Justin Isaac has always wanted to let the world know he’s Canadian.
But for two days in December, as he recovered from injuries in a Beijing hospital, Isaac was scared his nationality would place him in danger.
“I’ve travelled before and the first thing you want people to know is you’re Canadian. Everyone is nice to you,” the young hockey coach said Tuesday, sitting on the sun-filled outdoor patio of a café at Ogden Point with his mother Chrysstena and friend Oliver Ross.
That changed when Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 1 at the request of U.S. authorities.
The arrest of the chief financial officer at Chinese tech giant Huawei has heightened diplomatic tensions between China and Canada.
Isaac, 28, a former player and assistant coach with the Peninsula Panthers, had moved to Beijing in February to coach young hockey players at the Kaiwen Sports Academy.
Six days after the arrest of Wanzhou, Isaac was struck by a car in a crosswalk on a busy Beijing road. He was bruised and scratched all over his body. A bone in his leg was sticking out through the skin and he was bleeding badly.
“I remember waking up in the road and my friend was with me. People just kept driving by. No one really tried to help us,” Isaac said. “We were there for a while. It was cold. It got to -10 C that night.”
Eventually, an Australian and another tourist picked him up and moved him to the sidewalk. But it was 90 minutes before an ambulance arrived, he said.
“Getting help from the ambulance was difficult at first. They were asking for my passport and money. We were able to get hold of our employer who spoke to the ambulance driver through my friend’s phone. After that they helped me.”
When he woke up in hospital after his first surgery, police were in his room saying he had to accept 50 per cent of the blame for the accident.
Back in Victoria, friends set up a fundraising page to cover the cost of Isaac’s travel back to Canada. Several Greater Victoria media outlets reported about his ordeal, describing how Isaac lay injured in the middle of a Beijing street in freezing temperatures for more than 90 minutes. Chinese police went to Isaac’s employer and demanded that he get the stories changed because they made China look bad.
Isaac said he did what he could from his hospital bed, trying to get the stories changed so he would be able to leave China.
“Before the accident, I never felt like I was in danger. Things suddenly changed and I felt ‘When am I going to wake up from this nightmare?’ ” he said. “There was a two-day span where things were really stressful, trying to deal with the police.”
Isaac showed his employer an article in the Times Colonist which quoted him saying he had taken 50 per cent of the blame for the accident. He asked if he would be able to leave China.
“They wouldn’t really give me an answer. They said ‘We will talk tomorrow when we come to the hospital.’ I straight-up asked them if the police would try and stop us from leaving. It was stressful when we didn’t get an answer.”
Isaac’s employer had treated him like royalty, taking him out for dinner and paying for it and setting up tours. But after the accident, things changed.
“I had to sign something that said I would reimburse them for my first two breakfasts in hospital. It was quite shocking to me after they had treated me so nicely.”
Chrysstena Isaac, who had never left North America before, boarded a flight to China, intending to spend a month there while her son recovered.
“I was scared and panicking that he was there,” she said. “Honestly, it was awful. There were two days where it was probably the worst experience of my life, for sure. Just seeing him go through that. As a parent, all you want to do is swap places.”
Chrysstena was met at the airport by the mother of one of the young hockey players and brought straight to the hospital. “It was heartwarming to see the outpouring of love the families had for Justin. Every day people came to see him and the children would bring gifts,” she said.
“I had a grocery store in my room,” said Isaac. “So much food.”
But both were scared they wouldn’t be allowed to leave China.
Isaac’s employer eventually came to the hospital and told him he could go home. He and Chrysstena flew back on Dec. 17. Isaac had more surgery the next afternoon.
“He was in a terrible situation and he handled himself with dignity and respect and patience. I was really proud of him based on the trauma he had been through,” said Chrysstena.
At the end of the month, Isaac will have X-rays to see how the compound fractures in his left leg are healing. For now, he’s in a walking cast, using crutches to get around. On Tuesday afternoon, Isaac and Ross were heading to the gym to hop on a spin bike for the first time since the accident. “One of my goals is to run the TC 10K with Oliver. Whether I walk or run, it’s something I’m striving for.” The TC 10K is on April 28.
Chrysstena gestured to the two young men against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains and sunlight glimmering on the water. “It’s so nice to see them sitting here because this really was a surreal experience. It makes you realize how quickly life can change and how lucky we are to live in Canada and on Vancouver Island. When you get that call that your child has been hit by a car, it’s not easy. It was super hard, so seeing this makes me . . . .” Chrysstena’s voice broke. “That’s why I’m wearing my sunglasses.”
