Road to rehabilitation long for fire victims

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After eight months confined to a hospital bed, Robert Cardinal, 32, still is in too much pain from burns inflicted by an arsonist to speak to Windspeaker about his future. To his family, though, he has acknowledged that he knows he will never be the same fit family man who expected to attend the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology this fall to study computer drafting.

Cardinal, Anita, 32, his wife of two years, their three daughters and two visiting nephews, were asleep in their apartment in Edmonton last April 13 when Timothy Zielinski, a laborer with a grudge, set a gasoline fire in the doorway of their home. Zielinski, 29, mistakenly believed he was torching the abode of gang members, who had previously physically attacked him.

Anita and daughters Courtney, 14, Rosa Lee, 12, Harriette, 8, and one of their cousins escaped by jumping out a window. Anita landed on concrete, hurt her back and broke her hip and both legs. She was released from hospital in August and will require extensive foot surgery after a persistent ulcer in her foot heals.

"It's a miracle she's still alive," Louise Alexis said about her eldest child. "She's in a lot of pain all the time."

Robert Cardinal received burns to 93 per cent of his body because he stayed behind in the fire to try to find his other nephew, five-year-old Giovanni Alexis. A fireman saved the boy, who spent 10 days in hospital recovering from burns.

Harriet was also burned and was in hospital about a month.

Another man, Edgar Rosetti, received minor burns when he found Robert in a stairwell and tried to put out the flames on him.

Zielinski pleaded guilty to eight counts of arson causing bodily harm. On Dec. 6 he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Although Robert's physical injuries are the worst, his wife is also suffering, members of the Cardinal and Alexis families said.

According to Louise Alexis, the children are not doing so well either.

"They're still terrified. They can't even sleep with the light off."

Robert's mother, Yvonne Cardinal from Saddle Lake, is in the second year of a social work program at Blue Quills College. She said her training has stood her in good stead in trying to deal emotionally with the senseless act that has damaged their whole family. She is getting a lot of support from friends and instructors at the college. Her people at Saddle Lake have been there for her too, she said, with both financial and spiritual support. She has accepted counselling.

Yvonne said Robert and Anita were married at Lac Ste. Anne in September 1999 and had a happy life with a promising future before the fire. They had recently moved to Edmonton so Robert could attend school while Anita looked after the children at home.

"Nothing major has happened in the family until April 13, 2001, [the date of the fire]" Yvonne said.

This experience "has changed me emotionally, though," she added. "Seeing my son have a lot of courage makes me strong. I shed a lot of tears with him and talked about forgiveness.

"Robert has anger at the guy who did it for hurting his family."

She said "I'm working on that (anger) too, with a priest. He told me how Mary saw her son suffer . . . I never thought about that much before."

Yvonne travels to visit Robert, who is still extensively bandaged and in isolation, every second weekend.

"Right now, he's stable and alert," she said on Dec. 14. "But the rehab will take years." Doctors can't tell them when he will be ready to transfer to the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital or to what extent he is likely to recover.

Robert and Anita lost everything they owned in the fire. Eventually the family will have to find accommodation near the rehabilitation hospital, probably housing that is modified to accommodate Robert's disabilities, his mother said, and she is worried about the expenses they face on top of everything else.

"But we're just very thankful to God that he's with us. There was a huge shock, and now we have to cope.And coping is the hardest thing . . . I know that Bobby's physical condition will never be the same."

In the meantime, Michelle Arpin, Robert's sister, and another brother, David, make sure he has company every day. She and David, a second-year accounting student at NAIT, are the only family members living in Edmonton, so they "try to take care of the weekdays." Robert is only allowed two visitors at a time.

Robert is "depressed," she said. "He's been in the same room for eight months and he's tired of everything."

She said her brother's family was on a waiting list for the Capital Housing program at the time of the fire. Because both Robert and Anita were hospitalized when a house was offered to them, however, they were unable to take possession June 1 and are now at the bottom of the list again.

"So Anita's floating really. She's staying with aunts here and there . . . it's just really unsettling. She can't do anything till she gets a place." Anita gets around with a walker and a wheelchair.

Michelle manages the trust account for the family, which has $2,600 in it, she said. Donations to help with Robert's rehabilitation and putting his family back on their feet are being accepted at the Londonderry branch of the Toronto Dominion Bank in Edmonton. Cheques may be made out to Robert Cardinal and deposited to branch 8312, chequing account 3103732.