Help BC’s busiest cardiac care team
Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation wants to bring the latest technology and equipment to the hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab – the busiest in the province and serving the entire Fraser Health region.
The Cardiac Care Campaign has a $3.3 million dollar fundraising goal to upgrade Royal Columbian Hospital’s two cath lab suites, which are available 24/7 for cardiac emergencies like acute heart attacks. The interventional cardiology team performs high-levels of angioplasty to restore blood flow to blocked arteries and conducts angiograms to diagnose heart disease and other cardiac problems.
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.
Colin Lewis’s Story
It was a series of fortunate circumstances that helped save the life of Colin Lewis. The 73-year old White Rock man was in Abbotsford with family, on their way in a van to pick up the grandchildren from school, when his heart suddenly stopped. Thanks to the quick actions of a number of people in the crucial minutes after Colin suffered cardiac arrest, he was able to successfully undergo emergency quadruple bypass surgery at Royal Columbian Hospital.
Jyotika Prasad’s Story
Jyotika Prasad and her husband were painting their home the weekend before a planned trip to Mexico when she started feeling uncomfortable. The 41-year old Vancouver resident woke up the next day with sore muscles, a lethargic feeling and a deep pain in her upper back. “I thought I pulled some muscles and was sore from doing so much,” she recalls.
As the symptoms persisted, Jyotika made her way to Burnaby General Hospital. There, she received shocking news: she had suffered a heart attack and was a type 2 diabetic. After being sent for further testing at Royal Columbian Hospital – the region’s cardiac care centre – she learned more troubling information. She would need quadruple bypass surgery.
Johnny Gahir’s story
There must be some mistake, thought Johnny Gahir. After all, the robust, energetic 37-year-old father of two from Surrey exercised regularly and took good care of himself. But there was no mistaking the chest pains he was experiencing after coming home from the gym. A cardiology stress test at his local hospital revealed a shadow on the front of his heart and the need for a referral to Royal Columbian Hospital’s cardiac care team.