Diane Les’s Story
It was a random fundraising phone call from Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation that brought Diane Les and her husband Ed into the lives of thousands of others. Since that first call some 16 years ago, with a simple request for a $20 donation, the couple’s unassuming generosity has greatly advanced the care provided to a multitude of patients from across the region.
Joyce Kubu-Haynes
“Mum, you’ve never been so good.” Those words from her children bring comfort to Joyce Kubu-Haynes, who has lived with mental illness for decades.
Hospitalized on three occasions, the 76-year old Coquitlam resident is grateful to Royal Columbian Hospital for helping her continue to live independently, enjoy time with family and friends, and manage her illness with daily medications.
Janice Kirkrod’s Story
If Janice Kirkrod wrote a book, she knows what she would call it: There’s Light at the End of the Tunnel. Over the last three decades, the 75-year old Surrey resident has felt the darkness as well as the light, as she battled a depression that often left her in tears and with little energy to do much.
Don Wrigley’s Story
Don Wrigley grew concerned when he started suffering from chest pains and shortness of breath whenever he tended to his garden or even walked up his driveway. Testing confirmed the cause: severe aortic stenosis, along with significant coronary artery disease. The Burnaby resident would need a new heart valve. At almost 90 years old, the question became whether open heart surgery was his only option.
Charlotte Abel’s Story
The first seven months felt remarkably smooth for Lindsay Davidson, who was preparing for the arrival of their first child with husband Ben Abel. But a routine check-up at 30 weeks sent the North Vancouver couple into a week-long tailspin that eventually brought them to Royal Columbian Hospital for an emergency delivery and an anxious introduction to parenthood.
Cheryl Gauld’s Story
A good meal is one of life’s pleasures, and it’s one Cheryl Gauld will never take for granted. That’s because for more than four decades, the New Westminster resident could hardly eat anything. From her early twenties to her mid-sixties, she struggled to keep down whatever food she managed to swallow. And often, swallowing was itself a challenge. It wasn’t until she met a Royal Columbian Hospital gastroenterologist that she rediscovered the ability to enjoy one of life’s basic needs.
Bola Family’s Story
The expression like father, like son took on new significance for the Bola family in Surrey, after Pritam Singh (Peter) Bola and his father Santokh Singh Bola both underwent open heart surgery at Royal Columbian Hospital – a month apart from each other.
Simon Ma’s Story
Simon Ma knew he had high blood pressure. He is also the first to admit he had a poor diet, didn’t exercise, and he wasn’t being helped by his pack-a-day smoking habit. But the 50-year old Burnaby man is stunned at how suddenly his life almost ended one night while watching his son play hockey at a Surrey arena.
Ethel Goddard’s Story
Ethel Goddard has led an impressively active life. Hiking, cycling, skiing, tennis: she and her husband would frequently gather the three children and spend time doing all kinds of outdoors activities. It’s a habit Ethel carried into her 80s, as the Langley resident joined local fitness group sessions and walked regularly. It was while out with her daughter that her condition dramatically changed.
Scott McGillivray’s Story
It was a beautiful, unseasonably hot spring day in the Lower Mainland, the start of what turned out to be the longest warm spell of 2009. For Scott McGillivray, it was a perfect day to cruise home from work on his one-year-old Victory Jackpot motorcycle. He was in Cloverdale, close to his destination, when a truck swerved into him. The accident left Scott with a number of injuries, including several shattered ribs and a broken shoulder blade. But it was a tear in the body’s main artery that put his life most in danger.