My journey: Why Steps for Life matters
By Lindsay Schulhauser
On 8 July 2020, my life changed forever.
I was working alone when I encountered high-voltage electricity. In an instant, a routine workday became a life-threatening event. The injuries I sustained were severe, but the physical wounds were only part of the story. What followed was a journey of recovery that challenged me physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Like many injured workers, I found myself asking difficult questions: Will I recover? Will I be able to work again? What will life look like moving forward? The road ahead was uncertain.
Recovery was not measured in days or weeks—it was measured in determination, resilience, and the support of those around me. Family, friends, co-workers, first responders, healthcare professionals, and my employer all played a role in helping me rebuild my confidence and my future. Through every setback and milestone, I learned that healing extends far beyond the injury itself.
One of the most significant lessons from my experience is that workplace injuries affect more than the individual involved. They impact families, co-workers, and entire communities. When a worker is injured, the consequences ripple far beyond the worksite. That reality is why safety must always remain our highest priority.
Today, I am proud to continue my career in the electrical utility industry as Manager of the Operating Area. Before moving into leadership, I spent 17 years working as a Powerline Technician. Those experiences, combined with my injury, have shaped how I approach safety, leadership, and employee well-being every day.
My injury gave me a perspective that cannot be learned from a textbook or procedure manual. It reinforced the importance of speaking up when something doesn’t feel right, taking the time to identify hazards, and looking out for one another. It also highlighted the often-overlooked mental health challenges that can follow a traumatic workplace event. Recovery is not simply about returning to work—it is about rebuilding confidence, finding purpose, and learning how to move forward.
I was first introduced to Steps for Life in 2023 by my co-worker, Leea Boxall. After hearing her story and learning more about Threads of Life, I quickly realised just how important this initiative is. For the first time, I found myself surrounded by people who truly understood that the impacts of a workplace tragedy extend far beyond the physical injuries we can see. The loss, emotional struggle, and mental health challenges that follow can often be the hardest part of the recovery journey.
Through Steps for Life, I connected with individuals and families who had travelled similar roads. Those connections reminded me that I was not alone in my experience. Being able to share stories, listen to others, and support one another has played a meaningful role in my healing. Steps for Life became relevant to me because it provided something many injured workers struggle to find—a community of people who genuinely understand.
I often say that my injury changed my life, but it did not define it. While I would never wish that experience on anyone, it has strengthened my commitment to safety and supporting others who may be facing similar challenges. If sharing my story helps one person stop and think before starting a task, speak up about a hazard, or have an important safety conversation, then that experience can continue to create positive change.
Serving as the Steps for Life spokesperson this spring was a powerful reminder of how far I have come since my workplace injury. It was a roller coaster of emotions leading up to the event. As I prepared my message, I reflected on the challenges of the past six years and the people who helped me through them. Standing in front of the crowd, I realised I was again, not alone. I felt the support of my girlfriend, my mom, my family, my friends, my co-workers, and my leaders. Their encouragement reminded me that recovery is never something we do by ourselves.
As I looked out and saw the stream of yellow shirts wrapping around the lake, I was overwhelmed by the strength of the community gathered there. In that moment, the Threads of Life message resonated deeply with me:
“In the fabric we call family and community, there is a thread—a worker. When that worker is seriously injured or lost, that fabric is forever changed.”
On 8 July 2020, I was working alone. That feeling is difficult to describe and even harder to understand unless you have experienced it yourself. What I have learned since then is that none of us are meant to recover alone. We all need the fabric of family, friends, co-workers, and community to help carry us forward. We need people who will listen, support us, and help us find strength when we need it most.
That is what Steps for Life and Threads of Life represents for me: a place where people can find understanding, share their stories, honour loved ones, remember fallen workers, and support one another through life’s most difficult moments, while sharing knowledge with new workers that may be starting their career path. Being the spokesperson was more than an opportunity to tell my story—it was an opportunity to remind others that there is hope after tragedy, strength in community, and healing in knowing you are never truly alone.
Because safety is not just about preventing injuries—it is about protecting lives, families, and futures.