Ron Broda, candidate for the PeopleB次元官网网址檚 Party of Canada in SaanichB次元官网网址揋ulf Island, does not hold back when it comes to speaking about his prosthetic left leg. In fact, as he and volunteer Bridget Burns spend their lunch hour door-knocking in downtown Sidney, he suggests a headline along the lines of B次元官网网址榣ocal candidate on the stump.B次元官网网址�
It is with this sort of folksiness and frankness that Broda hopes to unseat local MP and Green Party leader Elizabeth May.
While Broda says he is in the race to win, he also hopes that this campaign will help restore trust between politicians and their elected officials through ethics of questioning that eschews blind trust and favours public discourse through a more rounded information experience.
Former
B次元官网网址淨uestions really are the answers,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淧eople need to start questioning things more, and then actually think about what they are told,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚f I give any one message to voters this election, it would be B次元官网网址榙onB次元官网网址檛 believe anything you hear. Listen to it and then check it yourself.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Broda is certainly willing to talk openly about his experience of campaigning with an artificial limb. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not shy talking about it, because I think it is important for people to understand the issues that people with physical challenges have,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t was a real education for me. B次元官网网址�
Broda lost his leg in July 2013 after an SUV struck him while he was riding his motorcycle. Broda, who said he has no memory of the crash, later sued the driver of the SUV, claiming he had been deliberately struck. The driver received 60 days in jail and a driving prohibition of five years in October 2016, after being found guilty of dangerous driving causing bodily harm. In September 2017, a court upheld this sentence.
While most people rarely raise the prosthetic leg in conversation, when he is campaigning, some do with their line of questioning varying.
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B次元官网网址淪ome people want to know more,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淪ome people donB次元官网网址檛.B次元官网网址�
Broda certainly has not shied away from speaking on behalf of others like him. Less than one year after he lost his leg, he became a volunteer peer support visitors for amputees, and now serves as a trainer. He has also been lobbying for the greater availability of osseointegration, a process that directly incorporates artificial implants into bones.
Broda underwent the procedure in April 2018 after travelling to Australia at his own cost of $112,000. But it has been worth every penny, said Broda, pointing to the limited availability of the procedure in Quebec. It also promises to reduce the side effects of losing a limb, including weight gain and diabetes.
Broda said wearing his first prosthetic was painful. B次元官网网址淚 was limited really by how far I could walk because my first prosthetic was a vacuum-suction style, which is more comfortable, but it is not very secure because your leg shrinks during the course of the day, the seal breaks,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 have a very short residual limb, so if I flex my knee too far, that would cause the vacuum to break and because my stump B次元官网网址� the politically incorrect term that I donB次元官网网址檛 mind B次元官网网址� because it is so short, in order to have maximum knee flex, the socket has to have a fairly deep cut. But if it cut too far, there is not enough left to hold it on.B次元官网网址�
Broda, who worked as a border guard, also had to have a second prosthetic for his job. While its use of screws made it more secure, it was also very painful.
The surgery behind osseointegration was not really complicated and has helped him lose weight and improve his quality of life.
B次元官网网址淚 am now able to walk around the airport with my daughter,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hat is 10 [kilometres]. With this I actually scramble over logs like I used to.B次元官网网址�
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