Grateful Patient Stories
If you would like to share your donor story, we would love to hear from you. Donor stories inspire our medical staff to continue to do what they do. They also inspire other people to donate to your hospital and impact many other patients.
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Stacie’s Story
Stacie Smith grew up in Toronto and moved to Collingwood with her husband 10 years ago. They first started coming up on the weekends, to enjoy the outdoors. They love cross country skiing, mountain biking and paddling. Eventually, they decided this was the right place to live and raise their family. A few years after…
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Mark’s Story
Mark & his family have a cottage in Wasaga Beach, where they spend their summers. Almost fifteen years ago, in one of those hot summer days, Mark suffered a terrible accident and badly injured his leg. He was brought to CGMH by ambulance and Dr. Koo was tasked with trying to stich his leg back…
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Pat’s story
My introduction to CGMH began in July when I was having trouble getting air with any kind of exertion. I went to the Emergency Department and after blood tests and an ECG proved to be fine. Dr. Jeff Matte ordered a chest x-ray, which showed a pneumothorax in the left lung. Within 45 minutes, he…
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David’s Story
“We are always grateful to have a hospital nearby when it is needed, but the real difference lies in the people who staff it. And it is not just in their professionalism and expertise, it’s in their caring and understanding under the most demanding of circumstances. And might I add, their incredible patience. I experienced…
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Nora’s Story
Nora is an 85-year-old Collingwood resident. One day, she was brought to the Collingwood G&M Hospital, where she arrived unconscious. After some exams, the emergency team was able to figure out what was wrong with Nora, and they decided the best course of action was for her to have emergency surgery. Nora says Dr. Koo…
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Ellie’s Story
“This summer I was very sick for 5 weeks, getting weaker every day. My family physician, Dr. Richard Cornell ordered 3 or 4 blood tests to try to pinpoint what was wrong with me, and they showed a very high number for inflammation. So, Dr. Cornell and my partner Larry thought that I should be…
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Mike’s Story
Moving to a new community means a lot of adjustments. After recently relocating to Collingwood, Mike Doyle’s first encounter with the CGMH was for a knee replacement and he was not sure what to expect. His experience reassured him that he could expect outstanding health care at his new local hospital. “I was so impressed…
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Alex’s Story
November 14, 2022 began like a typical Monday for Alex. His energy levels were down after a bout with the flu a week before, but he felt otherwise fine. By mid afternoon, however, he was experiencing upper back pain and left work early. Within the short drive home, he spiked a fever and his condition…
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Art’s Story
When a skiing accident landed Art Church in the CGMH Emergency Department, he was glad that he could be referred to Orthopaedic Services where expert surgeon, Dr. Henry Koo took over his care. To show his appreciation to Dr. Koo and the entire surgical team, Art decided to make a gift of $1 million to…
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Jax’s Story
The Davenports moved to Collingwood to be close to CGMH Three-year old Jax Davenport has been rushed to the emergency department over 115 times. Born with a heart condition called Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT), Jax has an irregularly fast/erratic heartbeat (arrhythmia) that affects the heart’s upper chambers. When Jax starts to feel unwell, her parents have…
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Jim’s Story
Jim Pearse went to bed at 10 PM on a warm summer evening not feeling very well. His stomach was in pain, and he took an anti-acid to see if he would feel better. A couple of hours later, he was up again – that pain had gotten worse. Jim thought it could be an…
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Ron’s Story
Ron Wilson has spent weekends skiing at Devil’s Glen since 1980. When he retired in 2013 he moved to the Collingwood area permanently, with the goal of golfing in the summer and skiing in the winter with his wife, Lesley. His life had been hospital free, except for when his wife gave birth to their…
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Serena’s Story
“In September 2020, I was getting my backyard ready to watch an outdoor movie on our projector. I was carrying chairs from our deck to the lawn and missed one step! I landed hard on my right ankle and knew something was horribly wrong. I did not want to go to the hospital for fear…
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Bob’s Story
Bob and his wife Lynn have been Collingwood residents for 20 years now. They are originally from Port Credit and have known each other since the days they played in the sandbox, at their kindergarten. Prior to moving permanently to South Georgian Bay, Bob & Lynn had been skiing in the area since the 1950s.…
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Terry & Marilynn’s Story
Terry Reid and his wife Marilynn decided to leave their busy Toronto life behind and retire in South Georgian Bay. They now spend their days travelling the world, visiting with their 10 grandchildren, skiing in the winter and golfing in the summer. If you met them today, you would say that they are a happy…
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Rita & Peter’s Story
We’re Rita & Peter Premich, born, raised & married in small town, Saskatchewan. Rita was blessed to be living directly across the street from the only doctor for miles around, lucky enough to have a tiny rural type hospital practically in her backyard, while Peter & his farming family, had a hard time accessing crucial,…
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Barry & JoAnn’s story
Barry and JoAnn Suitor are soon celebrating 27 years of marriage. They are both grateful for every day they get to spend together. Life has thrown both of them some curve balls but they were always able to surpass every challenge, with a healthy dose of positivity combined with the most amazing care from the…
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Eddie’s Story
On Sunday, June 7, 2020 I needed Emergency Room Treatment. From check in to send off many hours later, I was treated with care and respect for all my needs. It was an afternoon of Nurses’ questions, Doctors’ examinations, x-rays, ultra-sounds, more examinations and an egg salad sandwich. The professional Medical Team diagnosed the issue,…
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Cindy’s story
Cindy James loves being outdoors. All year around she finds herself outside either on long walks with her dog, or biking when it’s warm and skiing when it’s not. She’s originally from Ancaster, but during the winter months, Cindy spends her time enjoying the South Georgian Bay slopes, working as a ski patroller. Every year…
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Becky’s Story
In March 2021 I was admitted after a visit to an emerg with an unknown heart issue, after a car accident. As it turns out, the car accident saved my life. Dr. Mark Bonta took the time to really research my existing medical conditions and put all the puzzle pieces together. Fast forward a few…
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Elaine’s Story
I am an employee at the G&M Hospital and, as expected in a community hospital, we provide care for our “loved ones” from time to time. As it happens, for 10 days straight there have been 2 of my “loved ones” through our doors; from the Emergency Room to Diagnostic Imaging to the Operating Room,…
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Jane’s Story
I ended up in CGMH for a three night stay in July of 2021. The timing was bad for everyone – for me, for my family, for the hospital who were trying to keep caring for us all whilst the pandemic continued and services were stretched to their limits. I am so thankful for everyone…
Share your story with us!
Donor stories inspire our medical staff to continue to do what they do. They also inspire other people to donate to your hospital and impact many other patients.
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“CGMH is a place of caring individuals. And even though we are a small town we have so much great expertise here. People should have great confidence in our hospital.”
Mark and Jane Palmer
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“I have been very lucky in life and I am more than pleased to repay some of that to support our hospital to allow them to continue to improve and serve our community.”
Art Church – Grateful Patient
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“This is a small hospital, and they do a great job at staying on top of technology, attracting good surgeons and a great healthcare team. I think our hospital has a lot to offer, and this is part of the reason why we think it is important to donate, and we hope others will do so as well.”
Paul and Karen Jackson
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“I am living life to the fullest, enjoying retirement, and I couldn’t be happier. To say that Dr. Cheng’s involvement in my care was life-changing truly is an understatement. I will forever be grateful to her.”
Anna Drazenovic
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