'Starting to heal': Victim of Saskatchewan mass stabbing wakes in hospital a widow
Joyce and Earl Burns were childhood sweethearts.
They grew up together on James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, first as neighbours, then as husband and wife.
"It was childhood love," said Victor Sanderson, a younger brother of Joyce Burns. He babysat their children and watched the couple grow old together.
He now visits his sister in a Saskatoon hospital room, where she recently regained consciousness after she was stabbed multiple times in the stomach and neck in a mass killing on the First Nation.
The ashes of her 66-year-old husband sit in an urn next to her bed.
Joyce and Earl Burns were among the 28 people attacked on the First Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon, on Sept. 4.
Ten people, including Earl Burns, were killed. Two suspects also died.
Joyce Burns is the only one of those injured who remains in hospital, say health officials.
Doctors had placed her on life support and her family was surprised when she woke up in late September, said her brother.
"It was really touch and go with how she was doing because her lungs filled up with water and her liver too," Sanderson said from his home in Debden, Sask.
"When she got transferred to Saskatoon, she was pretty much leaving us, but then she just turned around. Her body is starting to heal.
"I'm very happy that she's still with us, very much so."
Sanderson said Earl Burns was more than his brother-in-law. He was a mentor.
After Earl Burns joined the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry with the Canadian Armed Forces, he convinced Sanderson to join up as well.
"He taught me: 'Keep your head up high, don't let anybody knock you down, and always stand your ground."'
When Earl Burns left the military, he started a family with his wife and they eventually became grandparents. He was also a rodeo competitor and a diehard Toronto Maple Leafs fan.
"He was one hell of a guy. He was a jack of all trades. He loved life, he loved his kids, he loved his grandkids more than anything else," Sanderson said.
"He always protected his family in a good way."
Defending his family and community is how residents of the First Nation are remembering Earl Burns.
They said he bought his own school bus years ago and drove students to Bernard Constant Community School every weekday.
There have been reports that on the Sunday morning of the killings, as Burns was wounded, he got in his bus to chase down one of the suspects. Others have said he went to get help.
He took his last breath on that bus, said Sanderson. A memorial of flowers from his Sept. 17 funeral was placed near where some say the bus went off the road as he died.
Sanderson said he's not sure if one or both of the two suspects -- brothers Myles and Damien Sanderson -- attacked his sister and her husband.
Court documents show that in 2015 the couple's former son-in-law, Myles Sanderson, repeatedly stabbed Earl Burns with a knife and wounded Joyce Burns. He was sentenced to two years less a day in jail.
Myles Sanderson died after he went into medical distress in police custody. Damien Sanderson died from wounds that were not self-inflicted near one of the many crime scenes on the First Nation.
As his sister begins walking again in the hospital, Victor Sanderson said he's focusing on remembering the laughter -- mainly from her husband, who was known for cracking jokes and making people smile.
"He was a really big part of my life," he said.
"On a serious note, he was always about the kids, really. The future of our children (on James Smith Cree Nation) and how they are doing, and which direction our leaders are taking them."
He said the attacks have brought his family members closer, and also changed everything else.
"Our outlook in James Smith -- it's going to be totally different," he said.
"The only way that we can (heal) is to just move forward. Look for brighter days and not let this happen again.
"And don't let anybody forget."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.