A B.C. teen is back behind a drum kit after losing his arm in a conveyor-belt accident at the end of the summer.
Jack Thomas, 17, was just about to start his Grade 12 year when a workplace accident took part of his right arm.
For the avid drummer, the loss was substantial.
"Music is my life," Thomas told CTV Vancouver. "All I could think about was how was I going to adapt, how am I going to figure out how to get my life back on track."
Only a couple of months later, Thomas is back at school and back on stage, with the help of a special drum kit from Roland Drums. He's also expecting a prosthetic arm in the near future.
"You'd think he was an able-bodied drummer," Thomas' music teacher Steve Sainas said. "He's compensating so fluidly."
And while Thomas draws his inspiration from Def Leppard's one-armed drummer, Rick Allen, the teen's classmates say he's a role model himself.
"Jack is really something else and he's motivated me to be better," Bandmate Roy Marshall said.
Inspired by Thomas' determination, his Port Coquitlam, B.C. classmates are organizing a benefit concert on Wednesday night. And they've managed to snag Juno-Award-nominated Vancouver band "Hey Ocean" for the headlining act.
"They've all worked hard throughout this entire thing," Thomas said. "This accident woke everybody up and made everybody realize that you can do anything you want."
With files from CTV Vancouver
