HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-08-13, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015.
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was “I’m sorry” which is a comment
Theo still doesn’t quite understand.
From there, the dialogue
continued, eventually moving from
the notebook to a whiteboard, with
Julie asking if she will walk again,
about their children and, in a rare
lighter moment, if Theo thought she
could get a refund for her
registration in the triathlon.
For the first five days of her time
in the Critical Care Trauma Centre,
Sawchuk was only allowed two
visitors at a time, and felt it best to
keep her children, Ella and Oliver,
away from the centre for the time
being, despite the difficulty she had
with not seeing them for nearly a
week. She said it is a “scary place”
with almost constant activity. During
this time she only saw Theo, her
parents and a handful of immediate
family members.
Julie says she is healing well, but
still in a lot of pain. She is in a body
brace and a collar, adding that taking
a deep breath is often challenging.
Her next step is being told by
doctors that she is well enough to be
moved to the Parkwood Spinal Cord
Institute, where Julie says she will
learn how to live as a paraplegic.
While she appreciates the
enthusiasm of doctors and of those
around her, Julie, as a biology
teacher, has asked people to be
honest with her about the reality of
her situation, while still hoping to
regain feeling in her legs.
“I’m a very determined person and
I’m going to get as much out of
[rehabilitation] as I possibly can,”
she said.
Theo says that since the collision
he has seen his wife go through the
highs and lows that can be expected
after such a life-changing incident.
“I do see that determination in her,
but you can also see that sadness and
regret at times too,” he said. “But we
have a feeling that we know we can
get through it and I think that’s the
currency that’s going to pay our
way.”
Both Theo and Julie say they have
been overwhelmed by the support
they’ve received from the
community, both local and from the
cyclist community. Whether it’s
people donating services or time, or
stepping up and offering their help in
whatever way they can, the
Sawchuks have been so grateful for
the support.
There is also a fundraising
component to forjulie.com, a blog
about Julie being maintained by a
friend, aimed at helping the family
through the process. With a stated
goal of $10,000, as of Monday,
fundraising for the Sawchuks had
already topped $13,000.
As far as the future is concerned,
Theo says there are all kinds of
questions that will need to be
answered going forward, but he says
that change has happened and it
can’t be ignored.
“Things have changed...
irrevocably,” Theo said. “But we’re
not afraid of it. We don’t have a
choice but to go forward.”
While large questions about what
her future life will look like still
loom, Julie says that one thing is
clear: once she is able, she will
dedicate her life to spreading the
message about sharing the road with
everyone that uses it.
Two days before the collision,
Julie contacted The Citizen in hopes
of submitting a Letter to the Editor.
About what, she didn’t say at the
time, but the letter has since been
published on forjulie.com, where
Julie hopes to blog about her
recovery progress as early as this
week. The letter was about sharing
the road with cyclists, detailing the
many close calls she has had with
passing vehicles. (See that letter at
the bottom of this page.)
When asked why she wanted the
letter printed, Julie says because she
was angry and she’s still angry.
Julie says she’s angry that some
drivers can be so inconsiderate of
cyclists on the road, all to trim their
drive-time by a matter of seconds.
“Cyclists don’t even register as
people sometimes,” she said. “The
whole idea of sharing the road –
there’s so much to it.”
Julie says that sharing the road is
an entire state of mind that needs to
be instilled in the world. It’s not just
about cyclists, or motorists, but
about mutual respect.
“It’s not about bright clothes or
paved shoulders, it has to be this
huge change,” she said.
She says that the Share the Road
movement is gaining momentum,
but she’s upset how it had to happen.
“Support for the movement is so
essential. I’m pretty mad that it’s
me, but I wouldn’t want this to
happen to anyone else,” she said.
Unsure if she’ll ever be able to
cycle on the road again herself, her
goal is now to make it as safe a place
for others as possible.
“As soon as I’m able, that’s my
plan. I’m going to speak at schools
and I want to make a simulator that
shows what it’s like to be passed on
a bike by an 18-wheeler going 100
kilometres per hour,” she said. “I
want to create super bright cycling
jerseys and shorts that say ‘share the
road’. I have a lot of ideas – I feel
like it’s my mission in life to work
on this.”
THE EDITOR,
Training alone on a bicycle gives
one a lot of time to think. I first
started to script this “Letter to the
Editor” in my head last summer,
while out on my bike on the roads in
Huron County. I wanted to write
because I was thankful for the polite
and considerate drivers who slowed
down and gave me (and my bike)
enough space to keep traveling
safely. Many trucks passed with
care, local businesses that I
recognized such as Sparling’s
Propane, Grey Eggs and Gardener’s
Dairy, I thank these drivers for
following the traffic laws and
passing properly.
Then, in August 2014, I stopped
writing this friendly “thank you”
letter. Instead, the letter in my head
became a “how to pass a cyclist
while driving a car” letter. What
happened was this: while travelling
east on Blyth Road (between
Auburn and Blyth) I was passed by
a transport truck so closely it made
me scream. I was already on the
white line on the right side of the
road and this truck’s rear tires were
also touching the white line. It was
a nondescript transport with a white
trailer with no identifying markers.
Remembering the license plate was
not even an option because it scared
me so much I could hardly think
straight. It really frightened me.
Fast forward to July 27, 2015. I
never did write that letter, but now I
have to. I went out on my bike on
this Sunday afternoon for what was
to be a two-hour training ride. I
usually ride early in the morning,
before the busy daytime traffic, but
on this day my time available was in
the middle of the afternoon. I was
travelling west. I knew there would
be a lot of traffic coming east,
heading home from the cottage. I
was right, but decided to keep my
head up and keep going. Not two
kilometres into my ride a vehicle
travelling east and towing a camper
pulled into my lane to pass not one,
but two vehicles. This meant that
there were vehicles in both lanes
coming toward me. The passing
vehicle made it into their proper
lane only just before they got to
where I was on the road. I thought,
“Holy cow, what were they
thinking?” I may have also given
the appropriate hand signal for that
kind of inconsiderate driving.
Less than two kilometres later, the
same thing happened again – except
this time, the car doing the passing
was still in my lane as it came by
me. I was just on the inside of the
white line, had my elbow been out
this car would have hit me.
There are many reasons that this
scary near-death experience
happened. Here are a few: One,
people are in a rush – everyone is;
Two, drivers of cars and trucks think
that they are the ones with the right
of way, to hell with cyclists, horses
and buggies, and motorcycles;
Three, drivers think they can get
away with it – and don’t know that
killing a cyclist will send them to
jail; Four, I was by myself on my
bike and perhaps was not a big or
bright enough presence on the road.
Say, for example, you were
driving behind a vehicle you wished
to pass. You pull out enough to see
there is a car coming toward you, so
you decide to wait. You would do
the same thing if there was an
oncoming truck, motorcycle or
horse and buggy – so why would
you not do the same for a cyclist? In
no way was I in the wrong. Under
Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, a
bicycle is a vehicle, just like a car or
truck.
I am going to keep riding. On the
day this happened I turned around,
went home and got on my mountain
bike to ride on the rail trail,
greenway trail and the back roads
where I knew I would be safer.
“Section 148(5) of the Highway
Traffic Act says of vehicles
overtaking others: Drivers of
vehicles including cyclists must
overtake on the left. The person
overtaken is not required to leave
more than one half of the roadway
free.”
Share the road.
Julie Sawchuk, Blyth.
Julie’s July 27 letter to ‘Citizen’
Injury has given Sawchuk new mission in life
A life change
The future of the Sawchuk family – Theo, Julie, Ella and Oliver, seen above from left to right
enjoying some fun at the beach before Julie’s late July injury – will never be the same, says
Theo, but they’re determined to not be afraid of change and of the future. (Photo submitted)
An athlete at heart
While her future remains uncertain, Julie Sawchuk has
already begun to think of what her athletic/outdoor life will
be like, thinking ahead to using a sit-ski to resume her
passion of skiing. She was paralyzed from the chest down
after being struck while cycling late last month, changing
her life forever. To donate to the Sawchuks, visit
forjulie.com. (Photo submitted)