Everyday Hero: John Cairns, Wheelchair of Hope founder

It’s been years since 50-year-old John Cairns, a double amputee above the knee, returned to the rail yard where his accident happened.

“November 30th, 1992. Transformational day – changed my life in all aspects,” Cairns, who lives in Belleville, Ont., said.

That day, Cairns was a foreman at the Canadian National MacMillan rail yard in Vaughan, Ont. He chased down a runaway car that headed for some workers further down the track.

READ MORE: Canada’s Walk of Fame finds ‘Unsung Hero’ in double amputee John Cairns

“I boarded the car and put the brake system on and successfully stopped the car,” he said.

What he didn’t know was that a different crew was following behind him in another car and when John hit the brakes, the car behind crashed into his.

“As a result, I lost my footing and went underneath a 68-ton rail car,” Cairns said.

“I looked over to my right shoulder and I saw my boot up in my face. I lifted my right arm – it was just hanging there by my coat sleeve.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I looked over to my right shoulder and I saw my boot up in my face. I lifted my right arm - it was just hanging there by my coat sleeve."

Both his right arm and right leg – almost half of his body – was amputated on impact. He began to bleed out. Cairns waited 14 minutes for the paramedics to arrive. They had to stop the bleeding immediately, so first responders put him in a pressure bag to slow down the blood loss.

“Now unbeknownst to me, I had no idea. I literally thought I was being body-bagged. And I remember a zipper. And I remember the paramedics getting me on the gurney.”

After arriving at the hospital, the outlook from doctors was grim. John’s niece, Diana Cairns, recalled what emergency crews told their family.

“He was run over by a train and they weren’t sure whether or not he was going to make it,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He was run over by a train and they weren't sure whether or not he was going to make it," she said.

Miraculously after two weeks in the intensive care unit, Cairns regained consciousness and began months of rehabilitation. However, depression started to set in and Cairns was at rock bottom.

“For that to happen to him, it was – it almost made you wonder…what’s worse for him…to live like this or to die,” Diana said.

“My psychologist in rehabilitation, I’ll never forget I was in my chair and I was facing the 15-foot mile of my life,” John recalled.

“It was 15 feet of parallel bars to learn how to walk again on a prosthetic device I’ve never seen before in my life. He said to me, ‘You know John, not everything in life can be changed. But nothing will change until you confront it.’”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It was 15 feet of parallel bars to learn how to walk again on a prosthetic device I've never seen before in my life. He said to me, 'You know John, not everything in life can be changed. But nothing will change until you confront it.'"

And John did confront his tragedy. One of his first goals was completing a 10-kilometre Terry Fox Run with one arm, one leg and one cane.

“I not only wanted to support and somehow identify with Terry Fox, which was a huge inspiration and hero to me. For what Terry Fox accomplished on one leg… I trained on the leg that Terry Fox ran on” John said, who is now a motivational speaker.

He didn’t stop there. John then learned to play squash, scuba dive and even snowboard. This past summer he challenged himself to new heights by climbing one of the seven summits of the world, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa.

“There was a day when I felt the world was on top of me,” John said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "There was a day when I felt the world was on top of me," John said.

“And here I am, on top of the world.”

Never forgetting a time when he was immobile, John has now set a new challenge for himself with the creation of a foundation called Wheelchair of Hope.

The organization’s mission statement is to connect those lacking mobility with devices that make them mobile again.

Margaret Crouse, a resident in Belleville, received a wheelchair from the foundation in December.

“This is the best Christmas gift I could have ever asked for,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This is the best Christmas gift I could have ever asked for," she said.

After breaking her leg, Crouse has had multiple surgeries. Her only way to be mobile before John stepped in was through the use of her walker.

“The pain is constant (with every step). It doesn’t go away,” she said.

However, Crouse’s new wheelchair gets her off her feet.

“I can’t thank you enough,” she told John.

Morgan Salt, a long-time sufferer of chronic arthritis, was hospitalized for most of November. Mobility for him used to involve using two canes. Now, Wheelchair of Hope donated a nearly-new wheelchair.

“Can this change my life? It most certainly can, I mean it means getting out much more often – going for a walk. I used to enjoy doing that before I got arthritis,” Salt said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Can this change my life? It most certainly can, I mean it means getting out much more often - going for a walk. I used to enjoy doing that before I got arthritis," Salt said.

For never giving up, living an inspiring life and helping other who were once in the same position as him, John Cairns is this week’s Everyday Hero.

Wheelchair of Hope is looking to raise money for a van or truck that will allow them to move larger, electric wheelchairs from their warehouse to the recipient. If you’d like to help, contact John through Wheelchair of Hope on Facebook.