Patient Stories

Ross McKinnell, a Guelphite of 57 years, is no stranger to anyone who supports the Guelph General Hospital. He is a champion bicyclist who has raised an incredible amount of money for the Foundation over the past seven years and has been inducted into the Tour de Guelph’s Hall of Fame. But this story is…

When Janet and Scott’s first baby, Ben, made his entrance at Guelph General in 2018, they were home the next day. With their second baby, Alice, born in March last year, the experience was totally different. Alice was premature by a month. Although she weighed a healthy 7 pounds, 2 ounces, her delivery date came…

“I’m one of the good news stories” Laura Keller never believed she’d get breast cancer — “not in a million years,” says the Guelph mother of three. Unfortunately, she was wrong. It all started with a routine mammogram in the spring of 2021, the kind recommended for women every two years once they turn 50.…

Ron King grew up in Guelph in the 50s.  He attended John F. Ross CVI, married his high school sweetheart, Brenda, and enjoyed a long career at W.C. Wood. Once retired, Ron and Brenda travelled worldwide — Fiji to Finland, Australia to Alaska. It was on the return from a Caribbean vacation in 2019 that…

Leading into the holiday season, Guelph General Hospital received an email from Manny Garcia who wished to express thanks to the Guelph General team who provided care to his wife, Helen-Ann Learmont. Manny Garcia graciously writes: Dear Guelph General Hospital, I also wanted to acknowledge the following individuals; Emergency Department Nurses who took such good care of…

Jean Peacock was born in Guelph in the late 50s and, after many years away, returned in 1998 to care for her mother. Jean’s travels took her to many places including ten years teaching English to members of the South Korean military. She now holds a position with Immigrant Services Guelph-Wellington, helping to connect newcomers…

As Ron was raking leaves one fall afternoon, he felt horrific pain shooting through his legs and called 911. At the hospital, a CT scan identified the source of the problem: blood clots had cut off his circulation, and he needed bypasses in both his legs immediately.

Ed Herold is a retired professor who spent more than thirty years teaching at the University of Guelph in Family Relations and Applied Nutrition. He finished work in 2005 and has enjoyed many years of adventurous travel and cruising with his wife, Yvette. On a cruise late in 2019, Ed began to feel weak and…

When she turned 50 in 2019, Jen knew she was due for a mammogram but put it off until she had time during the winter school break. Just after the New Year, she finally went to GGH’s Diagnostic Imaging Department for her first scan. Driving home from the Hospital, Jen got a call asking her to come back

At the beginning of April 2021, Alan Berry tested positive for the U.K. COVID-19 variant. He was 49 years old and had no pre-existing health conditions, so he decided to just muscle it out at home. But his symptoms kept getting worse.

Carolyn Heffernan is a nurse, through and through. She graduated from St. Mary’s in Kitchener in 1969 and, from that day on, pursued her career at St. Joseph’s Hospital and then Guelph General Hospital, through many different and exciting roles. She retired in 2011 but kept her hand in with casual nursing shifts until 2017.…

Angie Hunt has been a very active parishioner at her church since 2004 — a strong supporter and member of its Stewardship and Fundraising Committees. Pre-pandemic, when a lot of construction work was being completed at the church, Angie was on-site visiting the office in a construction trailer.  She was looking forward to a pilgrimage…