Disabled farmer keeps moving

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Published: November 15, 2007

BROCK, Sask. – Sue Speir wants anyone who is injured to know that it is not the end of the world.

She loves the outdoors and despite being in a wheelchair is determined to maintain her lifestyle.

She moves quickly, rolling around her farm home near Brock in west-central Saskatchewan and transferring herself to a chair in the living room. And she just as easily swings into her accident and recovery story.

It was early evening in February 2003 and Speir was driving on a gravel road to a cooking class in nearby Kindersley, Sask., when she hit a patch of ice. The vehicle rolled and she was thrown into the ditch, where she lay conscious on the ground for half an hour in the -10 C night until a man saw her vehicle’s headlights.

Read Also

An RCMP officer looks around a cluttered rural yard.

Canada’s rural crime problem far from fixed

Farmers on the Prairies are worried about crime rates and safety, but an effective approach to meaningfully reduce rural crime remains out of reach so far.

Speir had broken her back, low down.

“I have sensation to my knees but no motor ability,” she said.

She had two surgeries and spent six weeks in rehabilitation in a Saskatoon hospital before returning home.

It took six months to adjust but eventually changes were made at home.

The doors were widened, rugs removed and a garage added with an elevator lift so she could easily get to her hand-controlled vehicle.

The family also added an indoor swimming pool because Speir enjoys the mental and physical workout provided by her daily 40 minute morning swim.

“I’m not an inside lady and I love to garden.”

The Speirs added concrete and crushed gravel pathways around the house and raised some of the beds so she could keep working with the plants. The wide rows in the big vegetable and fruit garden aren’t tilled so that her 10 kilogram titanium wheelchair doesn’t become stuck in the soft soil. Next spring she plans to lay heavy plastic between the vegetables so she can roll down the rows.

“We get smarter every year,” she said with a laugh.

Her years as an aerobic instructor ensured she is now physically capable of using her arms to compensate for legs that are dead weight. She is also on the local In Motion committee to plan how to persuade people to exercise more.

Speir came to Canada from England in 1972 as an agriculture exchange student to work on the farm that belonged to the parents of her future husband, Bob.

“I did everything – fieldwork, tractor driving, and they had pigs.”

Speir did not have a farm upbringing but had always loved horses. However, after her accident the Speirs sold the three she used to ride. In their place is a pony called Pebbles that Speir drives in a cart. It has restored a lot of the mobility she lost.

She needs that mobility to continue the farm work that includes checking cows at calving, moving them to new pasture and acting as the go-fer or chauffeur for the others on the farm. She also does some of the bookwork on computer, makes the meals and is part of the family decision-making talks that happen around the table.

The Speirs farm 10,000 acres that are scattered across the district. They grow peas, lentils, canola, barley, durum, spring wheat and canaryseed. They also have a herd of 150 commercial beef cows.

Besides Bob and Sue and a hired man, there is also Matthew, one of their three sons. He returned to the farm the year after his mother’s accident.

Soon there will be a grandchild to also occupy Speir’s time.

But on a sunny fall afternoon she takes a visitor to the barn to show how she can harness and drive the pony cart by herself. Besides checking on the cattle herd, Speir and Pebbles also participate in trail rides and parades.

“Pebbles has been the best thing that ever happened to me,” she said.

A ramp into the barn and automatic gate openers help in getting ready for a ride, but she still needs help hauling the cart shafts up to Pebbles’ harness.

Speir is determined to be independent and finds that a cellphone has made another big difference.

“When I started gardening I’d fall out of my chair. I’d lose my balance and I’d have to call someone to come pick me up,” she said.

“If this happened 20 years ago it would be harder.”

Driving the farm equipment is a problem because someone needs to help her into the cab and take her down. As a result, she has written off that activity as an inefficient use of farm manpower.

Winter is a more difficult time. She gets out for downhill sit skiing at a local hill but is restricted to the house and paths cleared around it or her vehicle. She and Bob also take winter vacations to warmer climates.

“You can do anything if you put your mind to it,” she said when asked for advice for people who become disabled.

“I have my bad days and frustrating times. You have to keep active and look after your health.”

About the author

Diane Rogers

Saskatoon newsroom

explore

Stories from our other publications