Light the Candle

So, here I go again, a post about an elimination show. The vast majority of my TV watching is elimination shows for the following reasons: I find them exciting; I don't have to follow a plot and I love personal stories. 

One of my favorite shows is, "Amazing Race Canada". Oh, how I love that show and since it started, I have hardly missed an episode. Canada is such a beautiful country, and the show gives me an opportunity to revisit places I have been to, and to see places I have never heard of. It is like a small holiday on Tuesday night. 

In July, when this year's show began, Ty Smith and his girlfriend Kat Kastner were contestants. In their introduction it was revealed that Ty was a survivor of the Humboldt Bronco accident. They showed a picture we are all familiar with of the the team with their golden hair. They also shared a news clip of Ty recovering in his hospital bed. My heart just sank, and I went right back to that fateful day. 

Ty and Kat were just an amazing couple and strong competitors. They ran the race with honesty and integrity. I was secretly hoping for them to win because of the Saskatchewan connection among other things. The couple made it clear from the start that they were competing for all those affected by the 2018 tragedy. When they would start a day they would say, "the candle is lit" or when things got tough it would be, "light the candle". There was a moment when Ty was trying to complete a task and was overcome with exhaustion. Kat reminded him that the candle was burning inside and why they were running the race. Just thinking of the candle seemed to give them strength and focus. Ty dug deep and somehow managed to have the strength to finish and move on. Giving up was not an option. It was clear Ty and Kat got energy and felt guided by their sixteen angels and would frequently say they wanted to make the Humboldt families proud. 

The finale of Amazing Race arrived, and the winners were Ty and Kat. They narrowly beat out Tyler Turner and his girlfriend Kayleen VanderRee. Tyler had his own survival story to share. He became a bilateral lower leg amputee following a ski diving accident. At that time, he had just started dating Kayleen and she was there for him during his recovery. It was evident how she could manage him and his frustrations to run the race on prosthetics. They had a plan as to how they were going to save his legs and which tasks Kayleen would do because of his disability. He never complained, he did refer to the pain he was enduring as he ran the race. In the last leg Tyler had to dance, like he said, it wasn't pretty, but he did it.  

This post is not about a recap of Amazing Race, but about people's stories. Tyler's story is obvious by his prosthetics, Ty's not so much. Ty does wear several green Humboldt strong bracelets and has a tattoo of 16 flying doves. Tyler's mental health was an issue prior to the accident, and he found when he returned to playing hockey in Humboldt, it had to be dealt with. He has since gone on to be a spokesperson for Mental Health and has developed a clothing line "Not Alone". 

I am sure that we will never forget April 6, 2018, when the country and parts of the world were shocked and devastated to hear the news that a bus carrying the Humboldt Bronco hockey team was hit in an intersection by a transport truck. That accident took the lives of 16 and 13 were injured. It was impossible to even conceive of how this could happen. 

In 2018, I was at the Calgary Stampede when the first responders and paramedics were recognized by being part of the parade. As they walked along the parade route the people were able to express their gratitude and compassion. I still get emotional when I think of the response from the crowd.  Everyone was on their feet, the clapping started at the beginning and ended when the parade was over. It was an honor to be part of it and to be able to recognize their efforts, but it was also heart-breaking. It was clear the responders were overwhelmed with the response. The deep sense of sadness was palpable, they knew their lives were changed forever, you can never unsee or unhear what they had been through.  

I have always said that you never know what people have been through in their life.  Some people are willing to share their story, but others never do. I am always curious about people's stories. But, even more so, how did they recover and move on with their lives. There seems to be little choice, you can stay where you are or find the courage and strength to move forward. 

When I hear of a horrific accident, I think, how do you move on from the sights, sounds, and even smells of the accident. How do you move on when you look at your legs and they aren't there. Like Ty, some find a cause to help others. I believe time helps to nudge a person forward. There are those that simply can't deal with it and then there are those that have tremendous strength to make sense of what has happened. Often, in a sad way, those that have had to deal with more loss than they should seem to have developed coping skills to push forward. At the end of the day, it has to come from within and is a very individual decision. If you are reading this and you have had to deal with devastation, just know that you are an inspiration to others. For some reason we are meant to learn from you.