Intelligent. Charming. Irrepressible.
Jason Cadeau is all that – and much more.
Cadeau has knocked off one more item on his bucket list: he will receive his Dogwood certificate before his 40th birthday on Oct. 3.
This would never have happened without a large dose of determination. Cadeau, who has cerebral palsy, has conquered many challenges.
“Life was quite difficult,” he says simply of being a five-year-old in his Calgary home when his father murdered his mother. Already facing charges of rape, his father had been released from prison for Christmas when the killing took place. Father and son have not spoken since.
Taken into protective custody after his mother’s death, Cadeau initially lived with an aunt in Kelowna. She was unable to manage his care because she was already taking care of her own children and two of Cadeau’s brothers.
“I was placed in a very horrific foster home,” he says, describing how his hip was dislocated when he was forced to do exercises. “I was only seven-years-old and I used to wet myself, I had no control. She would tie me up in a high chair and stick the dirty pants in my mouth.”
His third foster home became a permanent one and was, at least, “unabusive in the physical sense,” he says, noting his foster mother did not think he could do well academically. “It wasn’t all rosy… but at the end of the day, she did give me a very good life.”
A determined Cadeau returned to studies at the Kelowna Storefront School where he met Morris Bodnar, a mentor who became a close and dear person in his life.
“He had utter faith in me. I went back twice but I just couldn’t pull it off,” he says. “Years later, I learned he had passed away from cancer and I was heartbroken… Ever since then I wanted to graduate for him as well as me.”
Cadeau enrolled in a cook training course at Okanagan College, winning a bursary and running a college bakery for five weeks with one of his instructors – a task usually accomplished by a team of 12 to 15 students.
“I thought we would get work out of that and I applied to all kinds of bakeries and restaurants,” he says. “I had every intention of going forward to get a red seal, but without anyone willing to take me on as an apprentice, it couldn’t happen.”
One good thing that came out of the college experience was meeting Sandi, a woman who also has cerebral palsy and who decided they were meant for each other.
“I met her 16 years ago and she’s been the biggest cornerstone in my life and my biggest supporter,” he says.
Unable to get jobs in Kelowna, the couple moved to Salmon Arm where Cadeau worked with a construction firm for seven years. He enrolled at the Storefront School but found it too tiring. Laid off this spring, Cadeau was in a grocery store when he heard a loud voice, saying “Jason when are you going to finish?”
The voice belonged to storefront teacher Vivian Morris.
“She came up behind me, I heard the ‘Jason!’ and I thought I was 14, back in school and I got caught,” says Cadeau, laughing. “I said, ‘Vivian, you will see me on Wednesday.’”
All that lay between him and his Dogwood was an English course and going back was easy because Morris believed in him.
“A lot of people, including his family, have underestimated his intelligence based on his physical disabilities,” Morris says. “But you can’t fake an A in English. His answers were so good.”
Having his intelligence questionned is a bone of contention for Cadeau, who rails at the fact that his wife mops floors, despite having two degrees.
“I understand we look different to other people, but we don’t look differently at ourselves,” he says indignantly. “I’ve been told by some people that we should, because we are, but that pisses me off. How dare you tell me I should look differently at myself?”
Cadeau is grateful to his storefront supporters – Morris, his English teacher, and educational support workers Gerri Kiy and Barb Archibald.
“They were remarkable; they pushed me and gave me assistance that I didn’t even think was available,” he says. “I thought I’d give up, but they said, ‘come in and we’ll help you.”
Resilience and determination have paid off – as has the ability of an employer to see beyond physical limitations. Cadeau is the new assistant site co-ordinator for the Roots and Blues Festival, a job with responsibility and satisfaction.
“I’ve waited for this for a long time,” he says with evident pride. “Never give up and never ever let anybody tell you you can’t. I hate that word. I absolutely despise that word.”