I had a profound reminder this summer of how important it is to have good and locally available healthcare.
The Battlefords Union Hospital was crucial to saving the life of my 93 year old dad who grew up in Saskatchewan, enjoyed a career here as a school teacher, and later in his retirement moved to British Columbia. This summer, fit and healthy, he came to visit us late in June with the intention to stay a couple of weeks. While we were vacationing at the Meadow Lake Provincial Park, he developed full blown pneumonia in both lungs. He started oxygen treatment in Meadow Lake but his breathing was extremely laboured. Within a few hours he was transported by air ambulance to North Battleford. My brother, who is a physician in BC, thought his chance of survival was slim and together with his wife, another brother and two sisters, all drove here within about a day to say goodbye. To our amazement, with his strong faith in God’s care, together with the excellent care he received at BUH, he was able to be discharged in 10 days and has since then almost made a full recovery! He is once again able to enjoy an active lifestyle with his 5 children and their spouses, 19 grandchildren plus many great grandchildren, and friends. He is also able to enjoy his walk around Mill Lake in a local park in Abbotsford.
My mother passed away last November and to think that I could have lost my dad so soon after her would have been a great personal loss. As I am sure you will appreciate, I am extremely grateful for the competent and professional healthcare workers we have here in the Battlefords, Meadow Lake, and the Saskatchewan Air Ambulance Service. I have so many people to thank! Additionally, the required facilities and equipment were available here to provide for us in our time of need. Keep up the great work of fund-raising to support healthcare in our local area!
Best regards,
Kevin Driedger
