On Monday, June 29th, Mark Olenick of Minnedosa was involved in a serious accident checking on sump pumps in his basement. A GoFundMe campaign has been started by family member Stephanie Shaw for Mark and his family, and here are some details from the page:
The town of Minnedosa and surrounding communities have been hit with torrential downpours that have been devastating too many people’s homes and businesses. Mark and Cherisse had been packing up cherished belongings from their family home on June 29th as the river had now breached their home and they had to pack up and stay with Mark’s parents up the street. Cherisse and their son Dane took the last load up to Jean & Grant’s while Mark stayed behind to make sure the sump pumps were working in the basement before making his way up to his parents house. With the possibility of their home being ruined by flood waters, Mark went to the basement and checked the pumps. While down there an explosion occurred. Flammable chemical had been sitting on top of the water and one of the sump pumps sparked causing a flash explosion. Mark tried to dive under the water but managed to be burned over 50% of his body. The basement door locked and he was unable to get it open so he had to climb up the wall through the window to get out. He then managed to walk two blocks up to his parents house, in shock. Mark was in very bad shape and the doctor wanted to have him airlifted to Winnipeg but because of the flooding this couldn’t happen. Mark is now in the burn unit at Health Sciences with my sister by his side. We know that he’s going to be there for at least a month, maybe even longer. He has 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree burns all over his body. Mark is unable to work and won’t be able to work for a long time. My sister is in Winnipeg with him everyday by his side to keep his spirits up because he is in unbearable pain. I don’t want Mark to worry about how the bills are going to be paid. If you know Mark or have ever met him, he would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He is truly the kindest man and also the strongest man. He doesn’t know I am doing this because he would never accept any help, so don’t tell him. We don’t know what will happen with their house but as long as he is okay, that’s all that matters. The goal of the campaign is to raise $10,000, and as of Monday (July 27) morning the campaign has been able to raise a little over that mark.
A link to the fund raiser can be found below.