A Tough Few Days For David Rather

We all have bad luck, but some of us have really bad luck and that was the case for a young man named David Kather in the Vermilion area.

In the autumn of 1955, he had several things happen to him that in some ways defy explanation.

First, in September of that year, he was 20 years old and decided to treat himself to a new motorcycle. These were the days before helmets or other safety precautions.

While driving the motorcycle home from Edmonton, he lost control of it and went into the ditch. The accident left him with a broken jaw and a separated shoulder.

Not a great set of injuries but thankfully not life threatening.

He may have thought his troubles were over by that point but they weren’t.

While he was in the hospital, and just about to be released, doctors discovered that his appendix was about to burst and he needed to have it removed immediately. An emergency surgery was performed and that second health scare may have seemed like the last but it wasn’t.

When he finally recovered from the injuries related to the accident and the surgery, he was released from the hospital.

Once he got home, he decided to take his new motorcycle out for a spin.

As he was riding the motorcycle about 15 kilometres to the west of Vermilion, it suddenly left the road, throwing him from it once more. This time, he suffered a fractured collar bone from the accident.

It should be pointed out that this all happened in the space of September and October 1955.

Not a great way to close out the year, but hopefully that was the last of the issues he suffered.

This time, he suffered a fractured collar bone and was dealing with shock.

All this happened in the space over only about three weeks.

Needless to say, it was a tough October 1955 for David Kather.

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