Injured Dunrobin farmer's return to snowplowing a 'miracle'
Leo Muldoon was critically injured when a tornado tore through Dunrobin this fall, but he has no plans of letting that slow him down.
The 78-year-old farmer suffered cracked ribs, a collapsed lung and a blow to the head after being thrown from a ladder while fixing a roof on his farm Sept. 21.
Now, he's telling the customers of his snowplow business that he fully intends on meeting his commitments this winter.
"When asked what he was most looking forward to about getting home, dad's response was driving his tractor," his daughter Melanie wrote recently on the Dunrobin Disaster Relief social media page.
"With this in mind, along with the fact that his doctor says it is very reasonable to assume he will be up to snowplowing, it is his intention to continue his business without interruption."
Told to expect the worst
Muldoon's wife Adele called his recovery nothing short of a "miracle."
"I have to tell you, myself, I was surprised," she said.
She said that given his severe injuries, many customers weren't expecting to hear he'd keep up the plowing business.
Muldoon's doctor, she said, initially told her to expect the worst. But his prognosis has completely changed.
He's since moved from the hospital to the Bruyère Rehabilitation Centre, where his only complaint is about the sore leg he landed on.
Muldoon is already walking the hallways, impatiently waiting for a full recovery. He said he's motivated by the support from family, friends, and the many people who sent cards, hoping to see him back plowing their driveways this winter.
"I have to live up to that!" he said.
Besides, Muldoon said, he misses early winter mornings watching the sun come up from the cab of his plow, where he plans to head first when he gets home.
"[I'll] see if I can get into that tractor, take it for a spin up around and see what's left to be done," he said.
'This will make him cry'
Muldoon hasn't been home since the accident, however, and his wife isn't so sure he's going to like the view.
The farm lost all of its barns in the tornado.
"Leo doesn't show a lot of emotion, but if anything was gonna make him cry, this will make him cry," said Adele Muldoon, during a visit to the demolished buildings and the site where she found her husband that day.
"This is just devastating to a farmer."
'One day at a time'
Still, his recovery and avowed return to work have come to mean a lot to members of his community — many of whom, she said, are still struggling with their own devastated properties.
Her own takeaway from his resiliency? "Never give up. Take it one day at a time and don't give up."
It'll likely take several weeks before Muldoon returns to full strength, but several volunteers have offered to take care of his customers if he misses the first snowfall.
