“It was such a caring place to be.”
A year after the deadliest highway crash in Manitoba’s history, Mary Hudyma reflects on the experience: “It’s a blur. I don’t remember the impact and I don’t remember being thrown from the bus.”
It’s a day that most Manitobans will never forget, but it’s a day that Mary Hudyma can barely remember. Hudyma, an 80-year-old resident of Dauphin, was one of 25 passengers on a bus that was struck by a semi-trailer near Carberry on June 15, 2023.
The passengers—mainly seniors from Dauphin—were heading to a casino for the day. Seventeen people lost their lives in the crash; Hudyma was one of eight passengers who were seriously injured.
“It’s a blur,” says Hudyma of the deadliest highway crash in Manitoba’s history. “I don’t remember the impact and I don’t remember being thrown from the bus. Apparently, I called my son to tell him that I survived, but I don’t remember that either. I was probably in shock.”
What Hudyma does remember is the quality of care she received, and the compassion that came with it.
Hudyma was taken by ambulance to the nearest major hospital in Brandon and was then sent to HSC in Winnipeg when the extent of her injuries became known. She had two surgeries at HSC: one to repair damaged vertebrae in her upper back; and another comparatively minor surgery to remove gravel embedded in her leg.
“I know that being a nurse and working in a hospital can be stressful, and I don’t think I was a very easy patient at first,” says Hudyma, “but I never heard anyone complain. Everyone who helped me was cheerful and kind. There was one aide—an older man—who made me laugh every day, even on those days I didn’t feel much like laughing. It was such a caring place to be.”
After three weeks of recovery at HSC, Hudyma was transferred to her local hospital in Dauphin for rehabilitation and physiotherapy. After discharge, she continued with physiotherapy and exercises at home. She walked the halls of her apartment building, using her walker less and less as her strength and stability improved.
Mary Hudyma’s donation to the HSC Foundation was inspired by the care she received at HSC: “Everyone who helped me was cheerful and kind. There was one aide—an older man—who made me laugh every day, even on those days I didn’t feel much like laughing. It was such a caring place to be.”
On February 16, she returned to HSC for a neurological/psychological assessment.
“My daughter took me. My walker was folded up in the trunk of her car as we got to the hospital,” she says. “I decided to leave it there.”
Through her feisty and determined recovery, and through the sadness of losing friends in the horrific crash, Hudyma has remained positive, grateful, and forward-looking. To commemorate the anniversary of the crash, Hudyma attended a memorial in Dauphin and made a donation to the HSC Foundation in appreciation for the care she received.
“I was born and raised in the United States and I’ve come to appreciate how fortunate we are to have the health system we do in Canada,” says Hudyma. “We have to be proud of what we have and we have to financially support it when we can.”
