Canadian Sonar skipper, Ken Kelley made two quick tacks as he and his crew approached the windward mark during a race in the Paralympic Test Event in Qingdao this May and broke his leg.

 

“It was in a pretty windy northwester. I had to make two quick tacks just short of the starboard tack layline and I ended up in the bottom of the boat,” said Kelley who is paralyzed from the waist down. “I couldn’t feel my leg, but I knew just from the sound of it and the look of it that it was bad.”

 

Kelley and his crew, Don Terlson and Marc Shaw returned to the dock at the Olympic Sailing Center in Qingdao to a waiting ambulance. The paramedics confirmed that his leg was broken and they whisked him off to the new hospital nearby.

 

Praising the treatment that he received, Kelley said, “They may not have as much new medical equipment as we are used to seeing in North America, but the number of caregivers and their attentiveness was impressive.”

 

Kelley spent nearly a week recovering in the hospital in Qingdao, before his leg was stabilized enough for him to be transported. When it was time to go to the airport, “They picked me up, wheelchair and all, and put me in a special transport vehicle.”

 

Kelley had an extraordinary surprise send-off from the Qingdao airport. “As we made our way to the airplane, they asked us if we were the Canadian Sonar team. We said ‘yes’ and they brought us over to an area on the tarmac where they had a special show for us – music and cheerleaders. It was heartwarming.”

 

“From the medics to the doctors, nurses, attendants and send-off party at the airport, they treated me like royalty,” said Kelley who was able to keep his leg elevated during the long flight home to Vancouver by sprawling out in three adjacent seats.

 

After Kelley returned to Canada, he had a pin put in his leg and focused on recovering in time to return to Qingdao. No sooner had he arrived in Qingdao for the 2008 Paralympic Regatta than he returned to the Qingdao hospital to say ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ to all of his helpful attendants.

 

As Kelley strapped a cast onto his leg before he maneuvered onto his boat he said, “You know, this cast was made for me here in Qingdao. Rather than have another one made, I had it shipped to me in Canada. It’s designer did a great job.”

 

 

This story was delayed in publishing because the editors wanted to know which leg Kelley broke. 

 

When there were people out there without legs, does it really matter which leg he broke?