A man with one leg will never know how he inspired me

This week’s Mediahuis Irish regional newspapers’ column

Michael Commane

Five or six minutes before the train departed a man in a wheelchair boarded with the assistance of an Irish Rail personnel. He manoeuvred the man into position in the place reserved for wheelchairs. It so happened there was another wheelchair-bound passenger on the other side of the aisle.

I’m always impressed how Irish Rail staff give such care and attention to people with disabilities.

I got chatting to the man and he told me that he had lost his leg in March as the result of an accident with a bull. He had gone into the shed to feed  the bull, something he had done every day but on this particular day his life was changed forever. 

He was lying there for some considerable time before he could manage to get his phone out of his pocket and call the emergency services. He said the gardaí were there within minutes, followed by the ambulance, which arrived within 20 minutes. He was all praise for how quickly they arrived and the care and professionalism he received.

It is a shocking and traumatic experience for him. He explained how difficult it was for him to get his phone out of his pocket and then use it. I was impressed how well he is dealing with his situation.

The day I met him was the third successive day he had made the return rail trip from Dublin to his home. 

He told me he had made the journey Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then when he arrived at Heuston he travelled by taxi to the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire. 

The round trip is close to eight hours. He has managed to get himself a Travel Pass but the taxi journey from Heuston to Dún Laoghaire is approximately €150, which he has to pay out of his own pocket. He explained he could have stayed as a patient in the Rehabilitation Hospital but decided not to as he wants to sleep in his own bed and wants to keep active. 

He spoke how he is learning to crawl to get from A to B at home. I admired his tenacity.

It is only seven months since he lost leg and it’s simply remarkable how he is dealing with his situation. 

He is at present being measured for a prosthesis and his focus is to get back walking as soon as possible. I told him of someone I know who lost a leg in an accident and is now walking about with a prosthesis and living a normal life.

One moment we are getting on with our lives with a sense of invincibility. That invincibility can change at the blink of an eye.

None of us ever knows what is ahead of us. We can do all the planning and preparation we like but we have no guarantee what’s going to happen tomorrow. 

I was in conversation with the rail passenger for less than an hour. The insight that was afforded me in that encounter was extraordinary. That man exemplifies everything about the resilience of the human spirit, and he is doing it in spades.