Donald David Cooper, 1968 -2003

Donald David Cooper, known to one and all as David or Dave, was born on January 15, 1968 in Gillette Wyoming. His parents, Brenda and then husband Donnie, were told that he was not expected to live, as he was born 8 weeks prematurely and weighed only 3 lbs 8 oz.

In the delivery room alone (as it was unusual in those days for husbands to be present) Brenda waited for what seemed like hours before she heard a tiny cry come from her newborn son. Without being shown to his mother, David was whisked out of the room. Doctors told Brenda and Donnie that the next 72 hours were critical. During those72 hrs his heart stopped at least twice, but he fought back. He had a desperate will to live. It seemed to Brenda that with every breath her son took his belly button would touch his spine. David was so sick that the medical team would not allow anyone to touch him, other than the staff. It was six long weeks before Brenda was allowed to touch her son. And not until the seventh week that she finally held him for the first time. At 2 months and a whopping 5 lbs, David came home. Being a sound sleeper, Brenda was afraid she wouldn't hear him at night. She was also afraid she or David's Dad would roll on him if they put him in their bed. So Brenda placed him in a plastic baby bathtub on 2 kitchen chairs right by her bed and that's where he slept for several months.

At 5 months, David's double hernia was finally repaired, because he had reached 10 lbs. A few weeks later, however, he came down with pneumonia! He recovered from this, and was a very engaging, responsive baby, but Brenda was still uneasy that something was not right as his legs needed to be pulled apart to change him, and at 12 months he stilll could not sit up alone.

When David was 13 months old a pediatrician gave them the news that their son had Cerebral Palsy. Little did they know that, the years ahead would be extremely difficult for David and his parents. In the first seven years of his life, David got a brother, Jerry, and a sister, Holly. David also had 8 operations to try to loosen up his tight muscles. Each operation required months of physical therapy, In fact physical therapists became a fixture in his life.

When David was 7, the family moved from the United States to Canada, to homestead. That, however, did not come to pass as David's father returned to the States and Brenda and the children stayed near Donnelly, Alberta, with Brenda's father, W.O. and step mom, Ann. David had just started into school and it was becoming apparent that David had some learning problems. In fact, his kindergarten teacher took it upon herself to tell Brenda that her son should be institutionalized. That was the wrong thing to say. From that moment on, David was always breaking down the barriers that surrounded handicapped people. He was the first child to attend Grouard School in a wheelchair, the first disabled child there to be integrated into a regular classroom, the first child in High Prairie Elementary to come to school in a wheelchair, and so on.

When David was 8, Brenda married Leonard Sahlin and the Sahlins and Coopers became a farm family. David also got 2 additional brothers, Clinton and Erik, and a sister Rachel. His new brothers and sister were a little taken aback by David, until they got used to his jerky, stiff movements and his hair-trigger temper. It took awhile but they soon came to know that Salt Prairie was where they belonged. David was very happy.

It had always been a challenge to give David normal childhood experiences. But the family tried and succeeded in many innovated ways. One of the more memorable ways, was when Leonard bolted a 5 gallon pail to his old Cockshutt fender, lined it with foam rubber, put a car seat belt on it, so David could experience farm life first hand. He spent many happy hours strapped to that fender getting covered in dirt. Another time, a box was built for him that he could stand in at the sink and wash dishes. It never takes a Mom long to figure out a way to put her boy to work.

At age 12, David, who was slow but not dumb, began to realize that his life was not like that of his brothers and sisters. They were all starting to have boyfriends and girlfriends. David's first love was Sherry Lefort who babysat for Leonard and Brenda when they went out. Early on David had shown a very real appreciation for women who were "hot". Everyone can remember how he'd smile and his legs would slowly rise up off his foot pedals when an attractive female would say "Hi".

David became severely depressed. He wasn't learning much in school, and he felt ostracized much of the time. Jeremy fought many a battle to keep kids from teasing his brother. David was very upset every night during the school week, because he was falling farther and farther behind his peers. The only thing that could get him to sleep was the Valium syrup Dr. Laughlin prescribed, but this also made him extremely drowsy all the next day. This situation was very hard on David and the family, and after 3 months precipitated his move to Peace River for 4 years to attend school and live in a group home. Every Friday, the old Ford van headed to Peace River to pick up David to spend the weekend at home, and every Sunday it took him back. Many tears were shed as a result of this arrangement, so at 15 David came home again and started school at Prairie River Junior High.

At 18, David finished school and moved to Grande Prairie to chase women and cruise the bars. It was during those Junior High years, followed by his years in Grande Prairie, that David acquired life long friends, some present here today.

In Grande Prairie his main goal was to chase girls and cruise the bars. While there, David had a DJ business, which he loved, even though he had to depend on friends to help him. He spent hours pouring over music and making recorded tapes for everyone. One of the things that David was so proud of was his DJ system, which he never failed to show off. He spent 12 years there and was very happy. Unfortunately his trusting nature got him into trouble. Once, David took a trip to BC with a "buddy", and was left for 3 days with no food and no money in a hotel room. The buddy had been arrested, and he had David's cell phone and wallet. Finally, David was able to contact his mother and he was sent home. Brenda had had enough; she insisted he move back to Salt Prairie. Since the new house was finally completed and he wanted his own space, David moved into the old log home. In September of this year, David would have lived in the old house for 5 years on his own.

David spent many hard hours working at hauling firewood using on an old quad that Leonard remodeled so that David could drive it. He loved his quad, and was extremely protective of it, as his nephew, Jordan, can attest. The quad had to be parked directly outside David's window so he could see it, or you were in trouble. Nonetheless, David had a special place in his heart for his nieces and nephews, as evidenced by all the goodies he kept in his fridge for Denae.

David was legally blind, (eyes damaged by too much oxygen at birth) so driving the quad was a huge challenge. Leonard had many obstacles to overcome trying to mark a trail that David could see, to get to the wood that Leonard cut, and then to figure out how to get David and the quad up to Newman's without David having to go on the road and get mowed down! Leonard, and Audrey & Peter Newman were kept busy rescuing him when he got high centered on a stump along his route or was too tired to get back on his quad after loading up his trailer. He relished the freedom and independence of hauling wood and it was well worth the minor hiccups.

Unfortunately in the last year or so, David's hips were causing him a lot of pain, and his scoliosis was twisting his back into a crooked mess. He was in pain a lot of the time and made excuses not to go our on the quad. The pain medication made him drowsy and he was waiting to see a specialist in Edmonton for Botox injections, which we hoped, would ease his stiffness and pain.

Before he left us, David was predeceased by relatives such as, his brother Clinton, his Grammy Marjory Sahlin, the Wickwire uncles and aunts, his Aunt Biss, Grandma and Grandpa Cooper, and his father Donnie, his Aunt Iva, cousins Andrew and DJ, and his grandmother Merle. David is now walking and running through the fields of heaven with them, his legs long and strong.

David is survived by his Mother, Brenda (Leonard) Sahlin; sisters, Holly Cooper and Rachel (Ron) Welch; brothers Jeremy (Carrie) Cooper and Erik Sahlin and many nieces and nephews.