Ted Barris

A few years ago, a good friend of ours in town began working on some special projects. They were pieces of handyman work. Things such as ramps alongside staircases, wider doorways inside houses and railings and handles for people with temporary or permanent disabilities. He got the work because Kate Thompson-Hawks (from Durham Access-to-Care) knew that he understood the needs of her clients.

“We knew you’d be fair,” she said, “and you’d do a good job.”

The handyman in question is Ernie Stokes. Ernie actually moved to town over 30 years ago. He’d grown up, played hockey and gone to school in Scarborough. He’d learned basic trades from his dad (who built their first house at Pharmacy and Lawrence). He’d enhanced that training with courses at Ryerson and landed a job in the engineering technology department at the Toronto Transit Commission from 1964 to 1994. Along the way, he fell in love with Uxbridge, moved to town and immersed himself in the community.

“We started the Sunday morning oldtimers hockey league,” he said. “We used to whine because the ice prices were 40-bucks an hour.”

Ernie had to put his hockey and his life on hold a few weeks ago. On Sept 23, he offered to help some neighbours – Bill and Rika Hartley – build an extension on the deck outside their house. Ernie was at the controls of a post-hole digger that day when Bill noticed Ernie was in trouble.

“Bill said I was slurring my words and he had to peel my hands off the throttle of post-hole digger,” Ernie said.

I visited with Ernie the other night at his hospital room, where he told me about the beginning of his journey back from a life-changing stroke. The first part of his journey was the scary part. Fortunately, because the Hartleys reacted so quickly, the 911 call had barely ended when paramedics were on the scene, loading Ernie into an ambulance and ultimately speeding him to the integrated stroke wing of Oshawa General Hospital. They got him there soon enough that they could administer that life-saving “clot-buster” drug.

Out of intensive care a few days later, 65-year-old Ernie Stokes started his rehabilitation regimen – getting his partly paralyzed left arm and leg to respond. He’s up at 7 every morning – washing, dressing and feeding himself with his unaffected limbs. Then breakfast comes just after 8.

“Hospital food sucks,” he said, “but the nurses and the therapists are top shelf.”

From 9:30 to 10:30 Ernie meets with Andrea, the occupational therapist, working on his affected arm. At 10:30 Sandi, the recreational therapist, gets him playing cards, doing shuffleboard and thinking about the movement. “I’m left-handed,” he reminded me, “and the stroke affected my left side; so I’ve got to learn to do everything with my right hand… So my signature so far isn’t pretty.”

At 11:30, Ased, the physio-therapist, arrives and really works on his motor skills – walking, stepping, stair climbing. And in the afternoon it’s the neuro workout – exercising all over again.

Room 5047 has been a little like Grand Central Station the last three weeks. Members of his Uxbridge Islanders hockey team have all paraded through. A lot of neighbours have stopped in, as well as family members – including daughter Cheryl, son Sean, their spouses and the four grandkids, and Beatrice, Ernie’s 91-year-old mother-in-law. And, of course, there’s been Ernie’s soul mate Yvonne shepherding everyone through with precision and grace.

“I can’t thank friends and the hospital staff enough,” Ernie said.

There’s a big step coming for Ernie Stokes, at least figuratively speaking. Yvonne calls it their “goal day.” As much as Ernie wishes the goal in question were one he could score for his Islanders teammates, that kind of marker will have to wait a while.

But no, Nov. 4 is the day they hope he might be able to go home for good. He still has lots of physio and occupational therapy ahead, but at least he’ll be doing it as an out-patient. There is one other important day ahead. Ernie’s going to be meeting with Kate Thompson-Hawks, the woman from Durham Access-to-Care. You see, she’s going to drop by the Stokes home in Uxbridge to help Ernie and Yvonne figure out what life-assisting alterations they might need to install so that Ernie can get around his home a little easier.

The tables have turned. Ernie Stokes, who’s always found the time and materials to help the Access-to-Care clients build ramps and railings, is today one of their clients. This time, somebody else will have to do the handiwork for Ernie. My guess is there’ll be a whole community lining up to offer assistance the same way Ernie has.

What goes around comes around.