Vancouver Island man, Darcy Kulai, recently opened up about a workplace injury that resulted in his right hand being amputated when he was just 20-years-old.
Now, 28-years-later, Kulai has a 20-year-old son of his own, and decided to start speaking publicly about his injury in an effort to help others avoid his fate.
Kulai grew up in Ladysmith and became a really accomplished basketball player, winning the 1995 provincial championship for the small island community.
His basketball prowess led him to UVic, where he started his post-secondary journey.
Following his second year at UVic, in 1997, Kulai was working at a sawmill and planning to work through the summer, then transfer to Camosun College, where he was to play basketball on the college team.
However, a workplace injury left Kulai unable to play like he had before.
According to his recollection of the incident, Kulai was working an evening shift, stationed at a conveyor belt located in an out-of-the-way area of the mill.
His role was to remove the supporting sticks from the lumber as it got sorted, but when some sticks became caught in the conveyor belt’s chain, Kulai thoughtlessly reached in to dislodge them.
“The glove on my left hand got sucked in and wrapped around the chain that was running underneath,” he remembers. “I tried to free it up by pulling on the chain with my right hand and it got sucked through the other end.”
He was left there, stuck and screaming for help until the shift ended and the other machines were powered off, allowing others to hear his calls for help.
Once Kulai was freed from the belt with devastating injuries to both of his hands, he was rushed to the hospital in Victoria where his right hand was amputated, and his left hand was severely injured as well.
According to Kulai, it took one year of surgeries to allow his left hand to be functional again. To achieve this surgeons used bones from his amputated right hand to piece together a left thumb and grafted skin from his thigh to create a web between his rebuilt thumb and index finger.
Kulai says that after he was able to leave the hospital, he didn’t realize the depth of the emotional toll losing the use of his hands would take on him.
He recalls feeling like a small child, moving back in with his parents and relying on them to feed, clothe and bathe him.
Kulai says that for years, he carried the burden of self-blame for what happened, thinking of how he could have potentially saved his hands.
“There was a stop button I should have pressed,” Kulai recalled.
According to WorkSafeBC, injuries like this can take place for a number of reasons, including inadequate lockout procedures and insufficient training/supervision of new employees.
“Your expectations for the future are taken away in such an abrupt and catastrophic way — and in a way that could have been prevented,” said Dr. Ashley Spetch, WorkSafeBC’s Chief Mental Health Officer.
When such a traumatic injury takes place, Dr. Spetch added that there are many common ways a victim will deal with their trauma.
“Avoidance is a common part of coping when something feels too difficult, too awful, too painful,” she continued.
“But for people who continue to avoid [the issue] over time, it creates an underlying anxiety.”
For Kulai, heart trouble, stomach issues and anxiety were common feelings and issues he had to navigate while healing.
“I’m realizing there’s a connection between the heart, anxiety, and trauma,” he said. “I’m going back through it to see if I can get to the root.”
“It was a big event; it was on a very deep level. At the time, your focus is on the next surgery, on getting back to school and work. But that stuff is so minor compared to feeling good in your own skin and not hating yourself.”
Now, 28-years-later, Kulai has fully healed, started to play basketball again and has a son of his own.
He says that having a son the same age as he was when he was injured was a catalyst to want to share his story so that future generations can learn from his experience.
“If my son got hurt, I’d be shattered,” Kulai said.
“Being a father has made me want to do more for young people — to see if there’s a way to inspire.”
Kulai’s message to young workers is: “Rushing at work and not following safety procedures can get you into serious trouble. You may think it cool or badass to not follow the rules, but it’s wrong. There’s never a reason to compromise safety.”
Watch a video produced by WorkSafeBC about Kulai’s story below:
