Anthony Lue

Pedaling to the 2020 Paralympic Games

October 17, 2018

17 October, 2018

|

Mississauga

| By: Par:

Ornge Media

I thank God all the time for everyone involved in my rescue efforts, but a lot for Ornge because at that point in time it was a life or death situation

On September 30th, 2009, Anthony Lue’s life took a sudden change.  While on the job at a specialty auto repair shop in Pickering, Anthony, 21, was crushed by a scrap yard crane magnet.
 



He was performing a routine job – he and his coworkers were bringing scrap cars to the local scrap yard, where they would be weighed, flattened, and recycled. 

With Anthony steering, the car was pushed onto a scale used to weigh vehicles for scrap metal; but as Anthony steered the car off the scale, he knew something was about to go drastically wrong.

Unaware that Anthony was still in the car, an overhead crane operator had already begun to crush it.

An industrial magnet attached to the crane’s boom swung into the car, completely demolishing the passenger side.  The crane then lifted the car fifteen feet into the air before the operator realized that something was wrong.  When someone yelled to him that Anthony was still in the vehicle, the operator dropped the car from the fifteen-foot height, and Anthony briefly lost consciousness.

When he woke up still in the car, Anthony was relieved to hear sirens.  Within minutes, he was surrounded by firefighters, police officers, and paramedics – when the EMS team realized how serious Anthony’s injuries were, they called Ornge for an emergency airlift.

“I could hear the blades of the chopper overhead looking for a place to land,” Anthony recalled.  “I remember the climb up and as the ride started it became harder to breathe due to some rib injuries, [but] the medic was right there with the oxygen.” 

Anthony was airlifted to Sunnybrook, where he underwent surgery to stabilize his back. Paralyzed from the waist down, Anthony is grateful to be here today.

“The care I received from the air medics definitely helped and kept me cool in a not-so-cool situation,” said Anthony. “I thank God all the time for everyone involved in my rescue efforts, but a lot for Ornge because at that point in time it was a life or death situation… Ornge saved the day getting me where I needed to be fastest and safest!”
 
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