'I thought, 'I'm done': Sask. father of two recovers from workplace accident
A freak accident on a job site has a North Battleford family trying to pick up the pieces.
Manjinder Singh is a husband and father of two and on Aug. 23, his world changed.
“I heard screaming, yelling and I was screaming and crying,” Singh recalls of the rainy day where his crew was building a horse arena near Cochin Lake.
He was pinned in the mud and didn’t know if he was going to make it.
Between 10 to 30 trusses, each weighing 600 pounds, had fallen on him, he told CTV News.
Crews worked for an hour and a half to try and free him.
The pain was unbearable, Singh recounts, as he was going in and out of consciousness.
“I thought, ‘I’m done, I’m dead.’ First, I thought I should just stop breathing. Then I think about my family and say, no I have to be strong and stay awake.”
His wife Amanda was at home with their two kids, three and 11, when she got the call from his boss.
“He’s been hurt, and you need to get there right away,” she remembers.
She raced to the hospital to see her husband.
“They told me what had happened and that he had a broken back. The vertebra burst into little pieces and a piece hit his spinal cord,” she says.
They don’t know if he’ll ever walk again.
The family just bought a home. The plan was for Singh to do the renovation work. Now he works to rehabilitate his body.
Recently, they had a glimmer of hope – he can wiggle a toe.
With the family’s only income now eliminated and travel costs for daily trips to Saskatoon mounting, family members have set up a Go Fund Me page to help.
With no word on how long Singh will be in hospital, the family waits.
Their 11-year-old is old enough to realize the severity of the situation but the younger one is still trying to process it.
“My son keeps saying, daddy’s ok, daddy’s ok, right?”
Do you have a story idea or news tip? Email us.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
BREAKING Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.