Dennis Wagner’s Story
Dennis Wagner knew he had pancreatic cancer. He also knew it was inoperable and would eventually claim his life. However, as he lay in bed at Royal Columbian Hospital following new complications from his cancer, the 80-year-old Coquitlam man realized, with the help of his hospitalist Dr. Joelle Bradley, how advanced the disease had become. Their discussion gradually turned to end-of-life.
Rozalia Stil’s Story
Rozalia Stil became discouraged following a surprising diagnosis of liver cancer. The 76-year-old New Westminster woman focused on end-of-life and worried about leaving her husband behind. However, six years later, she has found renewed optimism courtesy of the specialized care at Royal Columbian Hospital.
Trevor Lovelace’s Story
Trevor Lovelace was getting ready for work when his left hand stopped functioning. His arm was numb and tingly. At first, he thought about ignoring it and carrying on to work. Thankfully his wife was there to push him to make a trip to Royal Columbian Hospital’s emergency department. Following a CT scan, the 51-year-old New Westminster resident was confirmed as having suffered a stroke.
Martin Bisset’s Story
Angie Bisset was reading when she first heard the strange sound. She would later describe it as either a gargling or vomiting noise. When their golden retriever started barking and running back and forth from where her husband Martin was working out in their Nanaimo home, she decided to go check. What she found was terrifying. By the next day, the 39-year-old Martin would be helicoptered to Royal Columbian Hospital for a neurosurgical procedure to save the life of the father of two.
John Harrison’s Story
John Harrison was three months into his retirement when the 62-year-old and his wife Carol left their home on a nice summer morning for a regular bicycle ride in Tsawwassen. The couple approached a big hill with different strategies: Carol took it slow, while John went hard and fast. As Carol pedalled up the hill, she looked up to see that her husband, a fair distance away, was now on the ground.
Felicity Landrey’s Story
As Melanie Bodhi, 24-weeks pregnant, headed to a doctor’s appointment in Prince George in the spring of 2017, she had no way of knowing the whirlwind she and her husband would soon face. Less than 24 hours later, she was at Royal Columbian Hospital, flown in from her northern BC community amid increasing concerns she would need to deliver very prematurely.
Hope Annis’s Story
It was during Vicki Foley’s 20-week ultrasound that they discovered fetal measurements were about a month behind schedule. Thus began regular monitoring and eventually a planned delivery at 37 weeks. While Royal Columbian Hospital’s Variety Neonatal Intensive Care Unit looked after baby Hope for her first few weeks, it took genetic testing to offer an explanation for the newborn’s small size. She was diagnosed with a rare chromosomal condition known as Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome.
Michael Coss’s Story
Michael Coss has made it his mission to inspire. Twelve years ago, his future appeared bleak to many after the van he was driving rolled over on the Coquihalla Highway. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and remained in a coma for six months at Royal Columbian Hospital, the health region’s referral centre for brain and spine surgery. While the accident permanently changed his life, the 49-year-old sees lots of opportunity in his remarkable and ongoing recovery.
McRae family’s Story
Colleen and Murray McRae married young and were together for a remarkable 70 years when they were admitted to Royal Columbian Hospital separately in the summer of 2017. When staff learned they were husband and wife, caregivers moved them together in a room that became affectionately known as the “honeymoon suite”. It was a gesture the family appreciated, even more so in hindsight when 87-year-old Murray passed away less than a week later.
Rose Donovan’s Story
Rose Donovan had not been feeling well for weeks. The 52-year-old Maple Ridge woman was dealing with headaches, nausea, hot flashes, and then a pain on her upper right side. She suspected stress as the cause, but her family doctor sent her for a gallbladder ultrasound. The test result was blindsiding – there was a golf ball-sized mass on her pancreas.