Kulwant Samra’s story
After Kulwant Samra tested positive for COVID-19, the 51-year-old Abbotsford man isolated himself from his family in a room in his home. He was tired and short of breath in the first half of June 2020, as businesses and schools in the province were re-opening following the initial protective measures taken during the start of the pandemic. Kulwant was initially still able to work remotely for his trucking company, dispatching a driver by phone the day he truly became alarmed by how he felt. His last memory was leaving his home by ambulance, before waking up eight weeks later at Royal Columbian Hospital.
Roger Pinette’s story
Roger Pinette had been feeling unwell for a few days, struggling with a bad cough, headaches, a fever, and fatigue. They are the type of symptoms that have come to be associated with COVID-19, but back in early March 2020 it was not yet front and centre in people’s minds. It would be several weeks before the 72-year-old Langley resident would learn he had contracted a near fatal case of the respiratory illness, only hearing the news after he had awoken from a lengthy stay in Royal Columbian Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.
Vince Li’s Story
26-year-old Vince Li had been battling a fever for several days in March 2020 when he made his way to the hospital in Burnaby. The results of an X-ray and blood test revealed tell-tale signs of COVID-19. Doctors decided to immediately sedate, intubate, and send the young man to Royal Columbian Hospital, one of the province’s primary COVID-19 sites. There, he became the youngest COVID-positive patient to be mechanically ventilated in the hospital’s intensive care unit during the pandemic’s spring peak.
Breathing life into research
For critically ill or injured patients, mechanical ventilation can be a lifesaving intervention. However, it comes with its own risks and complications, something Dr. Steve Reynolds has thought a lot about.
Professorship funding drives world-class respiratory research team
New Westminster, B.C. – {November 14, 2019} – Funding from the TB Vets Charitable Foundation has helped a Royal Columbian […]
New round of equipment purchases funded by Royal Columbian donors
New Westminster, B.C. – {March 20, 2019} – Donors to Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation are helping to fund new equipment […]
The gift of breath
After undergoing open-heart surgery, patients come out of the operating room under deep anesthesia. During the crucial first hours after […]
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.
Donation offers patients easier breath
Support from the TB Vets Charitable Foundation will allow some Royal Columbian Hospital patients who face respiratory failure to avoid […]
Senft family’s Story
It was a complete shock when Sarah Senft’s water broke. The North Shore family physician was not yet 30 weeks pregnant. She and her husband Riley, an anesthesiologist, were in California at the time for a family wedding. While the couple tried to stay calm, it was the start of a whirlwind of events that led them to be airlifted unexpectedly to Royal Columbian Hospital, where Zoe Senft was born several hours later, 10 weeks premature.