He remembers them cutting off his pants.
One minute James Cormier was walking across a country road, the next he was lying on the ground, looking up at the paramedics.
“This guy just came too fast,” he said. “He was drinking and driving and he got me.”
The crash left Cormier with two broken legs, a shattered knee and lifelong disability.
“It’s all metal in my right knee now and my left leg had a compound fracture and that got infected,” he said. “I almost lost that leg and I had to get plastic surgery.
“It was a heckuva year. It was a bad year all around.”
Now, five years and a series of operations later, the 63-year-old former mill worker rarely walks at all anymore.
Mostly, he gets around by motorized wheelchair.
“I can walk a bit, you know?” he said. “But I used to like walking and I can’t do it no more.”
Originally from Cape Breton, Cormier once traipsed around Europe, washing dishes to get by in Amsterdam, cleaning streets in Scotland.
Now he lives in subsidized housing in Victoria and survives on social assistance that leaves him $535 after rent for food and clothing and other bills.
“I get by all right,” he said. “I get out just about every day. … I can’t go out very far, you know?
“I just like to go out downtown, go to McDonald’s and that. I get around.”
Every little bit helps, though. He hopes to spend Christmas dinner with a friend who lives alone. Cormier said the support he receives from the Times Colonist Christmas Fund will provide additional food to get him through and brighten the holidays.
“It’s great,” he said. “I can always use it.”
How to donate
The Times Colonist Christmas Fund and its predecessors have been helping less fortunate families since 1956. Every year, the generosity of our readers allows us to provide food vouchers and gifts for children.
To make a donation:
• Donate online HERE
• Call 250-995-4438, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
• Mail or drop off in person at the Times Colonist, 2621 Douglas St., Victoria, V8T 4M2
Note that the office will close Dec. 24 at 3 p.m. and reopen Dec. 27.
