A young Fernie couple stopped on Highway 3 on Sunday afternoon to help my husband as he lay, seriously ill, on the side of the highway. My son and I were by his side. He was too ill to stand and we could not lift him back into our vehicle, so for 15 minutes he lay on the side of the highway as hundreds of vehicles passed by without stopping. We were in obvious distress, emergency lights flashing, but no one stopped until a young, immigrant couple from the Czech Republic, who are living in Fernie, came to our aid.
They saw someone in trouble and they turned their pickup around, called an ambulance for us, sat with us until the ambulance arrived, gently calmed our fears with kind reassurance, and even then refused to leave until my husband was safely in the ambulance and on his way to hospital. They told us they love Canada and are hoping to gain resident status soon. These two young people are a shining example of the kind of immigrants we should be welcoming to Canada. These are the kind of people I would want for neighbours. We can’t understand the hundreds of BC residents who drove past without a thought and yet these lovely people thought nothing of taking a half hour or more out of their day to help total strangers.
In the stress of the situation I did not think to ask them their names but I hope they see this letter in The Free Press, or if anyone knows them, please let them know that their kindness is greatly appreciated and if we can do anything to assist in their bid for Canadian citizenship, we would be more than happy to help. They drove a pickup truck with two large dogs in the back seat, they are avid skiers, they both speak accented English, and they were on Highway 3 just west of Fernie on Sunday afternoon, April 22. If you know who they are, please contact us.
Kathy Hartley and Peter Gallant
Nelson, BC
250-352-1956
