I have always wanted to work in healthcare and started as an orderly at the age of 19. One of my co-workers saw how passionate I was about the Emergency Department and would always tell me that I had the personality to become a nurse. So, I went to an open house at Cégep de Saint-Laurent to learn more about their nursing program and I fell in love with it; I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do for a living! As soon as I got my licence from the Order, I started working at the Lakeshore Emergency Department.
I am fortunate to be able to touch everything; I love the variety of cases and the fact that there is always something new to learn. What I am most passionate about is feeling that I am making a difference. There is nothing more rewarding than feeling that I have helped save someone’s life.
My Team
We are a very close-knit team and we help and support each other a lot. Even after so many years working in the Emergency Department, some cases are real puzzlers because the patient’s symptoms are not always clear. The well-being of our patients is the priority for all of us, and I feel that my team is always behind me, even when we’ re all overwhelmed. We all want people who come to the Emergency Department to be safe and to receive appropriate care. Many people arrive in an unstable condition and we all work together to get the necessary tests done to make a diagnosis as quickly as possible.
A Life Saved
I will always remember this man who came through triage with a ruptured abdominal aneurysm. We were well aware that he was not doing well at all and we immediately moved him to the trauma room. He quickly began to decompensate, which means that his condition deteriorated sharply. In this type of scenario, every minute counts, and it was the team’s quick action in getting the imaging tests and diagnosis done that saved his life. We had to get him to an OR downtown and I rushed him by ambulance. We got to the OR just in time; he no longer had a radial pulse and had to have 4-5 litres of blood drained at the time of surgery.
My Community Hospital
The Lakeshore General Hospital plays a vital role in the lives of
West Islanders of all generations. If I take my family as an example, everyone has been here at one time or another. I was born here, I gave birth to all four of my children here, my parents and grandparents were hospitalized here and continue to be treated here… We have always had excellent service and I am proud to say that this is my community hospital
