Among the items in his next shipment to Ukraine will be a rare pair of crutches with their own story, a gift of hope donated by our second Rotarian, Richard, of the Rotary Club of Calgary North. “I was visiting islands in the South Pacific. While in the ocean one evening, I felt a sudden punch in my right thigh, then a creepy slithering sensation as the menacing sea monster went on its way.” Blood was everywhere. Richard was close enough to shore that one man leapt to his rescue, tore off his shirt, and used it as a tourniquet. While others used their cell phones to video, this man put Richard in his car despite the profuse bleeding and took him to a hospital where “…there was no doctor…but they had bandages and morphine to get me through the night.” Richard could not get help arranging for a medical evacuation. “I became increasingly concerned for my life and safety. People in surrounding beds did not seem to recover; they seemed to disappear. After a few days and an alarming earthquake…in the middle of the night, I commandeered a wheelchair and made my way out of the ward. I hid in a dark corner of the hospital parking lot.” A stranger got him a stick to use as a cane and drove Richard to his lodgings. That next day, Richard went to a meeting of Rotarians in Port Vila. They found him a qualified doctor who saw him immediately and helped save his life. Along the way The Crutches entered Richard’s life. More than mobility, the Crutches gave him hope. Porta Vila Rotarians helped him get back to Canada and to the assistance of other Rotarians in Calgary, who guided him to more additional medical care. “The frightening impression on my thigh bears no semblance to the grateful impression on my heart for the goodwill of my fellow Rotarians to whom I owe my life.” Now, Richard is sending The Crutches to Ukraine to hopefully save a life and offer hope for a healed future. Their story has been translated into Ukrainian and attached to their special packaging. Rotarians in Kyiv are already calling them “The Magic Crutches.” Our logistics friend, Alain Guerard, says that they will be treated and transported as a sacred embodiment of friendship to a civilian or veteran in Ukraine. |
