
Support Kevin After Tragically Losing His Leg
Donation protected
We are reaching out to ask for help on behalf of Kevin LaFond, a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, rancher and friend, who tragically lost his left leg and suffered other excruciating injuries in a horrible accident on October 31st. On this tragic and life altering evening, a complete stranger stopped by Kevin's place of residence and asked for help. Being the type of person Kevin is, he agreed to help him out. Kevin was leary and asked that they wait until daylight but the driver was persistent. He was asked to bring his tractor to assist in loading a forklift that the driver had been hired to move. Kevin was helping to load the forklift when he had to get off of his tractor to slide the ramps to incorporate the wider tires of the tractor. The driver was instructed by Kevin to stay on the forklift and hold his foot on the brake as a safety precaution and to let Kevin know if it started to move at all. Unfortunately, he didn't listen. As Kevin was repositioning the ramps, the truck driver jumped off the forklift and it started to slide. Kevin was crushed in between the forklift and the tractor and his leg was severed upon impact when the forklift hit him. The driver had his foot pinned beneath the forklift as well. Both were trapped. Thankfully nearby neighbours heard yelling and went to investigate, otherwise, with the severity of his injuries, Kevin may not be here today. With quick thinking and assessment of the scene, the neighbours moved the forklift to free the men from in between and underneath the machinery and tied a tourniquet around Kevin's leg. Emergency personnel were very quick to arrive on scene and did an amazing job, as did the doctors at Boundary Hospital. We want to send out a huge shout out to the neighbours for their quick thinking during this tragedy, as well as all the doctors and paramedics that were on scene and got him stable enough to make the trip to KGH. You are all true heroes.
It is going to be a very long road to recovery and due to the nature of his injuries, it is going to be a very long time before he is able to resume life as before. He is still currently in the Kelowna General Hospital where his wife, Sheila, has been visiting him daily and assisting with daily rehab. He still has a few weeks at least before he will be able to come home. He had his left leg amputated, his left femur was also broken so they put a rod through that and his right pelvis was very crushed with 6 broken bones that had to be surgically fixed. He was a full-time farmer and a full-time employee at Rockwool and now he is left with very little income and very large bills. Unfortunately, due to his age (he just turned 66 in the hospital on Nov 7th), he is unable to benefit from long term disability through Rockwool as their cut off for that is 65. They have also spoken with WCB, as he was asked by a trucking company employee for help when he was injured, and he was told they will not be doing anything about this matter. He is currently only eligible for medical E.I., which is only a small portion to hold his life together and pay his regular bills. He will need a prosthetic leg once he is healed enough, as well as many visits back and forth to Kelowna once he is discharged. Before he is able to come home, their house must also be made wheelchair accessible, which is also another large expense. We greatly appreciate all the help and support that we have received this far and want to thank everyone for their help during this heartbreaking and traumatic time.
Organizer
Lisa LaFond
Organizer
Grand Forks, BC