On Thursday, September 29, 2011 life changed in a moment when Dermot went to help a neighbor finish his workshop/shed. Together they put together a make-shift scaffold and both climbed up about four feet to put some finishing touches on the roof.
My phone rang about 4:30 PM. “There has been an incident. You had better come!”, came the words from our neighbour.
My grandson, visiting, drove me down the road immediately. Dermot was lying on the ground. His foot was turned in the opposite direction of his leg and it was covered with blood.
Our neighbour had called 911 and they dispatched the local volunteer EMS. They questioned his health and medications and tried to stabilize him. The official EMS arrived about 20 minutes later.
Dermot was transferred to the Foothills Hospital where doctors spent hours discussing whether or not to amputate his foot. It was that badly damaged. We prepared the family for that possibility. A few days later when he came out of surgery, I did not know what the decision had been. The nurse told me he still had his foot – they decided not to amputate.