Friday, April 22, 2005
In April 1964, I was a young RN working at a convalescent hosital in Willowdale. One evening I was caring for a young woman who had recent heart surgery - I think a mitral valve split for old rheumatic fever heart disease. She was running a fever & her heart sounds were not good. I could not get the supervisor or the house physician to take me seriously, so I went over their heads & phoned TGH for advice. About 1/2 hour later, Dr. Bigelow came himself to see my patient. I had never met him before & was competely terrified that I had brought him all this way just on my say-so, & had gone over everyone's head to do so. He examined the patient & ordered an ambulance immediatley to take her back to TGH. While Dr. Bigelow was writing his notes, he asked me, 'What are you doing, working in a place like this?' Off guard, I mumbled something, & he went on to say, 'Why don't you come & work for me?' I had to ask him where & what that was! So the next day I went to TGH to apply - saying nothing about my encounter with Dr. Bigelow - & was hired immediately for the Acute Therapy Unit. I started there 2 weeks later (the convalescent hospital was quite glad to get rid of this trouble maker) & stayed there for 3 years, until my seond baby was born. Those 3 years were among the highlights of a long & satisfying nursing carrer, spent mostly in critical care, thanks to Dr. Bigelow. He was a great surgeon & even greater human being.
