A devastating spinal cord injury has interrupted Neil Doef’s life, but it hasn’t derailed it.
Less than six months since a hit during the World Under 17 Championship in Saskatchewan left him paralyzed below the waist, the only thing more impressive than the progress the 18-year-old Smiths Falls native has made is his attitude.
Hanging out in the living room of the new Smiths Falls bungalow the Doef family was able to buy thanks to an unprecedented outpouring of support across North America, Neil seems every bit the easy-going, polite and quiet teenager he’s been described as by friends and family since he was hurt in December.