The Citizen, 2019-06-13, Page 11THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2019. PAGE 11.
This is the second of a three-part
serialization of Blyth accessibility
advocate Julie Sawchuk’s chapter
written for Shine: Inspirational
Stories of Choosing Success over
Adversity. To read the first
instalment, see last week’s issue of
The Citizen.
The Citizen is proud to present
Julie’s words and thoughts unedited
from their original form. With that
being said, there is brief usage of
strong language. Reader discretion
is advised.
- SL
FORGIVE YOURSELF
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.”
Although I can’t say how often, I
think about what I said to Theo. I
also know that I have apologized to
him many times since that day. In
the back of my mind, all of this is
my fault. All the ‘what ifs’ that play
through my mind – if I had gone to
the pool instead, if I had been riding
with a group, if I had had a flashing
light or a bright orange vest, taken a
different route, or not been training
at all, but instead at home with my
family. All of those things were my
decisions to make. I apologized to
Theo because getting hit by a car did
not just change my life, it changed
his, and that of our kids and our
families. Changed forever. I have
been working on forgiving myself,
stopping the ‘what ifs’ and getting
on with recovery and life.
Forgiving myself is one thing, but
being able to forgive the person
whose carelessness just about killed
me… that was hard. People have
wanted to know what happened to
the driver, and if I had ever heard
from him. All I know is that he was
charged with “failing to give enough
room on the left while passing”. A
charge that he pled guilty to and no,
I have never heard from him.
It has taken time, and an
unexpected conversation with the
officer who attended the scene of the
collision. That conversation gave me
a different perspective on that day,
and I realized that I needed to
forgive him in order to move on. I
wrote about it afterwards, for the
first time blogging from a different
perspective.
A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE:
SUNDAY JULY 7, 2017
Twenty-three months ago, a man,
driving a car, caused a collision. It
was just after 9am; he was returning
home from dropping off a couple of
videos in town and had stopped to
get coffee and a sandwich. As he
drove along the straight stretch of
road that he had driven a thousand
times before he felt and heard, more
than he saw, something hit his car.
He thought, at first, that a deer had
come out of the ditch and run into
the side of his car. As he looked into
his rearview mirror, instead of a
deer what he saw was the blur of
colours, a person, flying into the
ditch.
He pulled over as quickly as he
could and went back to see if this
person was okay. As he got to her, he
saw she had a helmet on, still
attached to her head. He looked and
saw a bike, white, about 20 feet
ahead. She was conscious and trying
to get up, she was asking for his
help. He said, “Oh my God. I’m so
sorry. I didn’t see you”. She kept
trying to get up, pushing with her
arms. Blood on her face. He did his
best to soothe her and told her to
just lie still. Another man arrived
and said he had called 911. An
ambulance was on the way. Someone
else stopped and offered first aid.
Thank God.
In what seemed like an eternity, an
OPP officer arrived. The ambulance
came and put the lady on a stretcher,
loaded her into the back of the truck
and drove away with lights and
siren. Now, all the attention was on
him. He felt like he was going to be
sick. What had happened? What had
he done? What did he remember?
No, he did not have his phone. Yes,
he was alone. They looked at his car.
There was a white streak and scratch
on the front right panel and the
passenger side mirror was smashed.
There was a hot coffee in the cup
holder and a half-eaten sandwich on
the passenger seat. No, he had not
been drinking the coffee – it was too
hot. Yes, he had been eating the
sandwich.
He sat in the back of the cruiser
while the officer spoke to him. What
had just happened? How could this
be? How could he have not seen this
person, a woman, on a bike? He had
not seen her.
After that it was all a blur. He
doesn’t remember how he got home,
or what he told his wife and kids.
Everything would be different now.
He could not look people in the eye.
Could not even look at himself in the
mirror. He had caused irreparable
harm; damage that could not be
undone. He would remember this for
the rest of his life. Every day he
wished he had the courage to look
her in the eyes and say he was sorry,
longing to be forgiven.
He had not seen her.
––––––––
You are forgiven.
Forgiveness has been a way for me
to heal, to move on and to be in
charge. It takes a lot more energy to
carry a grudge and to blame
someone else for what happens in
your life than it does to forgive. This
has meant taking new pathways,
saying yes and being brave. I have
been “Miss April” in a pin-up
calendar, appeared on CTV news
(many times) and written a monthly
column for The Citizen (the local
paper). I won Be Bold for Change
from the 2016 Huron County
Inspiring Women Awards, I met
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, I
became a Rick Hansen Ambassador
speaking to groups across
southwestern Ontario, and I
qualified as the second person in the
province to be certified as a Rick
Hansen Foundation Accessibility
Certification Assessor. Together,
Theo and I have designed and
overseen the construction of a home
that will be a model of accessibility
and universal design. I have chosen
to move on with my life.
ONCE A TEACHER, ALWAYS A
TEACHER
As a rural accessibility advocate
and professional, I have travelled,
lectured and written – not just about
accessibility – but about being a
patient, the importance of self-
advocacy, sharing the road and that a
little perseverance and some kind
words will take you a long way. I
have become so much more aware
Sawchuk becomes Hansen Ambassador in 2017
84772 McDonald Line • Box 616 • Brussels
devonjhenry@hotmail.com
519-505-2473
Devon Henry
Leadership in energy
and environmental design
A meeting to remember
As local accessibility advocate Julie Sawchuk’s recovery continued, she became extremely
involved in local initiatives. She became a Rick Hansen Foundation Ambassador, part of the
2017 International Plowing Match accessibility committee and several other projects to
promote accessibility for all in Huron County and beyond. She is seen here meeting Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau when he visited the plowing match in Walton. (FIle photo)
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Continued on page 12