by The Mitchell CMC, courtesy of the CMC Chronicle
On the evening of August 10, 1959, twenty-seven year old Henry P. Kehler went back to the jobsite he was working at Barkman Concrete, to pick up his jacket, which he had forgotten.
He walked along a forming wall, something he did all the time. However, this time the forming wall gave way and Henry fell head first, his body twisted in the air and he landed on his back; a 3-4 foot piece of rebar piercing through his back and protruding out through his abdomen.
As Henry lay on the ground, the rebar through his body, he called out to God for help and relief. God granted his prayer, and he says the pain was much more bearable from that point on.
In 1959, there was no Medicare, so a group of construction workers put money together to help pay for Henry’s medical expenses of approximately $1,000. The amount accumulated until Ed H. Friesen presented him with $877.55.
Henry has recently undergone more surgery, to correct residual scarring and other complications resulting from his accident. He still has difficulty with his intestines, having been sewn together and all the scar tissue that still remains, but otherwise is able to live a normal life.
Henry is a gentle person. He has been involved in service for many years. There are a number of men that Henry knows from his youth, whom he befriended and then went for coffee with them or visited them if they got sick. Henry will encourage them and make sure that they are at peace with God before they died. On at least one occasion Henry came back to someone to whom he had spoken about the Lord, and was assured that they had taken his advice, asked for a Pastor, and made peace with God.