Mark Johnson was 21 years old when his life changed forever. He had only been working at a sawmill for nine months when he nearly died in a workplace incident. He was cleaning out a wood chipper when his left arm became trapped in heavy machinery.
He didn’t lose his arm, but today has limited wrist and shoulder function.
Eight years later, the Maple Ridge resident wants more young people and employers to be better prepared on the job to prevent workplace injuries from occurring. That’s just one of the messages he delivered to youth at Mission Community Skills Centre in Langley on Thursday.
WorkSafe BC organized the talk to Langley youth.
“No amount of work is worth losing a limb, or even a finger,” Johnson told the teens. “I want people to think about how their family would react if they didn’t come home.”
While the injury rate for all young workers has improved, the rate at which young males are injured continues to be higher than the provincial average.
In 2013, 6,540 young workers were injured – on average 26 per day – and six young workers were killed on the job.
“Whether they’re young or old, the same thing applies to all workers,” says Johnson. “What counts most on the job is staying in one piece and getting home in one piece.”
He said young workers feel pressure to produce and safety can be overlooked.
In Johnson’s accident, his muscles and tendons became detached. Despite multiple surgeries, doctors wanted to amputate but he decided to keep his arm, even though it has little mobility.
He has gone through difficult and dark moments in his life but at one point he decided to change his outlook and worked hard to find a new normal.
“I’m back to snowboarding and slo-pitch baseball. I coach the team and can bat one-handed, hit the ball pretty far, catch with my right arm . . .”
