BARRIE A Barrie man who beat the odds and emerged from a three-month hospitalization for COVID-19 feels he s getting a second chance at life. Brian Gillespie tested positive in early February. On Feb. 11, struggling to breathe and wearing a bathrobe, he walked to an ambulance outside his home. He wouldn t return until winter had melted into spring. This time he was more than 60 pounds lighter and leaning on a walker. Brian and his family endured what they describe as a rollercoaster of hope over the months he spent inside the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH). I ve always relied heavily on being a physical person. And having that taken away from me is very debilitating, Brian told CTV News from his yard on Monday.
In March, Brampton-based pharmacist Aska Patel got an email from her employer asking if she’d volunteer to work in a hospital that was hit hard with Covid. Patel agreed, and in April, she was redeployed to the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre in Barrie. Here’s how it all happened.
As told to Andrea Yu
“I was born in India and immigrated to Brampton with my parents in 2000, when I was 12. In high school, I volunteered at a pharmacy to complete some of my community service hours. I watched how the pharmacists talked to patients about their health and I saw how much the patients valued their guidance. I decided this was the job for me. I now work for Home Community Care Support Services Central West in Brampton as a consultant pharmacist. It’s a really rewarding position because I get to consult with patients one-on-one to help optimize their medication therapy. I mediate between the community pharmacist, the family physician and any other specialists I think of myself
BARRIE, ONT. The Simcoe Muskoka health unit logged 71 new infections on Friday, for a total of 330 cases for the week. The region s infection rate has slowly trended downward week over week since the province put the stay-at-home order into effect, leaving health officials cautiously optimistic. The situation right now is actually quite encouraging, said Simcoe Muskoka s associate medical officer of health, Dr. Colin Lee. However, the health unit also reported a Simcoe County man, 45 to 64, lost his life Thursday after contracting the virus. The third wave has resulted in more deaths in the region than the first two waves of the pandemic. So far, in 2021, nearly 160 COVID-19-positive residents died.
BARRIE, ONT. Barrie s Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) has a unique way to honour mom on Mother s Day. The mammography equipment at RVH sees a lot of traffic, with approximately 85 mammograms done a day. The hospital s four ageing units need replacing with new state-of-the-art equipment. The hospital has created a special e-card that you can personalize for Mother s Day.
The cards are $5 each. All proceeds raised will go towards purchasing new mammography imaging equipment at RVH. All donations will be matched.
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