Toronto’s Blade Runner blazing a trail for other amputee runners

Preparing for a 5 km race is a daunting task for any runner. But imagine getting ready to run that race nearly four years after losing your right leg in a workplace accident.

That’s the challenge Patrick Doyle is facing as he gets set to take part in Sunday’s Achilles St. Patrick’s Day 5K Run/Walk in the streets of Toronto for a second consecutive year.

The 46-year-old hails from Ireland, but his life changed in an instant on September 9, 2013 while on the job as a mechanist in Brampton. Doyle was crushed by a 10-tonne piece of industrial equipment.

“I had a crack in my head, lost vision in my eyes, broken bones in my face, my neck, chest, my left arm, my right leg was amputated,” Doyle recalled. “I was flung back a distance. I didn’t know where I was, other than someone actually seeing me land on the ground. That’s when they came over to investigate and finally called 911.”

Doyle was rushed to hospital, where emergency room staff didn’t expect him to last through the night. Remarkably, he did survive despite spending three weeks in a coma. The accident left him with broken bones in his left arm and face and doctors were forced to amputate his right leg.

Doyle’s recovery process brought him to West Park Healthcare Centre in Toronto’s west end, where he teamed up with some of Canada’s top physiotherapists and rehab specialists and learned how to use his new prosthetic leg.

“When I was given a walking leg, I’m assuming I just put this walking leg on and walk away,” said Doyle. “No, it doesn’t work like that.”

But Doyle wasn’t satisfied simply to walk again. He wanted to run and set his sights on completing a marathon. That goal was accomplished on March 13, 2016 in downtown Toronto. Doyle finished the 5 km race in 30 minutes, raising more than $1,000 for West Park.

“I’m sad with people saying you’ve got a disability, you can’t do this, you shouldn’t do this,” said Doyle. “When people say you can’t do something, that’s normally where I go ‘Oh, if I can do that, that’s what I’m going to do.’”

That first race led to an even bigger challenge in November – the Achilles International’s New York City marathon. Doyle finished that grueling event in just under six-and-a-half-hours – a feat that impressed those who worked alongside Doyle during his rehab.

“That was amazing,” said Janet Campbell, Physiotherapist and Clinical Resource Leader at West Park Healthcare Centre. “To go from missing a leg, having a bad head injury, having lots of other areas of injury to running a marathon in a year from when he started running with a blade is fantastic.”

The Ireland native hopes he’ll have the luck of the Irish on his side again this weekend, when he takes part in Sunday’s 18th Annual St. Patrick’s race, which begins and ends near the base of the CN Tower. And just like last year, Doyle will be donating all the money he raises to West Park Healthcare Centre – the team that helped him develop his love of running.

“It was West Park obviously where they got me into running, get me the exercise and we ran. And this year I think we’ve got something like 32 people who are going to run. So hopefully I can beat some of them.”