I am exactly two weeks post spinal surgery as this email arrives in your inbox.
I have learned that there is a particular kind of vulnerability that comes with being a patient. A moment when you hand over your well being, your body, and your trust to people you have just met. As I was wheeled into surgery, seeing the contraptions my body would be placed into and the torture-like tools they would use created a real, “What on earth did I get myself into?” moment. No matter how strong, prepared, or independent you are in your daily life, the hospital gown has a way of stripping all of that away. So much for my previous visualizations that I was going to the spa for the day. I was acutely aware that I was dependent and trusting in others for their expertise, reassurance, comfort, and even the smallest acts of care.
In those first hours after surgery, when I was nauseated, disoriented, swollen and unable to move without help, I felt that vulnerability in a way I never had before. I relied entirely on the nurses who steadied me and anticipated what I needed before I could ask. By the time I was vomiting 6 hours later from the anesthetic and medications, I felt like I was back in my university days and my best friends were holding my hair back and holding a cold cloth to my head. I cannot thank the nursing teams enough. From pre-op to post-op, they were a steady reminder that not all is broken in our health system. Nurses truly are the heart of healthcare.
My experience, while not at the Heart Institute, gave me a deeper appreciation for what our patients feel every day — and a deeper gratitude for the people, including our donors, who make that care possible.
I left the house at 5am that morning and was back home in my bed by 10:30 pm that night. Thank you again to my surgeon and friend Adam Sachs. I am always in awe of what you do.
My recovery has gone incredibly well. I am walking daily and almost fully off the Advil/Tylenol rotation.
The goal now is to embrace being homebound – avoid the desire to move or stretch my body, suppress the urge to workout and simply focus on walking. I only have 4 more weeks of house arrest to go. I did manage to get outside and sit on my stoop when the sun came out late last week. It was incredibly healing and I inhaled it for as long as I could.
I am so grateful to my Foundation team, who kept me out of any email chain for the first week and wrapped up a significant final push of “February Is Heart Month”. We really do have a rockstar team.
And OMG – “February Is Heart Month” hit it out of the ballpark once again this year, thanks to you, our incredible donor community. We had so many new community events and fundraisers and I am thrilled to share that we have raised over $1,537,000 and counting! Joel Haslam put together a beautiful wrap video capturing the heart of this year’s campaign. Please take a moment to watch here.
This year brought some incredible new community events and fundraisers that blew us away. To mention a few; the Ottawa Charge game at TD Place, the Red Light Run with the Ottawa City Run Club, a charity ride at Where I Thrive, the Ottawa 67’s Siren Series, Soho & Mastercraft, The Bradley Retirement, and Merivale Vision Care all showed up in a big way. Our Paper Hearts campaign continued to spread across the city at Heart and Crown, Royal Oak, Preston Hardware, Liaisons Hair Salon, Aurelius Fine Olive Oils and Farinella’s. And Light the Capital Red kept growing with new and continued participants including City Hall, Bemac, Kinaxis, Cavanagh, Toyota Orleans, Farm Boy, JD Brule, JBPA Developments, and Brookstreet.
Thank you to all of our matching donors and sponsors. Thank you to the Mierins Family Foundation for the match extension as well as to Fiera Capital, SerCo Construction, Preston Hardware, Giovanni’s, Mark Motors Group and Carleton Refrigeration.
Thank you to CTV Ottawa for embracing our Light the Capital Red and to Joel Haslam for his brilliant storytelling. If you missed any of the stories, please be sure to check them out.
Next up! We are in prep mode for the 4th Annual Ottawa Pickleball Classic. All skill levels are welcome from beginner to advanced and we are looking forward to seeing over 150 teams on Sunday April 26th at the EY Center. Thanks to our partnership with the EY Center, the 90,000 square feet of space will enable 37 courts and a ton of social space for mingling, recovery, food and drink. We are trying not to panic or be overwhelmed by just how big this event has gotten in such a short time, but so happy for the response from participants and sponsors. We still have a few partnership opportunities available and if you wish to sign up check out ottawapickleballclassic.ca
Just to round things out, we are also welcoming members to Team Heart for Ottawa Race Weekend, and our Wilbert Keon Memorial Golf tournament on June 15th is already sold out.
We continue to be in the midst of the Institute’s 50th Anniversary year. I am thrilled to see tons of media coverage supporting new projects, research and medical advancements. Here are a few of my favorite segments and articles that are currently out in the meta verse.
Dr. David Messika-Zeitoun on bringing heart health screening directly to the community. Click to watch
Yesterday was the launch of ARCHIMEDES, a new national health data platform and partnership with McGill and uOttawa. Check out Dr. Edwards and Dr. Cobey on CTV.
I hope everyone is adjusting to daylight savings. If you’ve been following these emails over the years, you know I am drawn to the sunshine and the extended hours it gives us during the day. We are starting to get a tease of spring, but I fully acknowledge that another snowstorm is in our midst. Wishing those of you who get to enjoy it, a wonderful march break. Wishing for safety for those of you whose families are living with uncertainty in today’s political climate.
Most of all, I wish healing vibes and positive thoughts to all the patients out there no matter what point of the journey you are on.
Much Love,
Lianne
Lianne
