There is a gap in time, when everything changed for Lester Wong.
Early Christmas morning, 2009, he slid behind the wheel of his car. The air was biting cold. Wong recalled black ice forming an ominous shine on the streets.
His next memory was waking up in the hospital.
It was February 2010.
"I think maybe that I hit a patch of ice, or maybe I fell asleep, I don't really exactly remember, but it could be that it was good for me, that I have a mechanism where I don't remember [what happened]," said the now 29-year-old Wong, a North Vancouver resident who is studying at the Langley Flying School, based at Langley Regional Airport.
"I remember that during Christmas I had planned to celebrate Christmas with my family in Victoria. So Christmas Eve, I was out with friends, and one of my friends' house was closer to Burnaby and that's why I went there. I lived in Richmond. I remember that I wanted to go home earlier," Wong shared. "I didn't want to wake up early in the morning and have to take the ferry. I wanted to get up in the morning and take the ferry to celebrate Christmas with my family. That's all I remember."
His car hit a rock wall. The engine bay caught fire. Flames shot through a fist-sized hole the crash had caused in the windshield. Wong's face, chest, and arms were badly burned.
Firefighters pulled Wong out of the burning vehicle. His face was so swollen from his burns that he was unable to breathe, so paramedics performed a cricothyrotomy - cutting open his throat and inserting a breathing tube directly into his windpipe.
In the following days, months, and years, Wong followed a slow road to recovery.
"After countless surgeries and with the support of his friends, family, doctors and therapy, I could slowly see the old Lester coming back," his sister Mandy related. "He never gave up and kept on fighting for his life. With ongoing occupational therapy and physiotherapy, he had gradually found ways to cope with his everyday life."
Wong remembers feeling calm when he woke up in the hospital. He didn't know the extent of his injuries but had trust in the doctors and nurses.
"Whatever they told me and whatever the physiotherapist told me, I just followed whatever they said."
Wong wasn't able to move because he had lost so much muscle mass, and he couldn't talk because he had a tracheotomy tube in his throat.
"My mind-set was to recover and focus on recovering and taking rests," Wong said.
Wong's most severe injuries were to his face and hands. He suffered 33 per cent burns to his upper body and face and lost some fingertips.
The loss of parts of his fingers made everyday routines difficult - simple things such as tying shoelaces and buttoning up a shirt were difficult.
"Eventually he found a way to work things out and became more and more positive," his sister said. "He was strong and persevered through this bumpy ride. It was amazing to see how he slowly transformed himself. He went out and met with friends and was not afraid or shy to share his story when asked."
Wong was buoyed by the support system his friends and family provided for him.
"It's pretty much unbelievable," he said. "If you don't have your friends and family to support you, then you can't move forward. That's how I feel. When I first woke up my family was there. When I was able to
talk and able to eat again, they always came and brought me meals. Even though they had work, my sister in Whistler, Mandy Harkness, every weekend she came and visited me in VGH (Vancouver General Hospital)."
It wasn't just family who helped Wong through his ordeal. The firefighters and paramedics who saved his life, and the staff at VGH, in particular the nurses along with Dr. Anthony Papp, the medical director for the BC Professional Firefighters' Burn Unit, have a special place for Wong.
"It's everything. They (firefighters) rescued me and they were professional from the start, and all the firefighters who I met last year, I shook every one of their hands, who were at that scene," Wong said. "A lot of times ... firefighters, they save people, but they don't know what happens after (to the victims), and I want to let them know and how I'm progressing."
Before the accident, Wong helped out at YVR as a Green Coat volunteer.
He also trained at international flight centre at the age of 23. After
acquiring his private pilot licence, he attended BCIT to begin his aircraft maintenance engineer course. In the middle of his studies, Wong, who was 24 at the time, was in the car accident.
After the accident, Wong studied hard and earned his diploma from BCIT in 2011. He was also working in the military as reservist member.
In 2012, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee award for completing his school and continuing his work with the military despite his difficulties.
Wong's ultimate goal is to become a commercial airline pilot.
"He had heard from his father's stories of our grandpa flying in the air force," Harkness said. "He does not want to give up his dream because of the unfortunate accident."
However, Wong has run into a few roadblocks.
"I thought it was easy, you know; I thought that I just needed to get my medical and if I pass all the medical (tests), I was pretty much done," Wong said. "It is in a way but it
is not because Transport Canada is really strict, and they look at your case and (say), 'Whoa, you've been through an injury accident,' and they want to make sure you'll be OK when you are flying. They sent me a letter pretty much telling me that, right now, my licence I had from before is not valid."
Wong is studying to complete his examination for ground school, but the cost of completing the commercial pilot licence is high, especially when it comes to flight time.
"I'm trying to raise funds for own cause - $30,000 is the amount that I came up with, that I need to be able to just get the licence and also all the requirements for a charter company or airline company," Wong said.
His sister is determined to help raise the funds that Wong needs for his tuition.
"This financial assistance would enable him to work toward his future and any contribution would be greatly appreciated," Harkness said. "I am so proud of his success. He is an inspiration to me."
Wong is willing to take visitors on a private flight in a Piper Cherokee singleengine aircraft bow wing from Langley airport, with a small compensation on the rental of the plane, and funds going to help pay for his tuition.
"Donors ... can donate and can go on a training flight and come up with me and enjoy it, for the scenery and have the experience," Wong said. "It would be a way lower cost than it would be to go and hire a pilot and fly around."
A FundAid.ca crowdfunding campaign has been created to help raise money for Lester Wong's flight school tuition and costs. FundAid, an initiative by Glacier Media (which owns the North Shore News), highlights the vital role newspapers play in helping members of the community. You can donate on the web version of this story (click on "Community" at nsnews. com) or visit https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/4s3b3.
Troy Landreville is a reporter at the Langley Advance.
