Corey Dunn is not new to the hospital world. In fact, he works as an Environmental Services Attendant at the Hotel Dieu Hospital site of Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC). However, September 1, 2025, marked the two-year anniversary of his spinal surgery at KHSC's Kingston General Hospital (KGH) site, and now he wants to pay it forward.
"I had been suffering from back pain for almost six months, and everything I tried didn't seem to help. After a few visits to the hospital and other practitioners, no one could determine what was causing my pain. My health started to decline, and I moved in with my sister as the pain was getting to be too much. I woke up on August 31st, 2023, with no feeling from my waist down. Terrified, I was rushed by ambulance to Kingston General Hospital. I had a litany of tests done and discovered that I had developed a cyst that had pinched my spinal cord, along with an infection that had destroyed a section of my spine."
That evening Corey underwent a lengthy surgery in which two metal rods and 12 screws were installed in his back; fusing his spine from his T5 to T12 vertebra. He spent 57 days in hospital going between KGH and Providence Care, where he underwent the beginning of his rehabilitation. "I found myself needing to learn how to walk again and understand how to move through life with a newly fused spine. I walked out of Providence Care on October 26th, 2023, with just the aid of a walker. After nine months of staying at home healing and continuing physiotherapy, I returned to my job at Hotel Dieu, where I am now working full-time."
Starting September 1 through October 31, 2025, Corey will be attempting to walk a total of 570km to bring awareness and fundraise for the Neurosurgery Department at KGH. His goal is to raise $10,000 in support of the team that took care of him, and YOU can help him trek towards that goal by making a gift of support.
"I will be forever grateful to the amazing teams at all care levels that saved my life."
