A young man incurred a serious injury when saving others in a recent fire.
A fire recently broke out at the infamous 10A 2nd Avenue property in Westdene which put the lives of those living there, including children, at risk.
READ: Westdene commune fire injures one, leaves many homeless
Kyle Ackerman (17) put his life on the line when he went into the raging flames to save five children living on the property. This heroic act resulted in the young man incurring a serious cut to his finger.
Kyle said, “After breaking through a window, a large piece of glass cut my finger through the bone and literally, my finger was hanging together just by a piece of skin.”
He added that he only discovered the injury when he got home and his family immediately rushed him to a nearby hospital.
His family shared their thoughts and experiences with Kyle’s injury. His mother, Dorothy, shared how they had to remain calm and patient while waiting to be attended to at the hospital.
“The towel we used to stop his bleeding was soaked in blood by the time we got to the hospital. My son was so close to fainting due to the loss of blood. We had to wait over five hours to finally be serviced.”
The seriousness of the injury and the apparent lack of urgency from the hospital staff aggravated Kyle’s sister Charlene.
She said, “We had to fight for attention while my brother was heavily bleeding. While my mother was wiping blood off the floor, security guards that were on duty where laughing.”
Eventually, Kyle received medical attention and was admitted as a patient. He was told by the doctor who examined him that the main artery in his left pinky finger was damaged.
It was stitched up and he was sent for X-rays. The bleeding continued and he was only operated on two days later.
Regardless of the life-threatening actions, shocking service from the hospital and fear of losing his life, Kyle does not regret what he did to save the lives of the children at 10A.
“I have no regrets as I saved the lives of small children, I’m just upset that none of the parents of the children I saved have come to check on me or my injury.”
He believes that the living conditions at 10A are not fit for children but admits that the people living there have limited options.
He hopes in the future the problems that are associated with 10A come to an end for the betterment of the Westdene community.
