If She Had All The Money In The World She Would Buy New TV’s For The Unit
Cheryl and Nick and their Granddad, Peter Holmes proudly delivered 12 -32” LED TV’s with wall mounting brackets and head phone extension cables and a 51” Plasma for the Waiting Room.
“My Nana passed away in the Spring/Summer of 2012 from complications that started from Wagner’s Disease”, explained Nick Willard. “She regularly attended the Wetaskiwin Dialysis Unit. Before she passed away she mentioned that if she had all the money in the world she would buy new TV’s for the Unit.”
Well Nana Holmes, if you were still with us, you would be very proud of your grandchildren, Nick and Cheryl. Your wish has come true. They recalled your comments and recently hosted a second annual fundraiser, “benefitting the Wetaskiwin Hospital Dialysis Unit in honor of Patricia ‘Nana’ Holmes and The Little Warriors Ranch”. The old fashioned, picnic style, family event took place on September 30th, 2012 at Blueberry Hall – Range Rd 15, north of Hwy 16A. Guests were treated to a BBQ lunch, face painting, cotton candy, fresh popcorn, door prizes and a raffle for a $500 Apple G/C.
On January 8th, 2013 a black truck backed up to the entrance of the Dialysis Unit of the Wetaskiwin Hospital and when the end gate went down, results of fundraiser were unveiled. Cheryl and Nick and their Granddad, Peter Holmes proudly delivered 12 -32” LED TV’s with wall mounting brackets and head phone extension cables and a 51” Plasma for the Waiting Room. “We just spent around $6500 for the television equipment and have about $1500 left for the installation.”
Nick and Cheryl host a fundraiser every September and invite family, friends and guests, “to raise funds for charitable causes that don’t normally receive a great deal of funding. There was just over $10,000 raised and when this project (television equipment for the Dialysis Unit) is completed, the balance will go to the Little Warriors Ranch.”
As the family reflects back on the 3-4 hours a day, 3 days a week that ‘Nana Holmes’ spent in the clinic they are very grateful for the excellent care she received. “We can’t say enough about how caring the staff were and the excellent care she received. They were always there. Pretty good. Wonderful. Pat was here for 6 months but was in Red Deer for quite a while.”
But they also shared the frustration ‘Nana’ experienced in the Unit. “The TV’s they currently have are hand-me-downs from the Red Deer Dialysis Clinic. Most are without remotes and the patients don’t want to bother the nurses to change the channels. She would spend 3-4 hours a day, 3 days a week in front of those old TV’s. We tried an I Pad, but there is just so much time, loading movies took too long and just ran out of content. The process (having to take dialysis treatments) is already a demanding experience. These TV’s will at least make the visits a little more enjoyable.”
Cheryl Garrow RN, Unit Manager Northern Alberta Renal Program expresses her gratitude. “The donation of the TV's is an amazing gift to the dialysis unit. Average time of treatment for dialysis patients is 4 hours, 3 times a week and the TV's will help them pass the time while receiving dialysis. Since the fundraiser, spearheaded by the Holmes family, current patients have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of these new TV's. The current TV's in the unit are old, quite small and not all functioning well. This will have a huge impact on the quality of life for our patients while in the unit. We are very grateful for this generous donation in memory of a lovely lady.”
Nick, Cheryl and Granddad Peter are grateful to their friends, family and the Dialysis Clinic staff and patients who supported the fundraiser “and our special thanks go out to Murray Meyers, a patient, who did so much to help make this a success. We just wanted to do something for our Nana and the people who took care of her and for the other patients. Hoping these TVs can be installed and everyone can start enjoying them.”
Donations such as this qualify for a charitable tax receipt issued by the Wetaskiwin Health Foundation. To learn more about how you can contribute to patient comfort in the Wetaskiwin Hospital contact Lillian Dykes at 780 361 4130.
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