Goderich Signal Star, 2011-10-05, Page 12an bit by trai
reces
Signal -Star
�ttston may have no idea what
d to his foot, but he definitely
iat hit him.
}'th resident is recuperating at
Pr sustaining same of the most
tjuries caused by the August 21
y of the storm, Johnston wag in
o some shopping. and decided
rte lunch down at the beach.
ti people talking about this fish
s place at the Lake, he said. "1
ci try it."
I the weather looked fine when
tiered; though he admits to not
r0 much attention to it as he
t boat unload.
were a couple big gusts but
)o Worry about" he recalled.
kind became more violent, the
rising at the concession began
things inside. Johnston lent a
sudden, I saw the trailer going
►wn, and the next thing I knew it
pofine"
n said the trailer, rose about two
v ground and the force of the
'cl it about 50 meters. Unfortu
Johnston , he was directly in its
!t 4urt, he sustained a broken left
sur bruised ribs, a fractured pel-
iery bone broken in his right
ght'foot was also skinned down
e.
e wind came the rain and the
cting himself with his one good
ston said his elbow was "black
after the hail subsided. Though
ltuch longer under the pelting
Lid it couldn't have been more
ninutes.
ieframe is justifiably foggy for
, who was ashen grey and in
ate, people who had wen the
off were rushing over to help,
as called.
e of the downed: trees and
treets, Johnston said it took the
P nearly 30 minutes to get down
:h.
t knowing how the town was
L. was given a friendly warning
.)ulance attendants.
'ere saying it was going to be a
on the way to the hospital," he
uld tell we went over a couple
n's wife, Cheryl McClure, was
erich when the tornado hit, but
dill from the Alexandra Marine
al Hospital at 4 p.m. saying that
was injured but alive. Other
I ere was little else known. That
•;h to send her flying into town.
ail she arrived in Goderich did
hens had been a tornado.
officer escorted her to the hos-
she was immediately taken
;ton in the emergency
i
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 • Goderich Signal -Star 11
er recovering at home
Gerard Cream Goderich Signal -Star
Jim Johnston of Blyth recovers at home after having a
concession trailer roll over him at the Main Beach during the
August 21 tornado.
department.
"The nurse just said, 'Talk to
him:" she said. "He was a
mess. His eyes and ears were
fullof sand."
Johnston hashigh praise for
the organization of the hospi-
tal staff, rising to the call of the
emergency at hand. After sta-
bilizing and x- raying Johnston,
he was then sent via helicopter
to the critical care trauma unit
at. Victoria Hospital in
London.
McClure was told they
weren't worried .about the
bones -. those would heal.
Rather, Johnston's foot, which
was skinned to the hone,
needed to he disinfected and
treated A flap: of good skin way
:stretched over the foot and
wires were set in histoes to
mend therm. The hope, doctors
said, was that the skin under-
neath would
nder-neath'would grow in.
The recovery process is a
slow one, and as of last week,
Johnston said he was still sore,
but was able to sleep better. He
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is not allowed any weight on his foot, and
because of the broken collar bone, he's
unable to be on crutches. But, McClure
said, "I le gets around pretty good"
Johnston is back at his Blyth residence,
receiving home :are. A note on the door
informs nurses to knock and come in
because, ,'Jimmy can't get up."
With a sense of dark humour, Johnston
notes that alt bad things come in threes,
and this was his last. First, a collision that
demolished the rear end of his car, losing
part of his finger in a carpentry accident
dnd now, a tornado - all in the past two
years. The latter two happened within six
weeks of each other.
"Mat's three things," he said with equal
parts jest and seriousness. "I'm done."
Ilowever, now that the worst is over
medically, the financial reality is ,setting
in. A self-employed cabinet maker and
carpenter, he is contacting all levels of
government to see what can be done
about lost wages. That includes putting in
an application to the disaster relief
committee.
But the timeframe isdependent on his
recovery:
McClure said doctors don't want to
hazard a guess at recovery time before
they know how the skin on Johnston's foot
is regenerating. However, the past four
weeks have been positive. McClure's pho-
tos of the wound show steady progress.
Because everything seemed to happen
so fast, both Johnston and McClure have
many unanswered questions.
The couple still don't know the name of
the man who stayed with Johnston wait-
ing for the ambulance to arrive, keeping
him talking as the shock set in. Nor do
they know the name of the young than
who helped McClure navigate the maze of
downed trees so she could retrieve John-
ston's truck at the beach: Someone had
also wrapped Johnston's scattered belong-
ings in a tarpused to keep him dry, and
sent it with her.
They are still trying to find out whorn to
thank.
"1 don't know who the young kid was"
she said, now a month after the storm "Or
the guy who helped Jimmy."
In addition to his thanks, Johnston
quickly adds, "And I've got a grey tarp here
that belongs to somebody.'
11.
is Open for Business at
35 West Street
Goderich
Delivering gorgeous fresh (lowers & plants for all ihe special events in your lite. lite is about
liyinp &Giving and we would like to give away 10 free Thanksgiving floral Arrangements to
families that have been displaced from their homes due to the tornado.
Please call us or email with the families name, phone # and their temporary address
for delivery.
A Special shank You goes out to some
very special people & businesses. My
Family Staff, our Customers for allowing
us to continue delivering (lowers from
our temporary location, Perfect Pint
Refrigeration Rentals, Doug fines you are
great!, Anderson lent Rental, Huromel, &
fellow local florist. It's Good to be Back!
Thanks a Bunch
luann & Ken
35 West Street
519-440-0987
IuanosfloWers@hurootel.00.ca