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.

In January 2021 Bob went into the Collingwood G&M Hospital (CGMH) for a routine colonoscopy with Dr. Akinyele. A couple of days later he returned to get the results. Unfortunately, it turned out Bob had a tumour. It was contained, according to Dr. Akinyele, but it needed to be removed as soon as possible.

At 9:00 AM on a cold winter morning, exactly two weeks after he received the news he had cancer, Bob found himself laying on a surgical bed, counting backwards from 10, hoping the medical team at CGMH would be able to get this tumour out completely.

“At 11:45 PM that same day Dr. Akinyele came into my room in the ICU to see how I was doing and to let me know the surgery had been a success. I couldn’t believe he was still at the hospital all these hours later,” remarks Bob. The next morning Dr. Akinyele was back in his room again, to check on Bob’s recovery.

“I was then transferred to the surgical floor, where I had to stay for about a week. It was a terrific opportunity to observe nursing action firsthand. I couldn’t be more pleased with the whole CGMH staff,” recalls Bob.

When Bob returned to Dr. Akinyele’s office to have the surgical staples removed, he was surprised and moved to see Dr. Akinyele himself waiting for him at an evening appointment. “Dr. Akinyele went above and beyond every step of the way and we are so fortunate to have such a committed and experienced surgeon working at the CGMH. At one point during this journey we were chatting, and he noted in my file that I had two children in their mid 50’s and urged me to talk to them about having a colonoscopy screening every 5 years. He really cares about his patients and this community at large,” adds Bob.

As a volunteer for the CGMH Foundation, Bob is well aware that the equipment used by Dr. Akinyele and the entire medical team has all been funded through community support. “There is no government funding for this equipment,” says Bob. “Through support of the Foundation, members of the community are actually part of the team caring for patients every day.”

Now, Bob is back home, recovered and grateful for everyone who helped him along the way: his life partner Lynn, his children, Dr. Akinyele, the nurses both from ICU and Surgical floor, all the support staff at CGMH and his community. “The level of patient care and the staff’s dedication to their work at CGMH is truly exemplary,” says Bob.