Sept. 18, 2006: Lying in a pool of blood, peered up at a star-filled sky and thought, 鈥淧lease God, make it stop.鈥�
He was 21 鈥� the statistical peak age when many people think they鈥檙e invincible 鈥� and had just suffered a life-altering injury while cleaning underneath a wood chipper at a Maple Ridge sawmill.
Johnson was one of the mill鈥檚 most reliable workers, but through his eagerness to please and do the job quickly, he didn鈥檛 bother locking the machine out.
That oversight cost him the use of his left arm.
A moving roller caught the tip of his glove and pulled his arm into a conveyor belt, snapping his forearm in half. At the same time the moving conveyor belt chewed into his back. Johnson said it felt like a car doing a 鈥渂urnout,鈥� spinning its tires into his exposed flesh.
鈥淎fter being in the machine for about 20 minutes, it started to get really cold and I was getting really tired,鈥� Johnson told a group of Grade 10 and 11 students in the Career Education class at 91原创 Secondary School on March 13.
鈥淭he reason being, I was losing blood.鈥�
Miraculously, the conveyor belt stopped, though no one had touched it.
Ten agonizing minutes passed. Once they realized what was happening, Johnson鈥檚 co-workers immediately sawed off the belt and unbolted the roller that had entangled his arm.
Johnson was fortunate to survive the incident. His doctors considered amputating his arm but he fought to keep it. Today he has enough shoulder function to tuck it behind his back.
The Maple Ridge resident, now 32, visits schools and workplaces to share his story as part of .
Johnson stressed to his young audience that no job, no amount of money is worth their safety or, especially, their life. He told the students that they have every right to say no if they feel a job is unsafe.
Johnson doesn鈥檛 want any of the next generation of young workers to become a statistic.
Over a five-year period from 2012 to 鈥�16, close to 33,000 young B.C. workers were injured and had time loss claims, and among those close to 3,600 young workers were seriously injured.
WorkSafeBC says it 鈥渃ontinues to focus prevention efforts on young workers, concentrating on industries that pose the highest risk to youth, working with employer associations, organized labour, government, parents, community groups and employment centres to increase awareness of young worker health and safety issues.鈥�
Finding a purpose
Johnson鈥檚 co-workers couldn鈥檛 hear Johnson鈥檚 cries for help over the noise of the machines at the mill.
鈥淎fter about 20 minutes, I almost passed out from blood loss,鈥� Mark says. 鈥淚 knew I鈥檇 die if somebody didn鈥檛 help me, so I threw up a prayer to God.鈥�
Johnson said he had an 鈥渙verwhelming feeling鈥� that he was going to die.
鈥淚t was like someone came up and whispered in my ear, 鈥楳ark, you鈥檙e not going to make it,鈥欌�� Johnson told the LSS students.
鈥淚 was trying to convince myself that it鈥檚 OK to die and give up because no one鈥檚 going to miss me anyway.鈥�
The first year after the accident, with the nerves in his left arm 鈥渕assively damaged,鈥� Johnson fell into a deep depression. It spiralled to a point where he contemplated taking his own life.
Words Johnson鈥檚 dad spoke to him one night gave him a new perspective.
鈥淗e said he would have killed himself if I had died from my injuries,鈥� Johnson shared. 鈥淭hat had a major impact on me. Everybody I talk to says, 鈥榊ou know what? There鈥檚 a lot of people relying on you for their happiness.鈥� So you need to do the best you can to stay safe and stay alive.
鈥淥n top of talking about workplace safety and my story, I tell the kids about life and about school. To make sure you have a plan after high school. Make sure you know what you want (career-wise).鈥�
It took years for Johnson to get back to doing many of the things he loves.
鈥淚鈥檓 back to snowboarding and slo-pitch,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 coach the team and can bat one-handed, hit the ball pretty far, catch with my right arm, and run really fast.鈥�
Johnson鈥檚 message is simple: 鈥淲hether you鈥檙e young or old, the same thing applies to all workers 鈥� what counts most on the job is staying safe and getting home in one piece.鈥�
troy.landreville@blackpress.ca
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