Their grandfather was wheeled in on a luggage cart, then a stranger stepped in to buy him a wheelchair

When her grandfather was wheeled to his room in Montreal's Ullivik centre on a luggage cart, Julia St-Aubin looked on in shock.

She had just returned from the hospital, accompanying her grandfather who travels to Montreal every three weeks for cancer treatment.

Jean-Guy St-Aubin, has lived Kangiqsualujjuaq, Que., a community located 1,500 kilometres north of Montreal, for over 40 years. He was staying at the health-care centre that's intended to serve as a safe space for the hundreds of patients who fly south for treatment.

But back in March, when St-Aubin returned to the centre, there were no wheelchairs left.

When the elder, who was tired and in pain after treatment, saw that the wheelchair they had reserved was taken, his granddaughter says he asked for a luggage cart.

"I thought he was going to lean on the luggage trolley and push and slowly walk up to his room," said Julia St-Aubin.

"I was shocked when he climbed up the luggage trolley. I was so shocked that I took a picture."

The driver who transported them back from the hospital helped the 76-year-old onto the trolley as St-Aubin held onto her grandfather's arm.

They pushed him through Ullivik's reception and up to his room. She describes it as an awful, dehumanizing experience.

"It was a big scene inside. [It] was not a fun experience for everyone including the employees because it's not their fault that there's a lack of wheelchairs. It's the management that doesn't take it seriously," said St-Aubin.

"My grandfather is a very proud man. And I've always looked at him as a strong, independent, stubborn grandfather. But seeing him in that state really shocked me. It was raw and it felt vulnerable … I think it was a big shock to everyone to see our elder unable to walk, on top of a luggage trolley."

Days after the incident, which was first reported by Nunatsiaq News, St-Aubin and her sister Brenda, filed a complaint with the facility's commissioner and posted the photos of the incident to Facebook where there was an outpouring of support.

Among the people who shared their post was Samantha Poirier, who then helped raise money to buy Jean-Guy a wheelchair. St-Aubin said Poirier's actions inspired her and her sister to do more.

Kindness from stranger inspired sisters' fundraiser

Brenda St-Aubin, Julia's sister, says she was horrified when she heard about what had happened to their grandfather.

"I was so mad and very sad that he had to go through that," she said. But the silver lining was that Poirier, a complete stranger, was so generous in helping.

"A person I have never met, she messaged me saying she is going to fundraise $400 just so that she can get my grandpa his own wheelchair in Ullivik… I was so grateful for that. I was happy she did it."

When her grandfather received the wheelchair, she said he became emotional.

"I couldn't believe it that somebody could help me like this," Jean-Guy St-Aubin told CBC in an interview. He says he was initially hesitant about sharing his story because he "didn't want to make a big fuss out of it."

That changed when he realized other patients had had similar experiences.

"The same day something happened to me, there was a woman there who was in pain, and [there] was no wheelchair for her too. That is what makes me react," said St-Aubin. "I said if I don't do [something] nothing will be done."

Fewer than 10 wheelchairs for 100 rooms

But one wheelchair was not going to solve the problem. When the St-Aubin sisters heard that there were fewer than 10 wheelchairs for more than 100 rooms at Ullivik, they decided to organize a GoFundMe campaign to raise $4,000 to buy 10 new wheelchairs for the facility.

Last month, a Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services spokesperson acknowledged St-Aubin's situation in a statement to Nunatsiaq News and said Ullivik has eight wheelchairs available on a rotating schedule.

She says Ullivik told her that they had already placed orders for more chairs before this incident and that a series of chairs were delivered afterward, but there were still not enough to meet demand. Over the years, the centre has been the subject of various complaints. Ullivik did not respond to CBC's request for an interview.

"It's like a basic need especially for a building [where] its main goal is to support patients that are travelling from Nunavik to Montreal to receive cancer treatments. There are some people that lost their legs, there's people that have arthritis, that need surgery. There's so many people that need wheelchairs and five is not enough," said St-Aubin.

'We just had to do something about it'

With the money they receive from donations, Julia St-Aubin says she wants to purchase several types of wheelchairs for various needs.

So far the sisters have raised $2,300. If they don't reach their goal of $4,000, St-Aubin says they will purchase as many wheelchairs as they can, given that each one costs about $350.

"Our main goal was to be there for our grandfather … He got a wheelchair from a person that he didn't know, he was touched, we were touched and it was such an emotional experience," said St-Aubin.

"We just had to do something about it. We can't just complain and not do anything … That's the reason why we wanted to help others, help our grandpa, help the staff too. The lack of wheelchairs, it's a daily struggle. It's not a one-day thing that my grandfather experienced."