“I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones. I survived.” Those are the words of Bernie Inman, a 20-year quadriplegic.
Born and raised here in Bonnyville, like many in the area, Inman got into the oil and gas industry in 1984. After getting transferred north for work, Inman found his whole world getting turned upside down.
“I was injured in an industrial accident in 1994, which left me exposed to a large content of methanol. The exposure left me with burns over 90 per cent of my body and a major nerve disorder.”
After overcoming the life-changing incident, Inman and his wife Sheila now travel worldwide to speak about workplace safety and bring awareness to the issue. Most recently, Inman was at the International Day of Persons with Disabilities Celebration at the Beaver River Fish and Game building in Bonnyville.
The United Nations proclaimed day has been celebrated every year on Dec. 3 since 1992.
“The purpose of it is to bring awareness about the plight of persons with disabilities throughout the world. While we have a lot of programs and things we can do for persons with disabilities, a lot of places don't,” said Jane Watson, member of the Regional Abilities Awareness Committee and Program Coordinator for Employ Abilities.
“The idea is that they should be involved in an inclusive and diverse community.”
Just 27 years old when the accident happened, Inman knows all too well the challenges of being confined to a wheelchair, but that doesn't stop life from happening. While still in the burn unit, not having been out of the bed for months, he woke one day to learn that his wife was in labour with their first child.
Inman said the doctors got him into a chair and into a car as he made his way over to the hospital in what he describes as one of the most nerve-racking car rides he's been on. Eventually, Inman was transferred back to Edmonton from the hospital in Victoria, BC.
After spending some time in the city, the family moved back to rural northern Alberta where they bought a home in Beaver River Valley. With a strong determination to not give up the things he loved, Inman decided he wanted to buy a tractor.
“My parents just looked at me like I was crazy, they were like you know you're in a wheelchair right. My wife, being the wonderful, supportive wife she is, just said if you can get on it, you can buy it…I was on that thing in eight seconds.”
Inman also conquered another barrier when he acquired his driver's license. Not being a typical quadriplegic, with no spinal cord injury, he was sent to Toronto, ON where he took training to learn how to drive again.
What once was a time in their lives that Inman and his wife wanted to forget, quickly became one that they would relive over and over again as they speak to groups worldwide.
“There are two avenues here. One is by speaking about my incident I might prevent another individual, therefore another family, from having to deal with the consequences of something like this happening,” said Inman.
“The second is to create an increased awareness for people with disability because it's common. It's perfectly okay to educate oneself about it and I'm fully prepared to keep doing it.”
Awareness was a key issue for many of those attending the event. Having a daughter who is disabled, Doris Ulanicki has seen the struggle first-hand.
“That's the biggest thing is awareness, she struggled for years and years with that…it's great having this in our community, it's just another way of getting the awareness out there.”
Those attending the event also had a chance to visit tables set up by various agencies in the area that offer services to those with disabilities.
Ulanicki said even though her daughter has lived in Edmonton for a number of years now, she's quite impressed with what the community of Bonnyville is doing for the disabled.
The MS Society was just one of the many agencies that had a table set up. Client Services and Development Coordinator at the MS Society Jenna MacDonald said it's a great opportunity for people with disabilities to see what services are available to them.
“It brings a collectiveness of agencies who are working towards a cause…like the Dove Centre who assists people with developmental disabilities or the MS Society where we assist people who have MS who need equipment, advocacy, funding or programs.”
Watson, who was also the MC for the event, said awareness is needed on both sides.
“It's also for people without disabilities, to be made aware that people with disabilities have abilities and capabilities and skills. They can be included in the workforce and in all aspects of life.”
Around 13.7 per cent of working Canadians between the ages of 15 and 64 live with a disability. Recent numbers indicate roughly 350,000 Albertans live their day-to-day lives with a disability.
However, Inman said getting disabled persons into the workforce in an enabling work environment is still a huge issue.
“People with disabilities still get passed up for work. If someone with a disability proves that they are able to do the job, they should have the same chance as someone without a disability.”
Inman and his wife Sheila, sometimes accompanied by their three children, have had the opportunity to travel across North America, to Europe and many other places around the globe to speak. But Inman said the pinnacle of his career was in 2009 when he and his family were invited to Japan by the U.S. Marine Corps to speak on safety.
“The marines were so understanding and so grateful…we did presentations to around 20,000 marines.”
Inman said every speaking engagement he does makes him more hopeful for the future.
“I think we've come a long ways, but I'm more excited thinking about where we can go in the future based on days like today and educational sessions such as what we're going to accomplish today.”
Needless to say, Inman received a standing ovation from the packed crowd at the International Day of Persons with Disabilities Celebration.