'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
Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne lays wreath at B.C. veteran's cemetery; receives 21-gun salute
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan wins the 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in a three-horse photo finish
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.