Two weeks ago Michael Young's left foot was crushed by a fire engine during the chaos of the blaze on Prince Street. The deliveryman, who runs errands for a living, was standing on a bridge when an approaching fire engine ran over his bike and then his foot. The bone in his left foot was broken and the prognosis for a full recovery was grim. But there is good news tonight. Over the past two weeks, Young's condition has stabilized. Today we met an optimistic Michael Young who is scheduled to undergo an operation on Friday.
Michael Young, Engine Ran Over His Foot
"My foot is coming around. The swelling went down and the stitches that they put in it, they are healing up, they are healing up gradually but in between where the bone broke, the piece that broke from off the next piece from the ankle, is dismantled to nothing. So they are going to hollowness after the next operation that I will take. The other operation that I will take is going to be probably Friday."
Keith Swift,
So what will they do in that surgery?
Michael Young,
"In that surgery they are going to cut out this one here, cut off the stitches that is on the foot, open it up, and give it a real clean, that's what
he told me. He told me they would give it a real clean. I don't think if he will take that steel out and that when he puts it back together, he is going to do it neatly, he told me neatly. After he does it neatly, there is going to be a space in between the ankle an the knee."
Keith Swift,
You're confident that you'll walk again?
Michael Young,
"From I saw it, I didn't count on it but from Monday to now, the swelling has gone down and so the medicine, those antibiotics and those painkillers are good."
Keith Swift,
Are you satisfied with the way the Fire Department has responded to the incident?
Michael Young,
"I am not satisfied with that. I think this bill belongs to them, totally because I am not making any money and I am not seeing anything coming from them to me. Nothing like finance to buy toilet paper, toothbrush, soap, and what I need in the hospital; no one. It is not my fault, I was on the side. I was really on the side. This guy, he had all the space to go around and go in the middle where the traffic, cars and so on travel, and he came way on edge where pedestrians travel, catch my bike with his vehicle, and pull me, spin me around, and then the back wheel of the engine ran over me and my bicycle and he fractured my feet."
Young is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday. His hospital bill is outstanding and he is appealing for help from any member of the public who can assist.
