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Oh, what long strange trip it has been. Flashback May 2005. For months had a âcutâ on my left ear. My many âMomsâ had been saying get it looked at. Had a legitimate reason not to have it looked at. I am male, stubborn and stupid. Despite being a public figure, I am private by nature.
No family, friends or co-workers knew the extent of the problem or that surgery was required. In February 2005 a biopsy revealed skin cancer in the upper left ear. In May, naively drove alone to Sarnia General Hospital for the operation. Then a nurse asked âHow are you getting home?â As she shot down every option from driving, by taxi, walking or crawling, the reality hit home.
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Lisa Northcott remembers always wanting to be a nurse.
After beginning as a volunteer candy striper at 14 and eventually becoming the chief nursing executive and a vice-president at Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, she will retire this fall.
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Northcott was interviewed about her career for National Nursing Week.
Her time volunteering as a teenager in what was Sarnia General Hospital in the 1980s “solidified” her decision to become a nurse, she said.
“It was a lot different back then,” said Northcott, who grew up in Corunna. “We were actually allowed to work quite closely with the patients, helping them with all their activities of daily living, feeding patients (and) walking patients.”
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As a kid growing up in Courtright, Kristina Dewhirst had more than an inkling that one day she’d end up working in the field of nursing.
Her aunt and mother both had careers that involved caring for others. Dewhirst’s only decision was whether she was going to help members of the public in a hospital or from the back of a fire truck.
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Try refreshing your browser. Teamwork makes the dream work for Bluewater Health nurse Back to video
“My aunt was one of the head nurses at the old Sarnia General Hospital, so I grew up knowing all about that,” Dewhirst said. “My mother also wanted to be a nurse but unfortunately at the time she didn’t have the opportunity to do the schooling. So what ended up happening was that while we were in school, she took her health care aid training and later became a PSW at a nursing home.
Author of the article: Paul Morden
Publishing date: Mar 17, 2021 • 4 days ago • 3 minute read • Nathan Homes has begun work on a model home on Essex Street, on one of seven lots it has at the former Sarnia General Hospital site. New building permit statistics had a strong start in Sarnia during the first two months of this year. Photo by Paul Morden /The Observer
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New home construction has been strong out of the gate this year in Sarnia.
City hall issued a total of 21 building permits for new single-family homes in January and February, compared to a total of seven in the first two months of 2020.