A farmer in the Ottawa area who suffered severe injuries when a tornado threw him from the roof of his barn is back to work after making remarkable progress in physical therapy.
On Sept. 21, 2018, six tornadoes tore through eastern Ontario and western Quebec, levelling buildings and injuring dozens of people.
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Among the injured was Leo Muldoon, who was fixing a piece of tin from the roof of his Dunrobin, Ont., barn when one of the twisters hit his property.
The gusts threw Muldoon from the roof, leaving him with seven cracked ribs and two collapsed lungs. He told CTV Ottawa he doesn’t remember much after the tornado hit his property, but does recall a piece of sheet metal flying over his head as he waited for help.
His wife Adele admits she didn’t think her 78-year-old husband would survive falling from the barn.
“I wasn't sure he was going to make it through the night,” she said.
Faced with a long recovery, Muldoon began aquatic therapy in November.
“He came in with a walker, he was hunched over, he was probably taking about two-inch steps,” said Karen Snyder, the owner of Liquid Gym where Muldoon went for therapy. “As soon as we got into the pool, things started to change.”
Months later, Muldoon is back working on the farm, with barley already planted for the spring.
"It takes more than a gust of wind to keep this guy down,” he said.
The Muldoons are planning to replace their flattened barn with so called “Cover-all” buildings, which don’t require someone to climb the roof for repairs.
