Trucker's transport cab becomes rolling hospital.
Unable to obtain help for seriously ill two-year-old son, he takes youngster on the road to provide constant care
The cab of Paul Goncalves's truck looks more like a hospital room than the helm of an 18-wheeler.
It even caught the attention of Montreal police earlier this week, as Goncalves, a transport-truck driver who lives in this southern Ontario city, made his way through Quebec.
Goncalves says he has no choice: It's the only way he can keep a close eye on the toddler at the end of a length of intravenous tubing and a bag of life-saving solution.
"I'll tell you, life has been so miserable," Goncalves said after carefully dressing a shunt that drains liquid from the brain of his constant passenger, his two-year-old son, Pauly. Pauly was born with hydrocephalus, an accumulation of spinal fluid on the brain. Doctors recently removed a brain cyst. In his short life, Pauly has had five brain operations.
But there's no structure at home to provide the intensive care that Pauly needs, and Goncalves hasn't yet been able to find help within the social-service safety net. Goncalves's wife, Cesia, has severe depression. He has a 15-year-old son and a 20-year-old daughter from a previous marriage who live with him in Kitchener. He has no other family in the area.
Goncalves believes Pauly's health issues brought on his wife's depression. Last month, both Pauly and Cesia were hospitalized at the same time. So when Goncalves hits the highway to earn the income on which his family depends, Pauly goes with him. Goncalves's situation gained national attention Monday in Montreal.
He was injecting his son with an antibiotic to fight infection after his latest surgery, when the intravenous bag burst. Pauly was fine, but Goncalves called emergency services for help.
"They didn't like the scenario. It's a little graphic," Goncalves said.
Montreal police called social services, who came to investigate. Local media also arrived, interested in Goncalves's bizarre situation. Social services concluded they had no legal right to take Pauly away. Goncalves had done nothing wrong. "They told me, 'You should be proud of yourself,'" Goncalves said. "That was a big boost."
Goncalves was afraid the news would anger his employer, Canadian-American Transport. They didn't know he had been bringing his son on runs. "I said, 'I need this job, but my son comes first.'" Although Goncalves suspects the company doesn't like it, they told him they can't stop him because he owns the truck. "That was a bit of a relief. Now I know I can do it." Still, changing diapers and intravenous bags on hauls across North America is tough. "The problem is, I can't stop working. I'm falling a little behind in my bills."
And it's hardly the life he'd imagined for his son. "I just want him to be a normal kid." Goncalves has left messages with Waterloo Region social services in search of options, he said. Child-care subsidies are available, but would depend on Goncalves's salary and circumstances, said Mary Parker, director of children's services for Waterloo Region.
"We certainly have made placements for children with specific medical needs for longer-term hours," she said. But after Goncalves's time in the media spotlight, little Pauly is still on the road. This week, father and son are heading to Texas. "It's just the love I have for all of them," he said of his family. "That's what keeps me going."
When Paul Goncalves hits the highway to earn the income on which his family depends, his ailing son, Pauly, goes with him. The father has been unable to secure help from the Waterloo Region social services department.
