TIL CreativesChristmas holidays and New Year’s eve did not turn out as Ken MacKinnon, a man from Winnipeg in Manitoba, would have desired as he ended up in a hospital after slipping on ice. The incident, according to him, occurred on December 20, 2025 and he did not receive medical attention for around 11 hours.
While narrating his ordeal, MacKinnon said that he was walking to his car on his street in Wolseley at around 9:50 AM when he slipped and kept lying in the roadway after failing to get up. He was seen by his neighbours Craig Wallace and Kristie Allen-Wallace from their window a few minutes later.
“I then ran outside—got my jacket on … By that time, there was a second person with him to assess the situation,” Craig Wallace told CTV News on December 21, 2025. “He said he thinks he broke his hip, and so the three of us managed to move him into his house,” he added. MacKinnon later said that his fall was caused by icy conditions created by a water main break that began on Dec. 6, 2025.”
Ambulance arrived after 11 hours
MacKinnon said his wife, Vera, called an ambulance right after but there was no immediate response. According to him, the first responders did not come to his house until 9 PM that day almost 11 hours after the incident occurred.
“I was just breathing through the pain. I was taking Tylenol and ibuprofen, and nothing was helping. I basically just couldn’t move,” MacKinnon said as quoted by CTV News. “Like—if I moved even slightly—a millimeter—I would be in shock, shocking pain,” he added. MacKinnon said that he was rushed to Grace Hospital. He received surgery for a fractured hip and was discharged on New Year’s Day.
We experienced staffing shortages, says spokesperson
According to CTV News, a spokesperson for the city denied providing specific details due to privacy reasons but they confirmed that there was a staffing shortage that day.
“On December 20, 2025, we experienced staffing shortages. We had 16 of 19 ambulances staffed for the day shift and 14 of 19 ambulances staffed for the night shift,” the spokesperson said.
MacKinnon calls for a system to deal with issue of waiting time
Expressing his concerns over lengthy waiting time, MacKinnon said that there has to be a system in place. “There has to be a system in place that after a certain point of length, you really need to be picked up because that’s detrimental to your mental health, and who knows how much it can make your injury worse,” he said.
“I don’t know if it made mine worse or not. But it was just pain I had to deal with. I think, for the most part, this has to be fixed somehow,” he added.
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While narrating his ordeal, MacKinnon said that he was walking to his car on his street in Wolseley at around 9:50 AM when he slipped and kept lying in the roadway after failing to get up. He was seen by his neighbours Craig Wallace and Kristie Allen-Wallace from their window a few minutes later.
“I then ran outside—got my jacket on … By that time, there was a second person with him to assess the situation,” Craig Wallace told CTV News on December 21, 2025. “He said he thinks he broke his hip, and so the three of us managed to move him into his house,” he added. MacKinnon later said that his fall was caused by icy conditions created by a water main break that began on Dec. 6, 2025.”
Ambulance arrived after 11 hours
MacKinnon said his wife, Vera, called an ambulance right after but there was no immediate response. According to him, the first responders did not come to his house until 9 PM that day almost 11 hours after the incident occurred.
“I was just breathing through the pain. I was taking Tylenol and ibuprofen, and nothing was helping. I basically just couldn’t move,” MacKinnon said as quoted by CTV News. “Like—if I moved even slightly—a millimeter—I would be in shock, shocking pain,” he added. MacKinnon said that he was rushed to Grace Hospital. He received surgery for a fractured hip and was discharged on New Year’s Day.
We experienced staffing shortages, says spokesperson
According to CTV News, a spokesperson for the city denied providing specific details due to privacy reasons but they confirmed that there was a staffing shortage that day.
“On December 20, 2025, we experienced staffing shortages. We had 16 of 19 ambulances staffed for the day shift and 14 of 19 ambulances staffed for the night shift,” the spokesperson said.
MacKinnon calls for a system to deal with issue of waiting time
Expressing his concerns over lengthy waiting time, MacKinnon said that there has to be a system in place. “There has to be a system in place that after a certain point of length, you really need to be picked up because that’s detrimental to your mental health, and who knows how much it can make your injury worse,” he said.
“I don’t know if it made mine worse or not. But it was just pain I had to deal with. I think, for the most part, this has to be fixed somehow,” he added.
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