba.

On day 3 of their vacation, they took a ride on scooters to go visit school children with gifts. Carol woke up 10 days later in the trauma hospital in Camaguey. She had suffered an orbital bone fracture,  a skull fracture, and a brain bleed as a result of a number of end-over-end acrobatic flips into a 12-foot cactus-filled ditch.

“This is the ‘life event’ that I believe changed my daughter forever. When they reached me in the ditch, I had a massive gash on my head and was bleeding profusely. Scott [Carol’s friend] got to me first and didn’t want Courtney to see all the blood so he told her to get a water bottle from his scooter up on the road. I wasn’t breathing, so Scott began CPR while Courtney flagged down a car that took us to the hospital. Scott looked after Courtney for the duration of our so-called vacation.

I’ve told Courtney a few times when talking about the accident that I think it changed her. She had to try and mentally prepare to bring her mom home in a box, and I’m not sure she’s ever gotten past that.”

After her 14-days stay in the hospital, she was released and given the authorization to fly home. She will be celebrating her 10 year anniversary of beating the odds this January. 

“In that time I’ve grown to value every moment of every day spent with my family. My father has since been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, so my appreciation for quality time with the ones I love could no be more true today. “

“I made sure that every summer, we had a weekly cottage rental and enjoyed boating fun like tubing, lake cruising, bonfires, yes – roasting hot dogs and marshmallows were a must!”

Now that her daughters each have families of their own, Carol has decided to take the leap and invest in herself by joining Max. She’s found things that she enjoys doing just for her, like gardening, walking trails at the lakefront, and music.

“Music is very therapeutic for me. A “karaoke road trip”, or a long drive singing along with my Spotify song list is sometimes, exactly what I need to de-stress.”

How do you stay strong and positive after all that you have been through? 

“I was taught by my parents when I first had children that children learn from what they live and are watching how I react to different situations. I stayed positive and strong because my daughters were watching me and how I dealt with these traumatic events.”

“One of the things that I believe “stands out” about me, is my sense of humour. Throughout all of the trials and tribulations life has sent my way, I’ve used my sense of humour as my coat of armour. It has served me very well over the years and I do believe I have passed that on to both of my daughters. I strive to make at least one person laugh out loud every day!”

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