Season of Giving, Season of Care

Four generations of Sandi’s family have relied on the compassionate care of Oak Valley Health’s Markham Stouffville Hospital (MSH).

The most time Sandi spent at MSH was due to her mother, Doreen, who was admitted to the hospital nearly 75 times battling various critical illnesses over her 79 years of life.

Following a standard night out with her husband, Doreen had her first extended stay at MSH after she suddenly began experiencing excruciating chest pain and shortness of breath.

Sandi’s parents, Arthur and Doreen Burkholder of Markham

Doreen was rushed to MSH’s emergency department where diagnostic testing revealed she was suffering from a pulmonary embolism. The condition she presented prompted a stay in the intensive care unit. Knowing that pulmonary embolisms are often fatal, the team at MSH had to act fast. “Without the quick work of the health care providers at MSH, I could have lost my mother that night,” says Sandi.

In the last three to four years of her life, Doreen suffered from Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). MDS is a disorder of the bone marrow that compromises a person’s ability to produce red blood cells.

Diagnosed by a haematologist at MSH, Dr. Henry Solow, Doreen began to receive regular blood transfusions for two years until they were no longer effective and she sadly passed away in 2019. “We were accessing the hospital all times, day or night, and it just was this feeling that they were there for us.”

We feel safe and confident in the care that we know we can receive at our hospital close to home.

Sandi Lofgren

Sandi’s family has experienced many other life moments at MSH, from providing end-of-life care for her grandparents, to supporting her during the birth of her children, to seeing her dad through a prostate cancer diagnosis and total hip replacement surgery. Sandi knows that MSH will always be there for her family in their times of need.

“We feel safe and confident in the care that we know we can receive at our hospital close to home,” says Sandi. “That’s probably why my dad has never moved from where he is. I don’t think he wants to leave his home because he’s down the street from the hospital where he knows how much they care for their patients.”

Donations help fund the essential equipment and technology that will ensure MSH can continue to be there for Sandi, and for so many grateful families in our community.

This holiday season, MSH Foundation is asking for donor support to purchase equipment like an ultrasound machine, bladder scanner, cordless drill sets, sagittal saws and cuddly teddy bears to provide comfort and care to patients.

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