Merle
Merle has lunch at the Lethbridge Legion.
Merle and Derek outside Lethbridge Legion, General Stewart Branch #4.
Content warning: graphic injury
Merle is from Pincher Creek, is a talented bowler, and has always called southern Alberta home. On March 1st of 1990, he suffered a severe head injury while skiing in Kananaskis Country. He was air-lifted by STARS Ambulance and credits the operators for picking up a doctor from Foothills Hospital in Calgary on the way to help him as quickly as possible—a decision that very likely saved his life.
Merle was told then that if the branch that impaled his head were a quarter of an inch off, he would be dead. He considers himself profoundly lucky to have survived and recovered, while other people with similar injuries often go blind or worse. His theory is that the branch acted as a shock absorber that slowed him down, preventing him from hitting the trunk of the tree straight-on.
Merle spent 8 months in the hospital and couldn’t walk, talk, or feed himself at first. His friends, who ensured he received a visitor every day, lifted his spirits during this time. He tried speech therapy and, despite some initial frustration, found a unique way to practice. Lying in bed at night, he would attempt to recite the words “I’m talking to the ceiling to practice speaking slowly.” At first, the words came out incomprehensible. A friend marked the day he started talking to the ceiling, and seven weeks later, he woke up one morning and could speak clearly! He remembers hollering to the nurse, who was as stunned as he was that he could talk.
With the help of another friend who helped him operate utensils while eating, he also regained his motor skills. When his friend witnessed him feeding himself for the first time, Merle remembers shouting, “I can feed myself! It may not mean anything to you, but it means a lot to me!” Looking back on that time, Merle says, “When you have those things and then lose them, once you get them back again, it’s pretty damned exciting.”
Merle stayed with his parents for a while after getting out of the hospital, but he and his family were unsure how to improve his situation without outside help. So, his brother referred him to LFS DaCapo Disability Services in 1993. He’s been with DaCapo for 30 years and has seen entire careers run their course, from entry-level positions to management and retirement. He’s seen people grow and start families. If you’re lucky as an LFS worker and get to know him, he’ll share with you some of the journals he’s kept most of his life.
He likes coming to the Legion with his support worker Derek because of the regulars, good service, and good food. It was a treat to witness Merle’s camaraderie with the staff and regulars at the Legion and see the community of social support he’s built in Lethbridge over the years. He insists that the Legion has the best grilled cheese in Lethbridge!
Derek, Merle's Community Disability Services Worker, says, "Merle was the first client I began working with at LFS, and he's shared a great wealth of knowledge with me as we've worked together. I like hearing his stories because he has so many unique experiences and has met some interesting people in his life. He has such a great sense of humour, and a strong spirit."
When you spend time with Merle, he’s always upbeat and ready with a joke or a story for a familiar face. Looking back on his head injury, Merle recounts, “Everyone says, ‘Jeez you’re lucky, you should go buy a lottery ticket’, and I say, ‘It’s a different kind of luck.’”
