Donald Fisher emerges from deep coma with severe brain damage after being hit by car in October

Print

E-mail

Text

The gentle giant quick with a smile and a friendly word for his Mimico GO Train commuters for 22 years is now in need of their kindness and support.

Struck by a car in late October, Don Fisher only emerged from a deep coma two weeks ago. He has suffered severe brain damage.

"We hope every day that he gets better," his daughter Renee Dennis said this week of her father, who remains in Sunnybrook Hospital. "We don't know whether he'll come out of it. It's really tragic."

Many GO commuters know him as "Big Don" - a nod to his six-foot-six frame, as well as his larger-than-life personality.

For two decades, Fisher greeted every passenger with a wide smile and a "hi, there" as he sat behind the ticket window at the Mimico GO Station. He retired in May 2004.

"I love people," he said simply, at the time. "I guess it's all in how you're brought up. My parents taught me to be polite, and to treat people with respect."

Commuters who dropped by during his last shift called him "a great friend," "the most sociable person I've ever met," and "the salt of the Earth."

The outpouring of concern for Fisher since the accident has been overwhelming, said Rita Meech, a Mimico GO Station colleague for 14 years.

"People continually still ask about the man since his retirement," Meech said. "Since people heard about what has happened to him, they ask about him every day."

Dennis said her 69-year-old father would be "devastated" to know he isn't able to hand out candies at the station this Christmas, a years-long tradition with passengers Fisher continued after his retirement.

After Fisher's retirement, someone wrote "We'll miss you, Don!" on a mural by the station. A police officer who went through Mimico station every day shot a photo of it and sent it to Dennis. "He said it was overwhelming to him to see the reaction of people when Dad retired."

During his current struggle, Dennis said her dad would be "thrilled" to hear from his old friends, who might feel moved to write him a supportive message in a get-well card. Cards would be stimulating for him, his daughter said, adding she'd read them to him in hospital.

"He never ceases to amaze me," Dennis said of her Dad. "He's such a simple man. He has no reason to judge people. He's special in that way."

Cards of support to Fisher may be mailed to the attention of the newsroom at the Etobicoke Guardian, 307 Humberline Dr., Toronto, M9W 5V1. Cards will be forwarded on to Dennis.