This 80-year-old hero did not think twice about braving the snowstorm to rescue a scared, helpless, stranded mom in a snowstorm. Big thanks to Social media, he found her when rescue teams could no longer get through.
Shannon St. Ong was on the way home when an unexpected blizzard came. “It was the most terrifying experience of my life. I’ve never been more scared,” she recalled. The snowstorm made it very dangerous to drive on streets laden with snow and ice. On top of that, the drivers could not possibly see anything in front of them. Shannon was in a rural area in whiteout condition.
She was in the middle of a “Saskatchewan screamer.” She said, “It comes on remarkably fast and with extremely high winds.” She called 911 but to no avail. “The first responders were overwhelmed with phone calls, and I received a message stating, ‘we cannot take your call at this time.”
She rolled down her window hoping to have a better view, but all she could see was ice and snow. That was when she began to panic and thought that she could “be hit with an oncoming vehicle, get buried in a snowbank or snowdrift, or have my tailpipe be blocked with snow.” The only thing she wanted was to get home to her kids.
She tried to think of a way out. She sent her GPS location to her friend, and he sent her a satellite image of where she was. She noticed there were nearby farms, and she posted her location to her community Facebook page.
Shannon started to see a glimmer of hope. The locals tried to find out who could rescue her. Eventually, it reached Andre’ Bouvier Sr.
Andre’ said the storm was the worst he had ever seen. He could not even clearly see what was in front of him, even with a flashlight. He walked and shielded his face from the blowing snow with his mittens. He remained calm as he walked from his farm to where the motorists are.
He recalled, “I was having trouble breathing for a bit. Then once I relaxed, I was okay.” His tractor did not start, so he started walking and led a convoy of cars toward his home.
“There’s something you have to do if someone called, and said they’re stranded…so you have to respond,” he said. Shannon was so thankful and emotional when she reached his home. She gave him a tight hug and sobbed, finally relieved that her scary ordeal was over.
To make things even cozier, Andre’s wife prepared coffee, hot tea, and homemade apple sauce for their guests. “It was just surreal,” Shannon could not believe that she was experiencing this kindness and hospitality from strangers. She went home early the following day to be reunited with her kids.
Andre’ has this encouraging message for everyone, “Life is what you make it. When you can help somebody out if need to the joy of it.” Andre’ and his wife’s greatest reward behind helping is the unspeakable joy they experience after making someone’s life a bit better.