On screen text: Create a Sunnybrook moment. . .
Lynn: I was sent down to Sunnybrook Hospital, where a 3-inch tumour
was discovered on my ovaries. Brandon: I went to Sunnybrook, I believe it was in
June 2006 for a dissecting aneurysm, and, um, it was an emergency
operation so basically everything happened within 12 hours.
Patty: My mother became very unwell, and we had to call the paramedics, and they
took her to Sunnybrook. Kathy: When we found out that my father had to have surgery, that was
shocking, especially. He went in as a healthy man, and we were told he needed a triple
bypass. On screen text: Compassion. . .
Lynn: When you're going into the Sunnybrook cancer ward
it's like your ticket's already done,
you know? And when you have people who are smiling at you and being
friendly, it goes a big step. . . It really
goes a big step. Patty: I'd have to say that the nursing staff that we met in emerge
were exceedingly kind.
And I think that really exceeded our expectations.
Kathy: My father's surgery ended at night, he was out at about 8 PM,
so we obviously weren't allowed to stay in the CICU overnight. They said,
"Call us anytime, make sure that, you know, you're comfortable.
If you can't sleep, call," which I did many times during that evening,
and their voices were calm, they spoke
as if they had time. It was certainly a comforting feeling
to know that you weren't just a number. On screen text: Communication. . .
Brandon: The cardiovascular surgeon came in. I think it was
either 1 or 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning, you know, he came in from home just to say hi,
and give me sort of the lowdown of what had happened, what was going to happen in the morning,
and basically he was there to make me feel comfortable.
Lynn: While I was in having the operation--it was a 2 hour operation by the way--
my mother and my husband were in the waiting room
and every 15 to 20 minutes somebody would
come out, and they would advise my husband and my mother as to my
progress. Patty: I think what made it more comfortable for us, and gave us
a sense that everything was going to be okay, was that he
communicated everything to us. He communicated what he was going to do,
how he was going to do it, where he was going to do it, and especially
why he was going to do it. Kathy: There was a lot of literature that we received
that was very, very useful, and certainly prepared us
for what was to come. On screen text: Consideration. . .
Lynn: Finally, after a couple of days, I was able to eat real food.
And . . . The lady came in and said, "Well, Lynn, good news is
you get some food, you can either have an egg sandwich, a tuna sandwich, or a salmon sandwich."
And I looked at her and I said "I'm sorry, but is there any way that I could get a brown sandwich?"
A cheese on brown? Because I'm a vegetarian." And she said absolutely. She went down to the cafeteria,
bought me a cheese sandwich on brown, and I have to tell you, it was a really delicious sandwich.
Patty: One thing that stands out is when my mom, when we pushed the call
bell, they came. We didn't have to wait a long period of time,
and when you're dealing with an older person that needs some personal care,
they came. Brandon: And the only thing I wanted was jello, I didn't want anything
else, and so they brought me red jello. I was actually angry
and I said, "No, I want green jello!" Cause, right? You're on the drugs.
And, you know, a few minutes later, green jello appears. It was fantastic.
On screen text: Comfort. . .
Lynn: There was, um, Annie. All the time I was there she would
brush my hair out, and she would braid it at night, and she would sponge
my back in the morning. I mean, I didn't ask her to do this, she just
did it. Brandon: For some reason, I would get cold and hot
and cold, and so, in any event, I would basically sweat out the blankets.
The nurses on my floor were coming in every
you know, half an hour, an hour, to check on me to make sure that the blankets were still dry, or
if I was cold, they would bring me the warm ones.
Patty: On the floor was a nurse, and she was just so
gentle with my mother, and very respectful. I knew that
she had a lot of work to do, I knew she was running around and had a lot of patients to look
after, but I wouldn't have known that from the time that she spent with my mother.
Kathy: It was probably the most traumatic
experience for our family, and therefore, having people
deal with you in such a human way, care about
the family and the patient, was truly important
to all of us. It made the experience as good as a bad experience can be.
On screen text: Create a Sunnybrook Moment. . .