Probably everyone in the community knows Lorna Coate, a petite grey-haired and incredibly friendly woman working at the pay window in McDonald's drive through in Estevan. Recently bad news came to her and her husband Larry Shaw's household, changing their life completely.
Shaw, who retired after dedicating many years to the oilfield industry, started experiencing problems with his right leg last summer. The situation was progressively getting worse. Three out of four arteries in his leg were damaged, and on Jan. 28 the doctors said he had a very tough decision to make.
"It was a scary thing to hear something like that … He had two options and he needed to make the decision," said Shaw and Coate's daughter Lisa Fitzpatrick. "On January 28 he was told that he needed to make a choice between having a stent put in the fourth (only remaining) artery, but it was not recommended by the doctor. They said if you do that and it doesn't work, you could lose more of your leg. (The other option was) to amputate below the knee."
Shaw had about a week to think it through. Following doctors' recommendations and not willing to risk it, he agreed to take more radical measures. And right after the decision was made, on Feb. 5, the Regina doctors called the family in. They amputated Shaw's right leg six inches below the knee on Feb. 8.
"It was really fast, and it doesn't leave a lot of time to plan," Fitzpatrick said.
The surgery went well, and now the time is needed for the recovery. Fitzpatrick added that her parents seem to be doing okay emotionally as well.
"We are taking things day by day and trying to do the best that we can."
The speedy progress of the situation left the family with hardly any time to plan or get ready for the new conditions and many unexpected expenses that such serious surgeries bring in.
Family members and friends started a trust fund in Shaw's name at Affinity Credit Union, asking the community members who could afford it to help the family get through the financial pressure in this already difficult situation.
They hoped for some support, but what they received exceeded all expectations.
"We've had some incredible community involvement with this. We've just had an offer (on Feb. 11) from Guidelines Construction Ltd. about doing some free renovations at their home. That's incredible," said Fitzpatrick, adding that they still had to work the details through, but they were very grateful for the offer.
"It's an incredible offer, we were absolutely blown away. Everybody was in tears."
The only bathroom in Coate and Shaw’s house is located in the basement, which Shaw won’t be able to access. Guidelines Constrction Ltd. offered to donate all labour and materials to rebuild one of the main floor bedrooms into a bathroom.
“Marty (Satkauskas) is going to donate all the labour and materials to do that for them! Absolutely incredible,” shared Fitzpatrick.
The family is still left with a lot of expenses including travel, hotels, meals, aftercare and whatever other home renovations will still be needed. Once Shaw heals and can do so, he will get a prosthetic leg, but there is no time frame on that yet.
Anyone who wants to support the family and donate can stop by the Affinity Credit Union and/or make an e-transfer to [email protected]. Fitzpatrick said that the fundraiser has been going great, but she didn't have the numbers as of the time of the interview as it was her aunt who was taking care of that.
Not only have many community members stepped forward to help financially, but the family also experienced a lot of personal support.
"We had messages, all the shares on social media, all the prayers that were sent our way. It's been absolutely incredible that way," Fitzpatrick said.
Last Wednesday night Shaw was transferred to St. Joseph's Hospital in Estevan and doctors were pretty happy with his condition.
"He is doing really good," said Fitzpatrick. "Now he is able to have two visitors. It has to be the same two visitors the whole time he is in there, and only one is allowed at a time. So it will be my mom and I.
"It's going to be easier now that he is in Estevan hospital because she can be at home and go up during the day, and I can go in the evenings and visit and whatnot.”
It's still hard to say how long Shaw will have to stay in the hospital, as it depends on how the recovery will go. This time will allow the family to get the house ready for him.
On behalf of the family, Fitzpatrick thanked the Estevan community for all they've done.
"A huge thank you to the community for stepping up and helping out, and thank you for all the sharing, and prayers, and donations. And a huge thank you to Guideline Construction for offering to help out with the renovations."
