On farms across the country, pain and grief are all too familiar, but so are stories of perseverance and miracles
It is calving time on many farms.
It’s normally a joyful time of the year as we receive new lives into the fold and look with hope to a season of warmer weather and green grasses. But for some families, it is also a brutal reminder of challenge, broken bodies and long recoveries.
These past few months several people that I know were hurt on their farms or in car accidents. Their professional lives potentially altered in bone-crushing reality. Families were left stretched and whole communities grieved that one of their own is suffering.
Read Also
More precious than gold
When commercial fertilizers no longer meet the needs of the world’s farmers, the value of manure will grow, says Alberta Farmer columnist Brenda Schoepp.
We are always only a moment away from life-altering change.
This conversation is not about the dos and don’ts of farm safety. Everyone is familiar with the rules of the game and often it can simply be circumstance that leads to injury. Often, the ‘why’ question is never answered, elusive or outright unpredictable.
I was sorting cattle on horseback one day when I paused to visit with a neighbour who had dropped by. I ambled up to the electric fence and relaxed in the saddle, giving lots of slack to the reins. Without warning my horse suddenly came apart and I had the ride of my life. I was not hurt, just a little twisted, but certainly it could have been a wreck.
Why the unprecedented change in the horse’s behaviour?
My neighbour showed no signs of rushing through the electric barrier. He would later relay to me the cause of my rattling ride was two kittens who took special interest in the horse’s switching tail. When the horse started to hop as they gleefully swung on his tail, they panicked and scurried up the tail and dug into his rump with everything they had. The horse then did all he could to shake his young passengers off.
There is no farm safety manual or training to prepare for that.
More with Brenda Schoepp: With political will and good policy, you can accomplish a lot
This rather lighthearted story does not negate the seriousness of farm accidents. It simply highlights that an accident or a close call is a surprise. It is an unfortunate event that evades our expectations in life and may bring us sorrow. And yet, sheltered in many stories is the miracle of recovery and the tender mercies of the journey.
When a young man whom I deeply respect broke his neck, I was devastated. He was my right-hand person on the ranch and a source of joy. His frustration with my constant change in planning was always vocalized and we shared this comradery and laughed a lot.
After that fateful day as I was sitting with him in ICU, I longed for him to wake up. When he opened his eyes, I then selfishly longed to see his brilliant smile. And then I craved to hear his voice. All the things his loving family also wished and waited for. Each small improvement was a milestone to be fully celebrated.
Weeks in the waiting, I recall sitting with him through the night. And though I no longer remember the hour, I do remember the miracle.
I was reading to him as he slept and between the pages and the beeps and bells of extended care, I paused to again tickle his legs in the hope that he had feeling. As I did this hourly ritual, I observed that this time he moved his toe! There was feeling in his leg!
Weeks later when I visited him in rehab, I was told to stand by the door and wait, for there was a surprise waiting. And who should come carefully walking toward me — with a giant and beautiful smile — but the young man who once lay silent and unmoving.
His journey to full recovery was now in play. Surrounded by the love of his family, he eventually went home and again was calving cows.
There are no words to describe the joy of that day or the gratefulness of that moment. I can still ‘feel’ it, but I cannot describe it.
There is always hope. Hope for recovery and for new discovery. It takes time, patience and a ton of resolve from all parties. Healing can take months, even years.
As I have travelled and visited many farms in Canada and abroad where there has been a farming accident, I am privileged to be a witness to the stories of those miracles and see the reward of determination.
And we must all believe in those miracles because, on average, four farmers are seriously injured every day in Canada. And every day, many of these men and women beat the odds and come home and, with quiet faith and resolve, continue to live rich and fulfilling lives.
When our family or our friend is hurting, we band together with hope, for we are sharing the journey of that person in our homes and in our community. They may feel overwhelmed at times with the care, but we continue to love them anyway, fiercely holding onto the small miracles and tender mercies that abound in life.
