0:04 We’ve gotta break the stigma of disabilities because people think,
0:09 « Oh, they’re disabled, they’re broken. »
0:12 That thinking has to stop.
0:15 Everybody should be included.
0:17 My name is Bill Whelan and we are at Ontario Power Generation’s Timmons office.
0:23 It was September of 1999.
0:26 I was working at a local mining company’s surface mill, in the crushing plant.
0:32 I noticed there was some wiring that was hanging over the belt,
0:36 and it basically pulled me into the drive motor.
0:41 Within a second my arm was fed right through the drive gear
0:46 and my arm was severed through the shoulder.
0:52 It was quite a horrific evening.
0:58 I got myself into a very dark place
1:01 and it took the eyes of a child to see through it.
1:07 Liam was only, what, say three years old at the time.
1:10 He, he asked her, he says, « Is Dad going to be like this forever? »
1:15 And to me, that was probably the biggest wake-up call I’ve ever got.
1:20 The next day I asked to get professional help and I made a decision,
1:26 you know, one step at a time, we’re going to just keep going forward with this.
1:30 I got myself back up on my feet, back to school,
1:34 got into civil engineering, and I’ve been working with OPG for the last four.
1:40 Coming in, I was unsure what’s going to happen,
1:43 but OPG basically accepted me with open arms.
1:46 Very accommodating for everything, if there’s anything I need.
1:50 Never really focused at all on my disability.
1:54 They focused more on me as a person.
1:57 I’m on the Abilities Alliance Employees Resource Group
2:01 for workers with disabilities.
2:03 And it’s been wonderful meeting new people and hearing their challenges
2:10 and comparing them with mine and realizing that we’re not all that much different.
2:15 Take it one day at a time.
2:17 If you have to, one hour at a time.
2:20 But things will get better.
