Dr. Hassan Masri remembers driving home the morning after the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, following his shift at Royal University Hospital (RUH) in Saskatoon.
The intensive care unit (ICU) doctor said the four-minute drive home felt like at least an hour.
“I remember opening the door and sitting on the couch and then the whole night starts to unfold,” Masri said.
The night of the crash Masri was working a night shift at the ICU at RUH.
“Even when I go to the ICU, I still think of that night and who was in which bed and things like that. These memories, I don’t think they’re going to go away anytime soon,” Masri said.
A “code orange” was called, initiating the hospital’s emergency response to a large number of incoming casualties. Masri said it required a team effort between the entire hospital staff, with even the janitorial staff putting in extra hours.
“I have no doubt that is was the longest night of my life.”
“The hardest part was seeing parents grieving in a way that I’ve never seen before, and in large, large numbers.”
“As medical personnel, we like to tell people that things will be OK, and not being able to give them the confidence, or the assurance, that we would like to give, was certainly something that was extremely difficult, and to have to face that many times that night.”
“I usually think of one-year anniversary as things that go away and you think of them that day, but really that tragedy has not gone away in my mind at all.”
Masri said forming friendships with the Broncos families has been helpful for healing. For closure, he also attended the Broncos home opener in Humboldt in September.
“I remember walking in and someone just jumped on my back and said, ‘Hey Dr. Masri!’ It was one of the family members, a father of a patient,” Masri said.
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