By RANDY SEAVER | Editor
Don Creighton has just four words for all the people who rallied around him earlier this year when an unexpected injury sidelined him from his job as a security guard at the McArthur Library in Biddeford.
Thank. You. So. Much.
We caught up with Creighton last week. He contacted us, wanting to issue a very public thank you letter to the community.
“I still can’t believe how much support I received,” he said, pausing for a moment and looking out the window of a small meeting room at the library. “There really are no adequate words.”
In late December, Don had a sudden seizure while working at the library. He was unconscious for several moments and was transported to the hospital.
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According to his medical providers, Don had what is known as Non-Epilepsy Seizure (NES). During the seizure and resulting convulsions, Don suffered compression fractures along his spine.
Every day for the next eight weeks became an ongoing battle with pain so intense that Don has a hard time moving from room to room in his small apartment on Main Street.
After returning home from the hospital, Don says he avoided eating for several days because “sitting in the bathroom was just too painful.”
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A Community Rallies
It’s quite likely that Don had no idea how much his gentle spirit and overwhelming empathy meant to the greater community, including his co-workers, library patrons and those who are ignored and disparaged – the city’s unhoused residents who rely upon the public library for temporary respite and comfort.
“Saying that Don is missed at the library is a gross understatement,” said Joe Sanderson — the library’s technical coordinator — during a January interview with the Gazette.
Sanderson and others described Don Creighton as “a big part of the community.”
It would appear that Don was one of the most well-known and certainly one of the most liked members of the Biddeford community.
When Don could not come back to work because of his injuries and intense pain, Sanderson and others moved into high gear in an effort to help their colleague; their friend.
A GoFundMe account was established to help Don with his day-to-day expenses including rent and groceries.
Younger library patrons decorated Don’s workstation with handmade get-well cards, pictures and messages of support.
It seemed that everyone wanted to help the soft-spoken man who was always ready, willing and able to help others.
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According to Creighton, within 24 hours after the Gazette posted a story about his struggles, the GoFundMe account lit up like a Christmas tree on Dec. 25.
Others offered to bring him food and help take care of and walk his dog, Mya – his faithful companion.
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Back at work
This good news story just keeps getting better.
Don is now back at work, able to move, bend over and offer assistance whenever needed.
He says working at the library is a good fit for him, allowing him to earn a living while doing something meaningful; something that matches his core values.
Don still has some challenges ahead. There are more medical tests and treatments looming on the horizon.
But he’s feeling optimistic about the future, and so very grateful for the community’s support.
“There are so many things,” Don said. “So many ways my heart has been touched.”
As an example, Don said he has received more than 40 signatures on get well cards circulated by several of the city’s unhoused residents.
“So many people who come into the library have a really hard life,” he explains. “And these people – and so many others – just took the time to think of me and offer words of encouragement and support.
“No one will ever know how much that means to me,” Don said. “How do I ever repay that level of kindness.?’”
VIDEO | Thank you, thank you, thank you
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