Life often comes with its many challenges and tragedies. We often face them ourselves but sometimes they strike the people we love most.
On Saturday, July 26, 2025, Debbie and Brian Haynes, a beloved couple from MacTier, Ontario, and personal friend, experienced an event that changed their lives forever.
According to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the crash occurred around 3 p.m. on Monck Road in the Township of Ramara. A passenger vehicle collided head-on with the couple’s motorcycle. Both sustained serious injuries. Brian was airlifted to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, while Debbie was transported by ambulance to Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital before later being transferred to Sunnybrook to join him.
As news of the accident spread, family, friends, and community members flooded social media with prayers and well wishes. In the days following, both underwent multiple surgeries. Ultimately, doctors were forced to amputate their left legs below the knee.
On August 2, Brian broke the silence with a Facebook post, recalling what he could remember of the crash and, for the first time, asking the public for help.
“…We both noticed we were missing our left foot while lying on the road. Debbie had launched over me, and the driver behind us rushed to her side…” He said.
Debbie’s injuries included a broken pinky finger, deep lacerations on her left side, and a severe elbow injury that exposed bone. Brian sustained fractured ribs, a fractured spine, a fractured neck, and multiple facial lacerations.
Members of the Muskoka Bulletin Board — a local Facebook group Brian moderates — asked the couple if they would like a GoFundMe to be launched to assist with their up coming financial burdens.
“…We do. For once in my life, I am now reaching out for help…” he said.
When it came time to ask for assistance, it didn’t come easily for Haynes. Even though the couple, known for their generosity and willingness to help others, has been assisting those in need for a very long time.
I know this firsthand. When I moved to Muskoka in 2021, I reached out for help and was welcomed instantly. They helped me find a place to live, lent me their car while I shopped for my own, and ultimately invited me into their home like family.
That same year, on June 6, 2021 — a day meant for celebration, as we had planned a graduation photoshoot for their daughter — I received a text from Brian at 8 a.m.:
“Alysha. Today is cancelled. Our house burned down. We are all ok. Can’t talk now but will soon. Debbie has no phone.”
Their home was destroyed in the fire. Thankfully, the children, along with a friend, were sleeping in a detached trailer at the time. Debbie and Brian, asleep in the main house, woke to the sound and smell of fire and escaped unharmed.
“Brian went back in for Blue!” Debbie said at the time, referring to the family cat he rescued.
Friends rallied then — driving hours to deliver clothes, food, and shelter.
Now, the community is stepping forward by contributing to the couple’s GoFundMe campaign.
To help with their long recoveries, rehabilitation, and major lifestyle changes, a GoFundMe campaign was launched on August 5, 2025. It has since raised more than $70,000 as of August 11.
“It was crazy.” “It was so fast!” the couple said in response to the overwhelming outreach of donations.
“We are still speechless sometimes, you know, when you see it all and read it all. I just can’t stop saying, ‘wow’.” Debbie says.
As a friend to the couple, I cannot thank the community enough for spreading their story and sharing their links. Rest assured, your donations are going to an incredible family.
Initially the couple was hesitant to accept financial help, but after encouragement from friends and a realistic look at their situation, they finally agreed to start the campaign.
“I looked at Brian and I said we really need this, we are both the workers in the family. You know, paying all the bills,” Debbie says, knowing that their recovery could take time.
Now, side by side at St. John’s Rehab Hospital, they have become a beacon of smiles, positivity, and hope. Hundreds of messages have poured in on Facebook, both to their personal accounts and on the Muskoka Bulletin Board page.
“It’s overwhelming. We are reading comments…it does help. For me, I start to cry. I can’t believe how many people are reaching out,” Debbie says.
On August 8, a man named Scott, who walks with one prosthetic leg, visited the couple at the hospital. He shared his own motorcycle accident story and offered words of encouragement for their recovery. The couple later posted that seeing his progress gave them hope.
Brian and Debbie now undergo daily workouts with their physiotherapist and occupational therapist to build strength and mobility.
“We start with all upper body workouts. Dumb bells, and bands. We will do all kinds of strengthening exercises for our arms and whole upper half. And then, we go into lower body workouts. We are doing all kinds of stuff with our legs, trying to build up our muscles. And we do both sides, even the one that’s missing,” Debbie explains.
Their attitude toward their situation has been seen as incredible by staff and the community alike. One follower had posted on Muskoka Bulletin Board, August 9:
“We haven’t had the opportunity to meet,” Barb started the post. “…My mom, bless her heart, has been volunteering there for years (Referring to St. John’s). She’s 93 and she mentioned that she had met you at the coffee bar…” “…She is amazed at your positive attitude and perseverance. Keep up the good work.”
As the couple mentioned, comments like these have allowed them to keep putting ‘one foot in front of the same foot’ — because in reality, their recovery has only just begun, and it still holds its weight.
“Everything comes with a price,” Brian says. “I’m having a lot of shocks right now.”
Brian has been experiencing phantom limb shocks — sudden, painful electric jolts caused by his severed nerves.
Debbie adds, “Very painful shocks in his leg and sometimes you have to remind your body that there’s no foot there. And because he has broken ribs, the tightening muscles don’t help.” Debbie also mentions she is having similar shocks, but at the moment, not as frequently painful as Brian.
While the physical pain is a challenge, they say the hardest part during recovery is — remembering.
On August 6, Brian posted:
“I rarely have dreams. Last couple nights I am waking up in shear terror…”
Debbie, conscious for most of the incident and transfer, recalled overhearing a paramedic say “I don’t have a pulse” — a critical comment that was only referring to her severed foot.
“You think about things and you remember. The hardest part is that we remember so much. I pretty much remember the whole accident, while he (Brian) blacked out for a little bit,” she says. “I wish I didn’t remember so much.”
And still, the couple is determined to persevere.
“Honestly, we are doing really well,” Debbie says. “We have our moments, it’s going to happen, but for the most part, we are really positive. We are looking at all the love and support we have, so that’s helping. Plus we are here together keeping each other busy, and cheering each other on.”
Their goal is to walk out of St. John’s Rehab Hospital in early September.
“We’ve put the date in our heads because we also have a concert that we’d like to go to,” Debbie laughs. “We got tickets already to System of a Down in Toronto. We missed a different concert a few days ago, we were supposed to go see Headstones, which is my favourite band, who performed at The Key. So, that’s our goal, but we are still doing what we are told.”
They know that in time they will walk out of St. John’s Rehab Hospital on two legs. Debbie noted that reality may not fully sink in until they are home with their children — facing the things they used to be able to do, that now, may not come so easily.
The couple expressed how proud they are of their children. Their daughter had just turned eighteen the day before the crash.
“We took her out to dinner, we got a picture of all three of us and the next day–this happened,” Debbie says. “She turned eighteen and like, grew up, because she was making calls on her own without even asking. She phoned Brian’s family, our bosses, she phoned my mom and dad. We gave her a list and she packed our bags for us so we had stuff here.”
Throughout this journey, the couple recognize they have never been on their own. Family, friends, and community have been there every step of the way. They understand the significance of surviving their crash — an incident that rarely few ever survive.
“We are definitely being watched over for sure,” Debbie says.
“We honestly feel— blessed. That’s it. I didn’t think I was alive,” Brian adds.
With new goals set, they plan to leave St. John’s with prosthetics and a renewed sense of purpose.
“We are just going to work on strengthening our upper and lower halves. Then in a few weeks they will probably measure us for a prosthetic. Then, they’ll have us work to walk with them.” Debbie says. “There is a long road ahead but we are going to do it.”
As of August 11, 2025, the OPP have not provided additional information on the incident. The investigation is ongoing, and the OPP encourages anyone who may have been in the area and has information or dashcam footage to contact them at 1-888-310-1122, reference E250995144, or to call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or visit www.crimestoppersdm.com.