The drums echo down the beach. Crowds cheer as hundreds of colourful canoes slice through the waves off the coast of Hawaii. This is the Queen Lili‘uokalani Canoe Race, the largest long-distance canoe race in the world. Among the competitors is Wayne MacDonald, whose journey to get here began with a terrible accident.
In November 1998, Wayne proudly earned his Red Seal journeyman accreditation in HVAC. Just months later, a routine service call ended in a fall from a roof, leaving him in a five-day coma. When he woke, doctors told him he had three skull fractures, severe head trauma and, at only 34 years old, he would never walk again. Life is that fragile.
The news was devastating, but Wayne chose to focus on what was still possible. He pushed himself through rehab, became a mentor for others with similar injuries and raised $250,000 over seven years for spinal cord research.
Over the next two decades, Wayne never turned down an opportunity, and it carried him to extraordinary places. He became the second licensed disabled glider pilot in Canada, an advanced open water diver and he represented Ontario in wheelchair curling. He paddled in world championships, helped Para canoe secure a spot in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio and appeared on the Discovery Channel to demonstrate adaptive flight controls.
“I’ve gone 100 feet below sea level and 9,000 feet in the air,” he says. “The place I enjoy the least is on the ground.”
Although Wayne is proud of his many adventures, what matters most is giving back. For more than 45 years, his mother has lived with multiple sclerosis (MS), inspiring Wayne to take part in the MS Bike Ride from Grand Bend to London and back on his hand cycle. He also established the Wayne P. MacDonald Human Fund, which supports local charities each year.
In 2023, Wayne started to feel unusually tired and bloodwork revealed low hemoglobin levels. He was rushed to Victoria Hospital in London, where he was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer. He told his oncologist, Dr. Lalit Saini, he had survived worse. This wasn’t going to take him.
After months of treatment, Wayne underwent a stem cell transplant. His doctors warned him of possible serious side effects. For the first time, he was scared. He didn’t want this treatment to strip away the quality of life he had fought so hard to regain.
“I don’t want to live just to exist. I want to exist to live.”
The transplant went ahead and, luckily, the worst side effect Wayne experienced was a dry mouth.
During his many appointments, Wayne became increasingly aware of the financial burdens patients often face, with some spending tens of thousands of dollars on treatment-related costs. Wanting to make a difference, he started fundraising for the Patient Assistance Fund (PAF), which helps cover some expenses—from parking and medication to wigs and other essentials.
In 2024, Wayne launched the first Huff and Puff Bonspiel, followed by a golf tournament. Both events have become annual traditions, raising vital funds for the PAF and blood cancer research.
“I was fortunate,” Wayne reflects. “I had excellent care and a community that rallied behind me. Not everyone gets that. If I can bring some relief to people in a difficult financial position, I’ll keep volunteering and raising money.”
In paddling, no one gets very far alone. Wayne knows recovery is no different. Progress happens when people support each other. And through his fundraising work, he is ensuring all patients have a crew to help them through the roughest waters.