Staff of Coquitlam's Milestones restaurant are coming together to raise funds for one of their longtime cooks who lost two limbs due to complications from blood clots last year.
Shortly after Jean Moulton lost her left arm and right leg in the spring of 2015 the Milestone's family raised about $1,500 for her and the BC Hospitality Foundation pitched in $7,500. A fundraiser on the weekend raised nearly $10,000 through ticket sales, a silent auction and raffle and now Milestone's owner Surinder Brar hopes the public will get behind a GoFundMe page for Moulton.
"Her life has been turned around but she's put a very good spin on it," Brar said of Moulton, a 52-year-old Langley resident. "The staff have been very, very supportive."
Moulton first worked at the Coquitlam restaurant 11 years ago and later left to work in Langley. She returned about 18 months ago when Brar purchased the Tri-Cities location and fellow employees recommended he hire her back on the spot.
He was glad he did.
"Jean is very likeable, she's very personable," said Brar, who also owns the Abbotsford Milestones location. "She has a great attitude. Every time I asked her to stay an extra half an hour or an hour, she would be right there. And if anybody tried a chopped salad or a seafood salad, it always looked amazing."
It was last March when Moulton came to the restaurant for a regular daytime shift as a pantry cook, where she mainly made salads, and complained about a sore bruise on her left arm.
She couldn't recall hitting her arm on anything and the manager suggested she get it checked out by a doctor. A short time later Moulton was transferred to Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster because of a blood clot but doctors were unable to save her arm.
While she was recovering in hospital Moulton suffered another blood clot, this time in her right leg, which was amputated just below the knee.
Despite the devastating injuries, Brar said Moulton is doing remarkably well and has started thinking about her future plans.
"She's in great spirits right now," Brar said, noting she's hoping the fundraising proceeds will help with the cost of prosthetics and other mobility aids. "She wants to get to work and she has a dram of opening a restaurant herself."
• To donate, visit www.gofundme.com.
