91原创 Memorial Hospital is celebrating 75 years of service in this community. In a series of stories over the coming months, the 91原创 Advance Times, in conjunction with the hospital foundation, takes a look at the past, present, and future of health care in 91原创 from a few different perspectives.
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By Julie Coghlan-Smith/Special to 91原创 Advance Times
It takes grit to pack one suitcase and leave behind your family and everything familiar to you 鈥� your mother鈥檚 home cooking, The hot wind on your skin, the way the sunlight catches the grass, the spicy smells emanating from the dim shadows of the local shop 鈥搕o move to a foreign country.
Sukhi Sandhu was 16 when she followed her aunt to Vancouver, Canada, from Punjab, India. Now in her sixties, Sandhu beams with joy.
鈥淢y aunt gave me a golden spoon,鈥� she said.
Reflecting on her first years in Canada as a young immigrant woman, Sandhu admitted it was strange and different. She learned a new language while working in a poultry factory, cutting up and packaging chicken.
Her aunt and uncle arranged her marriage, and Sandhu wed her loving Nirmal. Together they built a life in 鈥渂eautiful Canada, free to go wherever you want to,鈥� said Sandhu. They raised three children, two daughters and a son 鈥� a doctor, a teacher, and a physiotherapist.
In 2004, Sandhu joined 91原创 Memorial Hospital as an operating room (OR) housekeeper, where she met her best friend Kamaljeet Virk and the inspirational surgeon Dr. Elaine Mah, an obstetrician who focuses on the more complex cases in the Ob/Gyn area.
鈥淥n her birthday, Dr. Mah invites the OR staff to a restaurant dinner. She asks us not to bring birthday gifts but to rather donate to the 91原创 Memorial Hospital Foundation (LMHF). I loved this idea, and now, on my children鈥檚 birthdays, I give a gift to LMHF, as I do on the birthday of Guru Nanak in November.鈥�
Sandhu gives more than money to LMHF. She gives her time, making herself available to the foundation to pick up items donated to the annual gala鈥檚 silent auction.
Her favourite volunteer activity is teaming up with Kamaljeet to sell 50/50 tickets at the gala.
鈥淚 work in 91原创, two of my grandchildren were born at 91原创 Memorial, and I met my best buddy working at the hospital,鈥� she laughed.
Sandhu鈥檚 love for life is a testament to a woman of strength, courage, and irrepressible joy. 鈥淲e are quite a big family now,鈥� she said. 鈥淗ere in Canada; I no longer miss home.鈥�
RELATED 鈥� Paramedic evolution: From 鈥榞rab and go鈥� to high-tech lifesaving services
READ ALSO: Retired doctors and nurses help preserve medical history in 91原创
MORE: Welcome to a health-care world 75 years in the making
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91原创 Memorial Hospital Foundation fundraises throughout the year to support health-care workers and allow them to keep providing life-saving care. To this end, the foundation is preparing for its annual hospital gala. This year鈥檚 event, dubbed Hot Havana Nights, is being held Oct. 21 at the Coast Hotel & Convention Centre. It鈥檚 the 32nd year. Money raised will support the urgent need to expand cardiac care at the 91原创 Hospital. For info:
鈥� And, for more LMH history check out this special publication.
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