Our Stories

Kristen Balendra

Kristen's
Better Care Story
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Kristen's Better Care Story

When I look at my daughters, I’m so thankful there are kind-hearted people like you in our community. You see, with your generosity for Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital you helped save my life!

I was five weeks pregnant when an ambulance rushed me to Oakville Hospital with a high fever. My heart was racing wildly. My lungs were so congested I felt like I was drowning.

Something serious was causing my heart, lungs, and liver to not function properly.

The doctors at Oakville Hospital wanted to get to the bottom of what was wrong with me but they were limited because of my pregnancy. I will be forever grateful to them for thinking about my baby but at the same time I was terrified. I thought we were both going to die.

I’ll never forget lying in my ICU bed talking to my husband about my last wishes. I told him what I wanted for my one-year-old daughter, Kavita, if I didn’t make it. It was heartbreaking.

But the incredible team at Oakville Hospital never gave up on me – not for a single second. There were so many doctors caring for me. They were monitoring my pregnancy, working tirelessly to identify the cause of my illness, and reminding me that I had a lot to fight for.

I’m so fortunate to live in this community. Oakville Hospital is a place that attracts the most talented health professionals.It offers world-class care and compassion to thousands of people every year. And it’s caring people like you who help make it all possible!

Thanks to you, I had access to state-of-the-art diagnostic tools, the best doctors, the latest treatments. You were there behind-the-scenes while the staff at Oakville Hospital went the extra mile to save me.

I spent 11 days in the ICU, slowly getting stronger thanks to the round-the-clock care I received. Finally, I was well enough to go home to my family. I left Oakville Hospital with a deep sense of gratitude for the people who saved my life and the life of my unborn child.

Seven months later, I was back to deliver my baby.I can’t begin to describe the relief I felt when I heard her first cries.I never realized just how important it is to have a hospital with state-of-the-art equipment and the best health professionals, until I got sick. Now I understand what supporters like you have known all along: We must do everything in our power to help our community hospital invest in equipment and technology and provide the best care possible to our loved ones, friends and neighbours.

Every day I am reminded that if people didn’t support Oakville Hospital, I might not be here with my daughters today.


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