Ontario Grain Farmer October 2021

ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER 11 OCTOBER 2021 The Bodkin family shares this story, particularly at busy harvest time, in the hopes that other farmers will read it and keep farm safety in mind. “It’s my hope that my story will make people think twice this fall when they are doing both big and little tasks around the farm,” he says. “I never stand up on the tractor, but I must have got sloppy and made a mistake. I’m lucky the outcome wasn’t worse.” l Adam left the field and found his father in a motionless heap by the driveshed. SEED YOU CAN COUNT ON. Range of hybrid choices to meet your growing conditions Robust breeding and testing process to assure quality Trusted brand to deliver value and performance P & Design is a registered trademark of AgReliant Genetics LLC. PRIDE is a registered trademark of AgReliant PRIDESEEDS.COM 1.800.265.5280 Hospital in Chatham. Two hours later, he was airlifted to Windsor Regional Hospital and placed in intensive care. Medical staff were amazed he survived. That was Thursday, May 27, the start of seven weeks of hospitalization for Bodkin. Two of those weeks were spent breathing with the help of a ventilator. He was heavily sedated to cope with the pain and to let healing begin. None of his convalescence in either hospital could be spent with family other than Judy, and only then for brief periods, because of COVID-19 isolation rules. Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. Despite the trauma, Bodkin has returned to leading a fairly normal life on the farm. On the downside, he can’t lift more than five pounds, and some of his movements are laboured. But he’s nimble enough to once again drive a tractor, even though it sometimes makes Judy cringe.