'Wonder woman' who survived horrendous 2012 snowplow accident shares story

Karen Toop's husband calls her his "wonder woman."

On Jan. 24, 2012, Toop — a busy wife, mother, and public servant — was coming home from her job at Industry Canada when her life changed abruptly in a way she could have never imagined.

As she crossed the intersection at Woodroffe Avenue and Iris Street with her hood up, she heard a noise.

At the beginning I was a little bit angry, but now? No. What's the point? It happened. It's a mistake.- Karen Toop

"I could hear something getting louder, but it was just too late," said Toop. 

According to the Ottawa Police Service's version of events from that day, a dump truck outfitted with a plow had been turning left onto Woodroffe at around 5:18 p.m. when it struck a 40-year-old woman crossing the street.

That woman was Toop.

"I remember going over the front wheels and sort of laying on my back and thinking immediately, 'I have a five-year-old, I can't die,'" Toop told CBC News, sharing her story of that day publicly for the first time. 

"I tried to lift up my legs...but they wouldn't move. I just was kind of split in half."

'So alone and helpless'

This December marks nearly four years since the accident, which sheared open Toop's lower abdomen and dragged her underneath one of the wheels.

Paramedics on the scene said Toop was suffering from serious internal injuries and fractures to her lower limbs. She was raced to the Ottawa Hospital's Civic Campus in critical condition.

Toop remembers confronting the driver before she lost consciousness.

"I said, 'How could you do this?' He said he didn't see me. I kept yelling for help," said Toop. 

"It's weird because I saw people in their cars who seemed to be looking at me but they didn't do anything," she added. "I felt so alone and so helpless."

Toop said she thought of her young son and counted upwards in her head, reaching seven before passing out. 

Toop's injuries were "catastrophic," said Kirsty Boyd, the plastic surgeon who treated her.

"Her leg and half of her pelvis were ripped off her body," Boyd said. "I think that these injuries are probably the worst I'll ever see in my career as a plastic surgeon."

Toop's husband Harvey visited her at the intensive care unit the night of the accident with their son Ryan. He wasn't sure she was going to survive her injuries.

"Ryan said 'Mommy!' and her eyes opened," he recalled. "The biggest smile came across her face. I leaned into her and I said 'Karen, I love you,' and I said 'you're my wonder woman.' And again, her eyes opened up so bright.

"Despite her face being all swollen, all bruised, a neck brace, tubes — I'll never forget that."

Spent months in hospital bed

Over two weeks, trauma surgeons performed more than 30 operations to save Toop's life.
 

"I remember times in the hospital where all the nurses are running, my blood pressure's dropped," said Toop. "I always knew I would survive."
 
Toop did survive, but for months she couldn't leave her hospital bed or sit upright. A team of plastic surgeons thought outside the box and did what Dr. Murray Allen describes as "soft tissue oragami."

Doctors amputated Toop's remaining leg that no longer worked and used it as "spare parts," said Allen, turning it into "half a pelvis and two buttocks for her to sit on."

For close to two years, Toop lived at the hospital. She had more than 100 blood transfusions, and 133 X-rays and CT scans. Throughout it all, her husband and her son remained by her side.

"Karen always had this positive attitude," said Harvey Toop. "I don't know where that strength came from. But she just never complained."

Toop said that until the accident, she never knew she was a strong person.

"It changes your life in a way that you never ever thought would ever happen," said Toop. "I was a busy Mom with a five-year-old son, with a challenging job and I had a lot going on. I never imagined myself in a wheelchair like this."

Snowplow driver fined $250

The snowplow driver pleaded guilty to failing to yield to a pedestrian lawfully at a cross walk and paid a $250 fine. Toop sued the city of Ottawa and in July 2015 reached a confidential settlement.

She said she tries not to think about the driver anymore.

"At the beginning I was a little bit angry, but now? No. What's the point? It happened. It's a mistake."

Her family has built a new wheelchair accessible home with an elevator and special pool. Toop said she's thankful for the hundreds of Ottawa Hospital staff that worked to keep her alive — and especially her husband and son.

"Without [my husband] I don't think I would have survived," said Toop. "They're my reason to live, to be together and be a happy family."

Toop said the accident taught her to treasure each day. The family is now making up lost time and planning a trip to Disney World, she said.

"I made a commitment years ago to Karen when we got married, for better or for worse," said Harvey Toop.

"I still love this woman. She's my wonder woman."