Rallying around Alvin

Community backing father of four badly injured in Woodside crash

Even while he’s propped up in a hospital bed with tubes up his nose, Alvin MacInnis is all too happy to make a funny face for the camera.

“It’s hard to find a pic of him without his tongue hanging out of his mouth because he’s always being silly,” jokes long-time family friend Joelene Johnson.

The father of four school-aged children was seriously injured in a snowmobile accident in a gravel pit in Woodside the evening of March 25. The machine MacInnis was riding dropped down over a 12-metre embankment, and subsequently landed on him.

News of the crash floored Johnson — and many others.

“He’ll help anybody. He’s always been the first one there. You can call him at 3 a .m. and he’ll run out of the house and help you with anything,” she said.

“It’s just Alvin. He seems invincible, so it did come as a huge shock.”

The well-known mechanic has undergone surgery and logged several days in the intensive care unit since he was rushed to the QEII Health Sciences Centre, where he will remain for an undetermined period of time.

The community is rallying behind MacInnis and his wife, Janet, as they are faced with keeping on top of regular bills, as well as mounting medical and travel costs, with the sole provider for the family hospitalized in Halifax for the foreseeable future.

“It’s going to be a very, very long road for him, and Janet as well,” said Johnson.

“He’s very positive, and his attitude right now is, ‘I can do this. I’ve got this.’ And Janet’s going, ‘Oh, he can do it. We’ve got this.’”

In addition to assisting with costs of travelling back and forth to Halifax and unexpected medical expenses, donations will help with renovations to the family’s home if modifications are re-