By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
Six months ago, the prognosis for bison farmer Mike Waters didn’t look good. Following a run-in with a bull in the feeding pen at his business Springvale Bison Farm, doctors were amazed that Waters was alive and wondered whether he would ever walk again.
Fast forward to today – not only is Waters up and walking, but he has also resumed his duties on the farm, a “walking miracle” as he describes it.
Waters’ accident, as previously reported in The Press, saw a 2,500lb. bull charge him, slamming into a gate that subsequently hit Waters and sent him flying 15 feet through the air into a hydro pole. His injuries included a broken back in two spots, a broken shoulder, and a crushed, flailed ribcage. Kept in a medically induced coma for a week, Waters’ recovery process began with three weeks in a trauma unit and an extended stay at the hospital.
HAGERSVILLE—Waters wearing a back brace while at West Hospital General Hospital last fall.
“I was nervous, but those doctors are absolutely fabulous down there. They had me up and going in a month,” said Waters.
In addition to the work of the medical team at both Hamilton General Hospital and West Haldimand General Hospital, Waters believes that a higher power had a say in his recovery, adding, “There were tons of people praying.… They said it was an absolute miracle.”
Speaking of miracles, Waters recounted a memory from his initial hospital stay: “When I was in the hospital, in emergency, they couldn’t give me any medication, but I remember seeing this guy standing beside me, dressed in white. He had his arms folded. He gave me assurance that everything was going to be ok, but I was crying, ‘take me home,’ the pain was atrocious. He was with me for four days. He never left my side and just had a reassuring, peaceful presence that I was going to be alright.”
He said that he didn’t think much of it at the time, but his grandkids posited a theory, “One of them said, ‘That was probably an angel.’ I couldn’t figure out who it was. It wasn’t a doctor.”
HAGERSVILLE—Waters is seen feeding the bison at Springvale Bison Farm on a cold morning in March.
Despite the purported divine reassurance, the recovery process wasn’t easy: “It was torture. It was a lot of pain.”
When asked how he coped with that pain and the extended healing process, he had a simple answer, “Morphine. I was on it for six months. Getting off it was a bit of a kick, but I got off. I’m not as fast moving as I was, but I’m slowly gaining more strength.”
Up until roughly three weeks ago, Waters was still using a wheelchair, but is starting longer walks now. He added, “It’s slow going, but considering, I’m doing pretty darn good.”
Additionally, Waters said he has lost a little bit of vision in his right eye since the accident, with his doctors telling him it is likely a result of the initial hit, or the medications he was on while recovering.
These setbacks aren’t enough to stop Waters from resuming the work he loves though. During a visit to his farm on a particularly cold March morning, Waters jovially invited us to enter the same feeding pen where the accident had occurred and walked us through the morning feeding process. Opening the gates with a whistle, Waters filled the bison’s trough with grain while the animals filed into the area and went for a bite. Walking amongst the animals, Waters did not flinch for a second in his work – quite the feat for a man who was nearly gored to death just a few months prior.
He had nothing but thanks for his wife Michelle, who kept the family business going in his stead with the help of their children and neighbours, in addition to being with him at the hospital every night.
“She was quite the trooper…. She kept the whole farm running with everything going great,” he said. “She took control of the whole thing. I was really impressed.”
He said that since the accident, the farm has made several adjustments to ensure something similar doesn’t happen again. He noted, “We’ve implemented more people when we’re shipping them. Once we get them into the chute system, then it’s a matter of getting them into the trailer, where we ship them over to Teal’s Meats, where he butchers them right in the trailer – we won’t let them out of the trailer just as a safety precaution.”
He said that during his ordeal, he thought about selling the herd and moving on, “but it was a real calling in my life 25 years ago to do it, and it’s still a strong calling.”
“I came very close to the brink; they were amazed that I was going to live,” said Waters of the emotional toll of his accident. “If you have a heart attack, stroke, or any near-death experience you become very emotional and you realize there are more things in life than farming or collecting stuff. It’s the memories of your grandkids, stuff like that.”
Waters has been deeply moved by the community support he received following the accident, noting how “hundreds” of people prayed for him. He recounted a recent visit he made to a local youth group that prayed for his recovery during his hospital stay.
“You’re talking about a kid who came out of the streets of Hamilton with nothing. I’ve made a mark in society. It’s done well and I’m happy with it. It hasn’t made me a millionaire, but sometimes it’s the journey that makes it pretty cool,” said Waters.
Waters’ last visit to the hospital was two weeks ago, where he finally heard the words he’s been longing to hear since first being admitted: “That’s it, you’re done.”
We wish Waters all the best as he continues on with the work he loves, a walking example of the resilience and can’t-quit attitude that defines Haldimand’s agricultural community.
