A Legacy of Trust

For Fiona, an eternal bond to North York General Hospital (NYGH) wasn’t first forged when her own health changed in a blink. It began many years prior, with the care NYGH gave to the people she loved most.

Many years ago, when her youngest son Richard was five, he faced a serious kidney issue. After struggling to find the right treatment elsewhere, Fiona turned to NYGH. Within days, a skilled surgeon took swift action, and Richard was on the path to recovery.

The experience left an indelible mark on Fiona—NYGH had been there for her son when he needed them most. That trust carried forward through every fumble, tumble and illness that followed for Fiona’s four boys who have since grown to be hard-working adults. Through those decades, NYGH wasn’t just a hospital—it was a place where her family felt safe.

So when it was her turn to need urgent care, there was no question where she wanted to go.

A Legacy of Trust

For Fiona, an eternal bond to North York General Hospital (NYGH) wasn’t first forged when her own health changed in a blink. It began many years prior, with the care NYGH gave to the people she loved most.

Many years ago, when her youngest son Richard was five, he faced a serious kidney issue. After struggling to find the right treatment elsewhere, Fiona turned to NYGH. Within days, a skilled surgeon took swift action, and Richard was on the path to recovery.

The experience left an indelible mark on Fiona—NYGH had been there for her son when he needed them most. That trust carried forward through every fumble, tumble and illness that followed for Fiona’s four boys who have since grown to be hard-working adults. Through those decades, NYGH wasn’t just a hospital—it was a place where her family felt safe.

So when it was her turn to need urgent care, there was no question where she wanted to go.

A Life-Altering Collapse: Fiona’s Battle Begins

In September 2023, Fiona was preparing for a long-anticipated trip to Portugal when she started experiencing stomach issues. Her doctor suspected gastroenteritis, but something didn’t feel right. The day after canceling her trip, she stepped outside to enjoy her morning coffee—and suddenly, her body failed her. She lost all strength, collapsing on her porch, unable to move, unable to call for help. Minutes felt like hours until, by sheer luck, a neighbor spotted her and rushed to her aid.

Fiona tried to brush it off, but when she collapsed again inside her home, her son’s partner, an ER doctor said “Call an ambulance now.”

Yet Fiona hesitated.

Not because she didn’t think she needed help—but because she feared an ambulance would take her somewhere else.

“I wouldn’t go anywhere else. That’s why I didn’t want the ambulance. I didn’t want to go anywhere else but NYGH.”

Her boyfriend drove her straight to the Charlotte & Lewis Steinberg Emergency Department at NYGH, and from that moment on, her world blurred. She remembers checking in. She remembers being wheeled through the hospital hallways. And then—nothing.

Fighting for Her Life: The Care That Carried Her Through

Fiona had Legionnaires’ disease, a rare and aggressive form of pneumonia. Her body shut down, and she was placed into a medically induced coma for two weeks. When she awoke, she had lost all verbal and muscular control. A tracheotomy helped her breathe, but she could no longer speak. She relied on whiteboards and visual aids, fighting through frustration to communicate with the team working tirelessly to save her life.

For 27 days in the ICU, Fiona was surrounded by NYGH’s extraordinary medical staff—nurses who reassured her, doctors who explained every procedure with care, speech therapists who never gave up on her voice. She remembers moments of kindness that sustained her: care providers who’d previously tended to her stopping by just to check in, the Chief of Staff taking the time to ensure she was comfortable after being transferred to the medical ward. Even as she fought for her life, NYGH’s compassionate care made her feel safe.

And just as before, NYGH wasn’t just there for her—they were there for her family and loved ones too. Each were welcomed, supported, given the space to be present through her hardest moments.

That trust, forged in the care of her son decades before, had carried through to her own journey.

Giving Back: A Second Life, A Lasting Gratitude

Following a two-month battle towards recovery Fiona left the hospital at 116 pounds, frail and weak. She had to relearn how to balance, how to speak, how to trust her own body again. But she never forgot the hands that held her through it all.

So she made a decision.

She returned to NYGH—not as a patient, but as someone whose life had been given back. She visited the ICU, standing in the very place where she had once been fighting for every breath, and embraced the people who had saved her.

And she gave back.

Fiona made a donation to NYGH, a gesture of profound gratitude, a way to say thank you—not just for the care she received, but for the care that cemented her family’s trust in this hospital so many years ago.
“Knowing that I’ve been given a second life…I want people to know about the care I got from start to finish,” she says. “I have total and utter respect for these people. I just want to say thank you.”

For Fiona, NYGH will always be more than a hospital. It’s the place that stood by her family. It’s the place that saved her life.

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