Accident

An eventful day July 26, 1985 ! It started as any other, but little did I know that by the day's end my whole life will have been changed from what I knew it to be.

There is no recollection of the accident itself. What I know of it has been gleaned from reading reports and what was told to me by people I knew who witnessed the happening.

My last recollection is of checking the seat belt of my partner to ensure that it was buckled in securely. Joe was legally qualified as a paraplegic, although he could walk a very short distance dragging his left leg in a kind of hop skip motion. His left hand also was paralyzed - all as a result of a botched spinal surgery five years previously. But, that's another story for another time!

My next memory is one of emerging from a dark void which was pitch black.  In that black space I felt an incredible peace that has never been felt before nor since. I remember thinking that I did not want to leave this space. However I heard a silent voice (is the best way I can describe it) telling me that I had to "go back", that my work was not finished.  The pull towards consciousness became stronger. I kept moving towards a light and  the feeling of peace turned slowly to feeling slightly irritable that gradually turned to anger. 

With consciousness I  was lucid long enough to provide information for family to be notified. Hearing the doctor (as I later found out) informing me that Joe was dead I replied - "Oh my God! I killed him." With that I slid back into unconsciousness. 

field! The woman driver fortunately was not hurt and walked away with minor bruises.

The location of this accident is inside the West boundary city limit of Salmon Arms, BC Canada on the Trans Canada Hwy. The highway was closed for four hours. The white car shown in  the forefront of the picture (left) was heading West  and had stopped with the left signal lights blinking to indicate the driver was waiting to make the turn. I was heading East and had the right of way. When it was reared ended by the logging truck, the force propelled it over a 4' culvert to land in the middle of a farmer's

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Our vehicle was a 3/4 tons Dodge Ram Super Cab with canopy. The vehicle was fully loaded with personal belongings as we were in the process of changing residence. My business (as well as life-sharing) partner Joe was in the passenger seat. He died instantly of a broken neck. In the driver's seat, I was pinned in with my right leg caught in the brake housing encased under the steel floor. The ambulance attendant later informed me that there was no time to be gentle and pulled the leg out so I would be free to be transported immediately to hospital.

The official status of my condition was - "critical" and as the doctors' told me later, they didn't really expect that I would make it. 

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The General Hospital in town was not equipped to serve my needs and I was stabilized to be transported by ambulance to the Vernon Orthopedic  Hospital, Vernon, BC some sixty miles  away.

able to walk away from the wreck. He was charged and the litigations lasted about three years. 

Police reports indicated that the 27 years young driver of the fully loaded logging fifteen wheeler had been driving all night from Calgary en route to Vancouver at the coast. 

Salmon Arms is exactly six hours drive to either city - Calgary to the East and Vancouver to the West. He had been taking No-Doze to stay awake and had been speeding through town in excess of the speed limit and at the time of the collision. He fell asleep at the wheel!  The young driver did not sustain any  injury and was 

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