In July 2023, Wilfred Lun excitedly hopped on a plane to Vancouver from Toronto. He planned to stay on the west coast for the duration of the trip – just a few days.
But Lun, a senior manager in finance at the Bank, started feeling unwell as he was standing up to get off the plane. He had a fever and his leg was hurting.
Lun didn’t realize how seriously ill he was and how his life was about to change forever.
"At that time, I was actually two days away from acquiring a disability, and nearly losing my life," Lun said.
He left the airport for the hotel and tried to push through the pain. Lun even managed to do some quick networking with colleagues.
In the meantime, his left leg swelled, went numb, and turned yellow. Delirious, he laid on the floor of the hotel lobby as staff called 9-1-1.
In the ICU, doctors eventually diagnosed Lun with necrotizing fasciitis, a rare infection that kills the body's soft tissue.
"It's a diagnosis that’s so rare, it's like being struck by lightning, twice," Lun said.
'You need to come to Vancouver now'
Surgeons first tried to remove as much of the infection as they could from Lun's leg, but during surgery, he experienced multiple organ failure and had to be intubated.
"By the time my wife arrived at the hospital from Toronto, the surgeons started to prepare her for the worst — that I would not make it through the night," Lun said.
As a result of the organ failure, doctors made the decision to amputate Lun's leg above the knee in a bid to save his life.
"I was sedated for a week while intubated, so I didn't know any of this was happening," he said.
"But as I started to come out of sedation, I could hear my wife's voice, and she spoke in this positive, uplifting tone. She said that family members came from Korea to look after our daughter, that there is nothing to worry about, and that I should focus on myself and my health. She told me that I am surrounded by love."
Over the course of two months, Lun underwent six surgeries. By the time he was stable enough to be airlifted to a hospital in Toronto to be closer to family, his life and body had been permanently changed.
Lun spent another month in hospitals in Toronto before he was fitted for a prosthetic leg in December and started intense rehabilitation. He started to consider what returning to work would look like.
Lun walks with a cane. Physical pain is a part of his daily life now. Anxiety is too.
Returning to work with a disability
Lun returned to work in July 2024, a full year after his leg was removed. But before he officially did so, he spoke regularly with his people manager to discuss his progress and what his day-to-day would look like at work.
His colleagues checked in with him often and cheered him on — something that made Lun eager to not only recover but also return to the office.
“I had support from multiple levels of the organization,” Lun said. “My team began looking into ways to foster an inclusive environment for me without barriers. The tone from the Bank was positive and really put me at the centre — helping alleviate my anxiety significantly.”
Lun now works from home but does come to the office for key moments with his colleagues. His mobility remains a challenge, so when he does come into the office, he drives instead of taking the GO Train like he did before he got sick.
He hasn't brought his walking pole into the office — yet. Lun said his pants cover his prosthetic limb, so it's not always immediately clear to colleagues that he has a physical disability.
"I am going to try to bring my pole to work soon," he said. "This is going to be a big step for me, because when people see the pole, it changes things. I can hide my prosthetic for the most part. But with a pole, the disability is out there."
There's no one-size-fits-all approach to accommodating a colleague with a disability, Lun said, but he encourages everyone to create an environment of respect and openness.
"We all have the power to create an environment where everyone feels valued and supported. Your kindness can impact lives,” he said.
"Adversity can strike anyone, at any time. What matters most is how we respond as a community – with courage, support, and hope."
Before acquiring his disability, Lun was a volunteer with the Bank’s Disability Inclusion Employee Resource Group as an ally, even though he didn’t have a personal connection.
The group is made up of colleagues in Canada, the U.S., and the UK who have visible and non-visible disabilities or who are allies.
After he got sick, Lun experienced what it was like to be on the receiving end of an outpouring of support from the group, which focuses on creating inclusive environments where everybody gets to thrive.
“They really rallied behind me,” Lun said. "It reminds me that I am never alone on this journey — there are colleagues rooting for me every day."
Lun chooses to regularly share his story as a way of giving back, whether that's with close colleagues over coffee or with hundreds of people during a town hall meeting.
“You never know when you can acquire a disability — it can happen at any point in time during your life,” he said.
Lun wants the people who hear his story to know they can work through hard moments and new realities and still accomplish their goals.
"When we break down barriers, it leads to more transparency and more respect. I believe that the quality of work at the end of the day improves," he said.
"I'm a proud amputee. I'm proud to share that I'm a person with an acquired disability and bring my full self to work."
In his personal life, Lun is still working on some specific goals. Before he got sick, he liked to run every day.
So far, walking has been the focus of his ongoing rehab sessions — but running is something he wants to explore eventually.
He's tried on a blade; a kind of leg prosthetic designed specifically for running.
"Every step is victory," Lun said. "I do want to run again someday, and I know I’ll have the support of my TD colleagues running beside me during this rehab."
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