'He was never him again': Man injured at Yellowknife airport in 2012 dies

Ronok Baroryee, a man who was severely injured during his second shift working for Canadian North at the Yellowknife airport nine years ago, died on July 8. He was 38 years old.

On Feb. 13, 2012, Baroryee was struck in the head by the propeller blade of a Dash-8 aircraft.

There was a city-wide power failure at the time, caused by a military helicopter that flew into power lines north of the city during an exercise.

Transport Canada concluded that emergency lighting that was operating at the airport during the outage met safety standards.

The accident was the beginning of a very difficult time for the hard-working Baroryee family, which had immigrated to Canada from Bangladesh when Ronok was 16 years old. The family moved to Yellowknife in 2008.

'His life was very frustrating'

Baroryee spent weeks in the intensive care unit of an Edmonton hospital. Then, he was transferred to a rehab hospital in the city, where he had to relearn how to walk and talk.

"He was never him again," said his cousin, William Gomes, of his return to Yellowknife.

"His life was very frustrating. He had an issue trying to understand people. People had an issue understanding him."

"Like, he loved his daughter so much, but he couldn't express it. It was heartbreaking for the family."

The year after the accident, Baroryee's father died, casting the family into even more turmoil. Baroryee's memory was also failing him after the accident and, along with an uncharacteristic suspicion of others and his communication problems, turned him into a much angrier person.

His marriage fell apart and he became even more isolated.

"One of the biggest issues he had — and we had a lot of fear about it — was seizures," said Gomes.

"That never happened before his accident."

From 3 jobs to none

An autopsy has so far indicated that Baroryee's death is the result of natural causes. But doctors are still doing tests to determine if he suffered any head trauma the day he died.

Gomes said there was some bruising on his head. The family fears he may have suffered a blow to the head after falling into the grip of a seizure.

Another of the big changes in Baroryee's life after he returned to Yellowknife was his lack of independence.

Prior to his accident he was holding down three jobs to support his family. After, with his cognitive difficulties and the effects of the different kinds of medication he was on, he could not hold one down.

Gomes said the family had a hard time finding proper help for Baroryee in Yellowknife.

He said medical assessments of Baroryee's needs always seemed to miss the mark. In desperation, the family tried to send him to a rehab hospital in Bangladesh. They say he did not have any faith that it would help and refused.

In the years since the accident, Baroryee's mother, left without a husband, accumulated significant debt trying to care for her ailing son and her remaining family.

Gomes, an accountant, said he provided support to the family, and also received some from some of his clients.

Gomes also said Canadian North provided the family with free flights and accommodation during Baroryee's hospitalization and rehabilitation in Edmonton.