Even before he was seriously injured in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash as a 20-year-old, Kaleb Dahlgren had already faced his share of adversity.

He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of four. As a young hockey player, he grieved the deaths of a teammate in a car accident and a strength coach to cancer. And, at 16, he nearly lost his dad to a serious illness.

B次元官网网址淚t really put things in perspective in my life,B次元官网网址� Dahlgren said in a recent interview from his home in Saskatoon.

B次元官网网址淲e really donB次元官网网址檛 know how long we have.B次元官网网址�

Dahlgren, now 23, was one of 13 players injured on April 6, 2018, when his junior hockey teamB次元官网网址檚 bus and a semi-trailer collided in rural Saskatchewan. Sixteen people B次元官网网址� including 10 players B次元官网网址� were killed.

He tells his story with the help of a ghost writer in the book B次元官网网址淐rossroads,B次元官网网址� which was released Tuesday.

The crash nearly three years ago left Dahlgren with a traumatic brain injury, neck and nerve damage, a fractured back and multiple other injuries.

He still canB次元官网网址檛 remember anything from the crash. He woke up in hospital four days later.

Despite his lack of memory, Dahlgren said he tried to be open and honest in the book about who he is as a person.

B次元官网网址淚t was super difficult to do it in the first place, but I also find thereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of strength in being vulnerable,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he writing process was super hard for me.

B次元官网网址淥ne of the harder parts was Chapter 16. That chapter was super, super emotional.B次元官网网址�

In that chapter, Dahlgren writes about each of the 16 people who died.

B次元官网网址淲e were all a team. We were one,B次元官网网址� he writes.

He recalled team broadcaster Tyler BieberB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渧oice of the BroncosB次元官网网址� and Dayna Brons being there for everyone as the teamB次元官网网址檚 athletic therapist. He wrote about how assistant coach Mark Cross was like a big brother and how team captain Logan Schatz had the biggest personality in the dressing room.

Although Dahlgren said it was difficult to write about his friends on the bus, it was also B次元官网网址渃athartic in my healing journey.B次元官网网址�

He said it helped him to think about the people heB次元官网网址檚 had in his life B次元官网网址� particularly his parents, coaches and teammates B次元官网网址� and how theyB次元官网网址檝e helped him become the person he is today.

B次元官网网址淚 was able to reflect on that throughout this process,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t was also cathartic to finally put some thoughts to paper and, in a way, set the Broncos stuff down and move forward in my life.B次元官网网址�

Dahlgren said he will always carry the weight of the crash with him, just as he will always have a brain injury and visible scars.

HeB次元官网网址檚 still not cleared to play contact hockey, but he had been practising and working out with his team at York University in Toronto before COVID-19 hit.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 really lucky to even be able to be in that situation in the first place,B次元官网网址� he said. His brain scans showed he had 10 spots where he had suffered a bleed, which made the doctors wonder why his physical injuries werenB次元官网网址檛 a lot worse.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 coined a miracle.B次元官网网址�

He is finishing a commerce degree at York and has applied to a couple of other schools to continue his studies and become a chiropractor.

Dahlgren is also an ambassador for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and set up the DahlgrenB次元官网网址檚 Diabeauties program to mentor diabetic children as a way to help others.

He said he has similar reasons for writing the book.

B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 want to write a book unless it gave back to others.B次元官网网址�

He would like it to generate awareness about hope and resilience, and is donating some of the proceeds to STARS, a non-profit that uses helicopters as air ambulances across the Prairies.

B次元官网网址淭hey save lives every day and they saved lives on April 6th, too,B次元官网网址� he said.

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Colette Derworiz, The Canadian Press

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