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.
Jeff Palmer’s Story
Jeff Palmer was feeling good on the first day of the annual Cops for Cancer fundraising ride in 2015. The West Vancouver police officer had chatted with students at a Burnaby elementary school before he headed back out on the road with other members of his cycling team. But shortly thereafter, he started feeling lightheaded. Just as he thought about telling nearby paramedics, his heart stopped.
Terry Banks’s Story
Back pain by itself can be debilitating. For Terry Banks of Port Moody, a nagging lower back sprain was only the start of his problems. By the time he made his way to Royal Columbian Hospital’s emergency department weeks later, he was struggling with a number of complications. Now shivering and desperate for help, Terry wondered what was happening to him.
Miranda Tymoschuk’s Story
Miranda Tymoschuk is acutely familiar with the healthcare system. The 21-year-old Maple Ridge resident has undergone a dozen surgeries so far after being born with a rare condition called posteromedial tibia bowing. She has required numerous procedures to lengthen and straighten her left leg. But in recent years, she has been focused as much on her mental health as her physical health after struggles with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Moe Bruneau’s Story
Moe Bruneau discovered he was diabetic several years ago while undergoing tests following a minor heart attack. The reality of his type 2 diagnosis became much more evident later, when a blister on his left foot led to the loss of two toes.
Ken Barrett’s Story
As a devoted fan and volunteer at Agassiz Speedway, 79-year old Ken Barrett has seen the occasional car crash over the years. But the worst wreck was away from the track, when a car t-boned his vehicle as Ken was crossing an intersection in Surrey. His traumatic injuries led to three surgeries in less than three weeks at Royal Columbian Hospital, including a fairly new procedure to fix severely broken ribs with titanium plates.
Ashley and Hazel Durance
Ashley Durance had just survived a life-threatening complication of pregnancy. Her newborn girl Hazel, among the most premature and smallest ever to be born at Royal Columbian Hospital, was under constant watch in the intensive care unit for newborns. And now Ashley’s father Rick Walsh was about to undergo open heart surgery. With Christmas of 2016 only a couple of days away, it was hard to believe all that had happened in the last several weeks.
Jocelyn McComb’s Story
For Jocelyn McComb, spending the first two months of her life in Royal Columbian Hospital has been a source of inspiration. The 20-year old Surrey resident was born 13-weeks premature, and the stories she’s heard about her time in the neonatal intensive care unit (at the time known as the special care nursery) have encouraged her to pursue a career in nursing.
Lillian Yamaguchi Jones’s Story
She is able to joke now that it was a sneeze, and not a push, that led to her daughter’s birth. But at the time, Nobue Yamaguchi Jones was stunned to have given birth at only 25 weeks pregnant. Equally shocking was just how small the newborn girl was: 380 grams, just over three quarters of a pound. Lillian Yamaguchi Jones had become the smallest baby Royal Columbian Hospital’s neonatal intensive care team ever had to support.
Valerie Vandervelden’s Story
77-year old Valerie Vandervelden felt calm leading up to her scheduled heart procedure. She fully trusted Dr. Albert Chan, the interventional cardiologist who would be providing a drug-free option to lessen her risk of stroke. But as Valerie was brought into the cardiac catheterization lab, the Coquitlam resident was surprised at the large number of people standing by. She soon learned she was about to become part of Royal Columbian history, thanks to donors to Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation.