Astronaut Hadfield thanks Hamilton hospital staff for father’s life-saving care
The Hamilton Health Sciences burn unit at Hamilton General Hospital is getting some cosmic praise from retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.
Hadfield — the first Canadian to walk in space and first astronaut to operate the Canadarm — has credited the burn unit for saving his father’s life.
In a post Monday on X, formerly Twitter, Hadfield wrote: “These good people saved my Dad’s life, his legs, and his quality of living. He’s now healthy and whole, about to celebrate his 90th birthday. Enormous eternal thanks for your world class skills, professionalism and kindness, everyone @HamHealthSci Burn Unit.”
Hadfield’s post included an image of staff at the Barton Street hospital.
Hamilton Health Sciences retweeted the post, with a response: “Wow, what a celebration! We wish your dad a happy 90th birthday and appreciate your kind words for our Burn Unit team. All the best!”
The post is generating plenty of attention on X, with more than 2,900 likes and 91,000 impressions as of Tuesday afternoon.
In a Tuesday interview with Metroland, Hadfield noted his father, Roger, suffered an accident at his Milton-area home last fall, resulting in severe burns to his lower legs and feet. During a month-long hospital stay, Roger received daily treatments, including skin grafts, which helped heal the tissue, allowing him to return home by Christmas.
“The upside is, he’s recovering,” said Hadfield. “He’s back on his feet. At the time, we thought it was going to be life-threatening. It was a long, demanding and painful process, but he came out the other side.” Roger turns 90 on Wednesday. In the immediate aftermath of his father’s accident, Hadfield said medical staff closer to his parents’ home told him: “If you have a serious burn, you need to go to Hamilton General.”
Hadfield credited Dr. Marc Jeschke, medical director of the Hamilton Health Sciences provincial burn unit, and the General Hospital staff for his father’s remarkable recovery.
While he’s still recuperating at home with the help of his daughter, AJ, and his wife, Eleanor, Roger is back on the tractor at his farm property, where he grows corn and beans.
Roger was also a commercial airline pilot for Air Canada, logging more than 2,500 hours by the time he retired at age 60. Hadfield noted his dad has remained active in the air, flying a small biplane and Cessna 170 in his spare time.
Hadfield said his father hopes to fly again as soon as this summer, pending a medical exam and a clean bill of health.
“He loves flying above everything else, as do I,” said Hadfield. “Running his farm and flying his little airplane is really inspiring him to build on what Dr. Jeschke and company have provided him and make the most of it. It’s great that he can now get out of his chair, get in the tractor and go out and look at his land.”
Hadfield noted his dad will have plenty of help to get him back in the sky from a family that includes several former and current Air Canada pilots, including Hadfield’s brothers Phil and Dave.
Chris Hadfield, now a bestselling author, is currently promoting his latest book, “The Defector,” the second in his three-part Apollo Murders series.