Calgary man lands in B.C. hospital after falling from two-storey balcony at Airbnb
Lawrence Pickrem thought he’d be celebrating a weekend away with friends in Vernon, B.C., but two hours into the trip on Friday it changed dramatically.
Pickrem, originally from Nova Scotia, and his friend were enjoying a beer on the balcony of their Airbnb rental.
They leaned on the railing when it gave way and they fell two storeys.
Pickrem broke his friend's fall, but he ruptured his spleen and broke his pelvis.
“It was quite a drop to the ground and it was on cement,” Pickrem said from his hospital room in Vernon. “All I remember was once the wind was knocked out of me, I remember looking over and seeing my buddy Barrett’s head bleeding.”
Pickrem said he wants to warn others to always check their surroundings when attending a rental property.
“We had no inclination to know that the railings wouldn’t have been secure and as far as I’m concerned, not up to code,” he said. “Be more cautious, kind of look around and don’t just trust that everything is how its supposed to be, because often times, as I learned the hard way, it’s not.”
Pickrem moved to Calgary several months ago from Halifax, seeking work.
His sister Brittany, who lives in Halifax, has set up a crowdfunding campaign to help her brother financially.
It’s raised more than $3,200 of its $5,000 goal.
Doctors have told Pickrem it could be six months before he begins walking again.
“I asked him on a scale of one to 10, where’s your comfort level, and he said he’s about a four with the pain,” Brittany said. “But I can tell now its more emotional than anything else. He’s so far away from his family.”
Airbnb said in a statement that “the safety of our community is of the utmost importance to us.”
“We are looking into this incident and have reached out to the guest and host to offer additional support,” an Airbnb spokesperson said.
The company says Pickrem and his friends received a refund for their visit.
Pickrem says he would like to return to Halifax but believes he’ll be in Calgary for several months to recover.
His injuries are so severe, doctors say he will have to be specially transported by air back to Calgary from Vernon.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.
1 killed, 3 injured including toddler, after Hwy. 417 crash in Ottawa
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.