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“We’re going to do the surgery today. You OK with that?”

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/07/2023 (864 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kristin Coulthard was a patient in HSC’s RR4 Plastic Surgery Clinic about 13 years ago. And she was a patient there again earlier this year. Things have really changed in the clinic, says the former HSC employee. That was then. This is wow.

“I remember the old space. It wasn’t the best looking,” says Coulthard. “I had a follow-up appointment there after surgery. The care was great, but I remember it was dark and patients were separated by thin curtains. The space is much different today. It’s clean, bright, and there is privacy.”

The renovation of RR4 was made possible by over $1.8 million in gifts from donors to the HSC Foundation. The new clinic, which has been operating since November 2022, is also newly equipped for many surgical procedures which were previously slated for HSC’s main operating rooms and often bumped for more life-threatening cases.

In March, Coulthard slipped on the ice while walking with her husband and their new puppy. Her right hand slammed against the ground, and she knew right away that something was terribly wrong.

“It was a Saturday and my husband, and I went to the nearest hospital,” says Coulthard, who lives in rural Manitoba. “Turns out my hand was broken, and I was referred to HSC for a consult for surgery.”

Coulthard arrived at the new RR4 on Monday morning expecting to be assessed and sent home with a later date for surgery. That’s not what happened.

“One of the residents said ‘We’re going to do the surgery today. You OK with that? Go have lunch and come back at 1:00,”’ recalls Coulthard. “It was a great experience. When you come in with an injury like that you wonder when your surgery will be, how long your recovery will be, and how much work you may miss. I was home later that day and back at work the next day. Because the surgery happened right away, my hand was able to recover quickly; it works perfectly, and I have no pain. If I had to wait, they might have had to re-break it to fix it. The outcome could have been different.”

“Kristin’s story is yet more evidence of the impact donors have when they support the HSC Foundation,” says Jonathon Lyon, President & CEO of the HSC Foundation. “With investments in new technology and new spaces, we are improving patient care and helping reduce surgical wait times. We are grateful for the support of our donors. Donors help HSC deliver tomorrow’s health care today.”