I was diagnosed on September 10, 2007 with Blasto, after one week of being on Itraconazole pills I was admitted to hospital with an allergic reaction. I was 34 years old and had never been sick or been in a hospital, I spent the next 5 nights on 3rd East receiving wonderful care. I had the best nurses and I wasn’t an easy patient. After leaving the hospital I still needed daily care at the ER for blood work as I was having complications from the medications, the ER staff worked wonders to get me in and out  quickly every morning for what would be two weeks following my discharge from hospital. 

 During those two weeks I still needed my IV medications and Margaret Stevenson and Lynn Mick. were wonderful trying to find me a comfortable place to receive my medication as I had to sleep overnight, one night I spent in the ICU and my nurse was awesome and one night I spent in emerg, I had a nurse come down from ICU to set me up and she was great. 

 Once I was stabilized I spent the next two months going every 2nd day to the chemotherapy department to receive my medication via IV and on the weekends I went to Emerg. I was starting to feel that my face was becoming familiar to a lot of the staff and that was comforting. The staff in admitting were great every time I came in, I never waited that long, my nurses in chemo were awesome, there are not enough words to say thank you for what they do. During my treatment I had to have the medications every 2nd day and due to chemo not being open on the weekends and there was no day medicine clinic like there is now, I had to have my weekend treatments in emerg. Every weekend the nurses had room 6 ready for me, it helped me to relax and be comfortable, as my treatments were approximately 5 hours long. All of the emerg staff were great, very accomodating. I still to this day can remember 90% of the staff that worked on me and most of their names, when you are that sick, it is the basic compassion that makes you feel human during those times and I am very grateful to all of those people who helped.

 I had complete faith in the staff, nurses, and my doctor. A huge thank you to everyone that had a hand in my care and my recovery, Dr Workman, Dr Dana Walters, nurses and staff on 3rd east, emergency nurses and staff, chemotherapy nurses, the staff in the lab, the staff in pharmacy, the staff in x-ray.

 Thank you

Kate MacIver

The Lake of the Woods District Hospital has received the PCR Analyzer they purchased with funds generated through the Hospital Foundation! The Analyzer is set up and is being put to work in the Hospital’s Lab.

The PCR Analyzer is beneficial to our hospital and our community as it will reduce waiting times for test results and assist with our infection control program. For a complete description of what a PCR Analyzer is, and what it can do for us, please click here to link to the note on our Facebook page.

Laboratory Manager, Tanya Knopf, says that this technology is really going to take off in the near future, and she can see that the hospital may be able to use this piece of equipment for further tests and applications.

We’re really excited about it! Thanks to everyone who made contributions, we wouldn’t be able to do any of this without the support of the community and surrounding areas.

 The Kenora Lake of the Woods Lions Club has presented the Foundation with the final installment for the purchase of an Ultra Sonic Washer for use in Cataract Surgeries at the Lake of the Woods District Hospital. 

 These highly advanced washers use super pure water recirculation to reduce water consumption by up to 70% compared to conventional washers. The benefit of an Ultrasonic Washer to cataract surgery is its ability to clean the delicate intstruments used in the surgery using small vibrations, without causing damage.

Glenn Chabot, pictured here with Jess Rheault- Managing Director of the Hospital Foundation, has donated a photograph of his father, the late Emile Chabot.

Emile Chabot was a pilot out of Fort Frances who took up flying as a means of overcoming his addiction to alcohol, and bettering his life.

Emile passed away after battling Cancer at the Lake of the Woods District Hospital. His son, Glenn, has donated the photo in his memory, and also with the hope of inspiring others to do whatever it takes to beat their addictions.

Thanks, Glenn, for your contribution, and for trusting us with the great story, and memory of your father.

Shannon Lucas of Laughing Moon Creations called us with a touching story and generous donation.

Sadly, Shannon lost a friend to Breast Cancer last year, motivating her to create earrings and sell them, donating the profits to the centre at which her friend was treated. This year, Shannon did the same thing for her friend Lisa, who beat Breast Cancer. She was able to sell $1500.00 more, enabling her to make a donation of $2055.50 to our Hospital in honor of Lisa.

Shannon’s efforts and generosity are truly appreciated, and her donation has been added to our Cancer Care fund where it will be used to help purchase important equipment and supplies to keep the hospital current with new technology.

Thank You, Shannon for your generous donation, kind heart and for being a true friend.

We encourage everyone to do what they can to help find a cure for the many cancers that have taken so many loved ones from our lives. This type of fundraising is a great way to remember or honor someone who has battled Cancer, or the many other diseases that we’ve yet to find a cure for.

Thank You for Helping Your Hospital Help You.

Shannon’s creations can be found online: Etsy-Laughing Moon Creations

The Hospital Foundation is excited to announce the acceptance of two new Directors for our Board!

We’d like to introduce Nicole Brown, who came to us from Chicago where she worked as a Director of Radiology. Nicole has a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Medicine from the University of Cincinnati as well as an MBA from Notre Dame.

We’d also like to say Welcome to Claudette Edie, a Kenora local and Certified General Accountant. Claudette brings experience from her position as former Hospital Board member and instructor at Confederation College here in Kenora.

We look forward to their contributions to the Foundation and to learning a lot from them as they both have so much to offer.

Welcome Aboard!

The Vote is on for the Canada Edition of Monopoly!

Let’s show Canada what a great community we are by Voting for Kenora as a Widcard City! We need to be in the top 2 in order to appear on the board. You may vote once per e mail address per day. Voting will take place for 2 weeks time, closing on February 22nd 2010.

Be sure to tell your friends and family!

Click the link to vote: http://www.monopolyvote.ca/en_CA/world

The 14th Annual Meyers Norris Penny / Hospital Foundation Charity Golf Classic is coming!

Save the Date cards have been sent out to our regular participants to remind them of the upcoming tournament that will be happening July 29th, 2010. 

As always, there are Hole-in-One prizes, Closest to the Pin prizes and many others!Golfers are invited to register individually or in teams of up to 4 players.

Stay tuned for more information and formal invites!

Thank You.”

W. Beatty

One of our dedicated directors, Brent Preston, has tendered his resignation. Brent will be moving to Thunder Bay to manage a newly acquired radio station! Although we will miss Brent’s contributions as an active director, we wish him success in his new endeavor and offer our congratulations on his great promotion (getting closer and closer to home!)

Thanks again Brent for all you’ve done for the Foundation during your term and congratulations!