Doctor finds his comfort zone at Calgary Brier

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This article was published 08/03/2021 (1973 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DR. Lee Toner is making another house call to the Brier this week.

While it may be a minor inconvenience to play and plot strategy in Calgary’s curling bubble as the alternate for Brad Jacobs’ powerful Northern Ontario squad, Toner, a 48-year-old emergency physician from Sudbury, Ont., has found his comfort zone.

“I can’t say I’m too unhappy in the bubble right now,” said Toner by phone from Calgary Sunday. “I feel pretty safe and it’s been a good break from reality.”

The reality of the pandemic struck home for Toner early last year.

Immediately upon returning from the Brier in Kingston, Ont., again as an alternate for the Jacobs team, he was managing between 70 and 80 potential COVID-19 exposures during his first shift back in the emergency department at Health Sciences North.

“It’s such a chaotic scene,” said Toner. “We’re a busy place in Sudbury, maybe not as busy as some of the other places, but certainly as busy as a lot of the bigger centres. We tend to work eight- to nine-hour shifts most of the time and by that time we have somebody coming in who’s fresh.”

Staying fresh, he said, is crucial to being good at his job and a good parent. Toner and his wife, Louise Logan, have three school-age children.

“My life is probably a lot about maintaining balance,” said Toner. “In order for me to be a good emerg doc I have to make sure that I’m not working too much. So I have other responsibilities at medical school, for instance, I coach my daughter’s curling team. I curl myself when that’s an option. So I think just diversity and sort of my interest and continuing to pursue my passions is how I keep safe and healthy on the mental side of things.”

Toner, making his eighth appearance at the nationals, could also be one of the safest competitors at the pandemic Brier. He received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine a week before travelling to Calgary. He’s optimistic the public attitude to the vaccine is improving.

“I think most people are going to be OK with getting it,” said Toner. “The fact there are lineups and people are sort of asking to get it as soon as possible, I think, is a good sign from a public health standpoint.

“I have actually a little bit of hesitancy in saying that I’ve gotten the vaccine, given that some of my colleagues haven’t gotten their first dose yet in my hospital… So that’s a little bit tricky because there are people who are going to feel left out who have been contributing all along, people on the front line.”

Toner also has an enviable track record in the game.

He played lead for Mike Jakubo’s Northern Ontario team at the 2009 Brier in Calgary and at the 2005 nationals in Edmonton. Toner also served as a lead for Al Harnden’s 2007 squad in Hamilton, Ont., and he had faced the current Jacobs front end, Al’s nephews E.J. and Ryan Harnden, many times in competition. 

The circumstances helped to set the stage for a future bond with Team Jacobs.

“I first got to know Brad when I was part of the spare pool at the provincials in 2007,” explained Toner. “Brad was playing with his uncle, Al Harnden, and one of their teammates got injured. And so I was, believe it or not, shovelling snow on my driveway when I get this call and he says, ‘One of our guys is hurt, can you can you make it to the game in 20 minutes, we need a spare.’”

Toner answered the call and continued with the team to the Hamilton Brier. More recently, he’s served as alternate for Jacobs at Briers in 2016, ’17, ’19 and ’20.

Although Toner ranges from nine to 14 years older than the other members of his team, which also includes 39-year-old vice-skip Marc Kennedy, there’s a undeniable chemistry in the crew.

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“We seem to be seem to click when it comes to talk about curling and how we all have a commitment to getting better and improving and growing,” he said. “I like to think that I buy into that same sort of mentality that they do.”

As an alternate, Toner anticipates limited action. He subbed in for Ryan Harden for one end during’s Sunday’s 11-3 triumph over Yukon.

“I don’t know how much I will play,” he said. “I would think that the less I play probably is better, because that would mean everybody’s healthy and playing well.” 

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14