I  was born and raised in a small farming community in rural  Saskatchewan.  I wanted to go into medicine from a very early age.  My  youngest brother had leukemia, so our life was always filled with  doctors, and one of them in particular, inspired me to pursue it.  I  graduated from Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan in 1985.  I  did my Anesthesiology residency in Saskatoon as well, and did Obstetric  Anesthesia at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.  I have been working  in Saskatoon since 1990.

I have  been going to the SOAP meeting most years since 1988.  In 2005 I heard  Dr. Medge Owen make a presentation at the meeting about Kybele, and its  work in Turkey and Croatia.  She is such an inspiration to me!  At that  meeting, I also met Dr. Frank Boni – an anesthetist from Ghana.

Medge  decided to take Kybele to work in Ghana and I immediately signed up –  going on my first trip in 2006.  What an eye-opening experience it was!   I have been on 5 trips since then! 

Living  and working with such a terrific group of doctors and nurses from all  over the world has been an amazing experience for me. I have learned so much  from the people that I travel with, as well as having the chance to make a  meaningful difference in the lives of Ghanaian women. They appreciate our  efforts so very much, and I know that we are making a difference in the quest to  reduce maternal and perinatal mortality in Ghana. The work that I do there also  helps me to keep the rest of my life in perspective, as well.

When I returned  from my first trip to Ghana – I discovered that an outstanding organization  existed right here in my hometown! The Canadian Food for the Hungry has its  International Medical Equipment Distribution Program in Saskatoon. They have a  huge warehouse that collects and refurbishes medical equipment from all over  Canada. This equipment can then be shipped to anywhere in the world. All one has  to do is to pay for the shipping of the equipment. For $10,000 to $16,000 a  person can ship a forty foot container filled with between one and two million  dollars of medical equipment and supplies overseas. We have raised the money to  ship three of these containers to Kybele’s projects in Ghana. When we are in  Ghana, we get to see how these supplies and equipment are helping as well. 

I  hope that I am able to continue this extremely fulfilling work with Kybele and  CFftH for many years.