As community support grows for an Innisfail resident who lost his leg in a well site accident an hour northwest of Edson the family is now facing long-term rehabilitation while a government probe continues.
At about 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 18 a hose disconnected and struck three workers as a snubber was bleeding off the lines at a well site where Peyto Exploration & Development Corp was the prime contractor, according to an initial Occupational Health and Safety report.
At 10:42 a.m. STARS Emergency Link Centre was called from the worksite and helped facilitate a transfer of injured employees to hospital.
“I just want to give out my thanks to everybody for all the support,” said Ken Wright, 32, a Roll'n Oilfield Industries Ltd worker from Innisfail. “It's been incredibly painful. It's been very emotional.”
The OH&S report says three workers on the lease needed to be shipped to hospital, including a 52-year-old Peyto employee who was transported by ground to Edson along with a Roll'n employee in his 30s, who was later airlifted to Edmonton.
Wright was flown directly to Edmonton, receiving six units of blood and undergoing an eight-hour surgery, the first of nine operations. Ultimately doctors had to amputate his right leg below the knee.
“We had hoped he was going to keep his leg,” said his wife Tammy Wright, who owns her own oilfield company and was originally supposed to be at the site that day. “Now they're talking long-term rehabilitation.
“I never imagined our way of life would be drastically changed because of an accident.”
Growing up on a farm Ken Wright loved using tractors and other farm equipment, so taking a job in the oil and gas sector was a perfect fit.
“Working on oilfield equipment is by far what I find to be one of the coolest jobs I could have,” he said. “The better I got the more I liked it.”
He racked up 15,000 hours at Roll'n without a safety incident on his watch.
“I ran that rig for over two and a half years doing the same kind of work,” he said of the injury site. “I never once had an incident. I never once had a person hurt.”
He calls the incident a “bad accident” noting they had done the same job the day before, but stresses the importance of having tough safety principles.
“Sometimes the fastest way to do stuff isn't the best way,” he says, pushing his wheelchair around the hospital for a change of scenery.
Roll'n declined to comment for the story. According to OH&S an investigation that could take up to two years is ongoing. The family notes both Peyto and Roll'n have been extremely compassionate in the wake of the tragic accident. Doctors expect Ken Wright's rehabilitation may take until spring.
Adding insult to injury, sometime after 10 p.m. on Nov. 26 the family's 2004 Chevy 2500 HD Crew Cab was stolen from where it was parked outside CFK Collision in Innisfail.
Across town, even as friends keep their eyes peeled for the truck which had a sticker of a pig on the back window, efforts are growing to support the Wright family.
Jolene Bjarnason and Grant Blake provided catering services, while the use of the Aberdeen Community Centre was given free of charge for a “Let's Do What's Wright” Nov. 10 fundraiser organized by Cindy Scott.
Kristen Spatz, who helped bartend at the event, says she was happy to help out.
“That family has to be so strong right now,” she said. “He's got four little boys and lost a leg. I could never imagine being in that position.”
Spatz is organizing a Christmas party on Dec. 14 featuring a performance by Electric Revival. The event with no cover charge will include a silent auction and proceeds will be split between the Innisfail and District Christmas Bureau and the Wright family.
The Do What's Wright Facebook group has racked up more than 560 members, and provides constant updates on Ken Wright's recovery.
Donations can be made at any ATB branch in Alberta under Ken Wright Trust Account transit number 832 account number 00106952700. Call Sandie Bryant of Innisfail ATB at 403-227-7918.
