Message from Debbie Bongard
Chair, Northern Angel Council
Chair, Northern Angel Council
As the Chair of the Northern Angel Council and a proud donor, I am honored to lead this fundraising effort to keep advanced health care minutes from our front doors. Our mission is rooted in the spirit of being an "Angel"— a source of comfort and aid in our community. Read More
Why Brett Became a Northern Angel
It started the way so many good summers do. An evening at the Lake Rosseau cottage, friends around the table, a glass of Prosecco. John is a very light drinker. One glass can produce a hangover. So when he was not feeling well the next morning, his wife and daughter both agreed: must be the Prosecco.
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Become a Northern Angel
Northern Angels are a group of committed donors who are inspired to give, knowing their annual support will result in advanced health care being provided to everyone who uses the West Parry Sound Health Centre. Through their generosity, the Foundation has transferred millions of dollars to the hospital for equipment and services not funded by the Ontario government.
Become a Northern Angel Today
Message from Debbie Bongard
Chair, Northern Angel CouncilAs Chair of the Northern Angel Council and a proud donor, I am honoured to lead this fundraising effort to keep advanced health care minutes from our front doors.
Our mission is rooted in the spirit of being an “Angel”, a source of comfort and aid in our community.
Each pledge from Northern Angels brings us closer to our goal of ensuring that advanced health care is a reality for everyone in West Parry Sound, whether we are here for a day, a month, or a lifetime.
I am so grateful to everyone who chooses to become a Northern Angel, especially those who may not reside here year-round but choose to support the Parry Sound hospital foundation because they love their time in this beautiful region.
For my family, whether we are at our cottage in Pointe au Baril, out on our boats, or on the highways, we know that if something unforeseen happens, our donation helps ensure that top-notch medical care is close.
Northern Angel generosity helps ensure that essential health care services are available not only to local residents but also to visitors who make the Parry Sound region their home away from home.
Health emergencies can strike anyone anywhere, and knowing that West Parry Sound Health Centre has the best possible equipment available means the highest possible quality of health care for everyone who needs it.
Together, we can create a network of care that uplifts and empowers our community. I invite you to join us in this vital mission. Let’s come together to be the Angels that this hospital needs.
Contact me at northernangels@wpshc.com to learn more.
Thank you for your generosity and commitment.
Warm regards,
Debbie Bongard
Chair, Northern Angel Council
Why Brett Became a Northern Angel
It started the way so many good summers do. An evening at the Lake Rosseau cottage, friends around the table, a glass of Prosecco. John is a very light drinker. One glass can produce a hangover. So when he was not feeling well the next morning, his wife and daughter both agreed: must be the Prosecco.
He spent most of the next day on the couch. Still not right, but not alarming. These things pass.
Sometime in the early hours of the next day, he woke covered in sweat, with terrible stomach pain and severe chills.
John’s instinct was to get in the car and drive back to Toronto. Mount Sinai was his hospital. It was where he thought he should be.
His wife Brett disagreed.
They were going to West Parry Sound Health Centre. Now.
They didn’t expect that John would be triaged into a treatment room immediately. It was apparent to everyone who saw him that he was in rough shape.
Within minutes he was answering questions no one ever wants to hear: If a blood transfusion becomes necessary, do you consent? If we need to do whatever is required to keep you alive, do you consent?
The diagnosis was sepsis. The cause, they would later learn, was diverticulitis. John spent four nights at West Parry Sound Health Centre. The care, from every member of the staff, was excellent. John says his full recovery took about six months.
When the crisis was over, someone told them something that has stayed with Brett ever since: If they had gotten in the car and driven to Toronto, the outcome could have been quite different.
For years, like many people who split their time between the city and the cottage, the hospital in Parry Sound had been background infrastructure. Something John and Brett were glad existed. Something they had supported and even helped champion in the community. But something they had never truly needed themselves.
After that summer, it became something else entirely. Brett joined the Board of Directors of the West Parry Sound Health Centre Foundation and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars since John’s illness, making a difference for patients and their families.
Their connection to West Parry Sound Health Centre Foundation deepened because they understood, in a way that had become personal, what it means to have a hospital that is ready with the best possible equipment and technology in the hands of skilled health care professionals.
A health emergency does not wait for a convenient location. A health crisis doesn’t pause to accommodate vacation time. Today, John and Brett continue to give their time, leadership, and financial support because they want your hospital in Parry Sound to be ready for the next person who needs it.
