Winter is no match.
In Canada, we are used to a little winter weather. But nothing could have prepared the residents of Black Creek, a seniors’ community of 500 residents near Niagara Falls, for what happened over Christmas. The community was walloped by a winter storm that impacted the entire region, but brought Black Creek and its residents to their knees and knocked out power for days. “I honestly think if you weren’t there, you would not believe how bad it was,” Martine Esraelian, the daughter of a Black Creek resident told us.
For the five ProResp clients in the community, the storm was life or death: without power, their oxygen concentrators were not working. They had to rely on backup O2 tanks that only last for about 6 hours. They needed extra tanks of oxygen urgently.
Christmas Eve was already a crazy day for Brett, one of ProResp Niagara’s Service Delivery Representatives. Deliveries that would have normally taken one hour took three, with cars in ditches and abandoned all over the roads. But when Brett got the call about the power outage in Black Creek, he knew he had to find a way to get there. Clients were depending on him. Brett filled up his van with gas and headed for the community, eventually arriving around 2PM.
Brett made it into Black Creek but in trying to navigate around stuck cars on the road, he became stuck himself. With drifts as high as ten feet, there was no way forward and no way back. He resigned himself to spending his Christmas in the van, but first he had oxygen to deliver. Brett tried to overcome the drifts but just could not make any progress on foot. He retreated to the van and tried to call for help—with no luck.
A few hours later, as the storm began to let up, people emerged from their homes and came upon Brett. Once they realized he was trying to deliver life-saving oxygen to members of their community, they swung into action. Family members of neighbours who were suited up to battle the elements completed the final leg of Brett’s journey for him, delivering the oxygen on foot to five clients in the community.
Eventually, Brett was able to shovel his way back out of the community, arriving home at 11:30 on Christmas Eve. Brett was able to spend Christmas morning with his family, which made for a very happy Shawn, Brett’s son, whose birthday is Christmas Day! But the power was still not back on at Black Creek. Those O2 tanks Brett had just delivered would be running low. At 10:30 AM Brett got back in his van and headed for Black Creek once more. By the time he delivered oxygen to the last client on his list, the power was restored.
We heard about this story from members of the Black Creek community and their families who were blown away by Brett’s dedication to his clients. “Honestly, it brings tears to my eyes,” Martine told us. “We came awfully close to running out,” said Terry Minaker, a ProResp client, “But Brett saved the day.”
Thank you, Brett, for exemplifying what ProResp is all about.