Grateful Patient: Elizabeth Barrie – The Willett, Paris
It was the last day of Grade 8 and all Elizabeth Barrie’s son wanted was to take part in graduation festivities with his friends.
So when an unintentional accident happened during the celebration, Elizabeth was glad for the efficient and effective care provided by the Urgent Care medical staff at The Willett, Paris site of the Brant Community Healthcare System.
Elizabeth explained her son’s Grade 8 class were enjoying their graduation and the milestone of moving on to high school, and one of his friends had brought a small container of very small metallic confetti.
“It was flat, it was metallic, but it was like a pin head… very, very small,” she said.
The student accidentally spilled the container and when it fell, the lid came off and confetti flew up into the air, covering Elizabeth’s son’s face and body in the minute material. In the suddenness of the incident, Elizabeth’s son didn’t have time to close his eyes, and the tiny metal flakes covered most of the surface of one eye and partially covered the other.
School staff wasn’t able to remove any of the confetti, so they called Elizabeth, who met her son at The Willett, Paris. When she arrived, her son wasn’t able to open his eyes, which were watering as his body tried to clear the confetti flakes on its own.
“We didn’t have to wait long,” Elizabeth said about being triaged and then immediately taken by a nurse to a special ocular cleaning station.
Elizabeth’s son’s condition didn’t allow for the special lens in the cleaning station to be used — the material in his eye wasn’t responding to the flushing. So, the nurse cleaned off much of the confetti from his face and around his eyes, then froze the surface of his eyeballs to keep him from feeling any pain or discomfort. The nurse then meticulously began to remove each of the small flakes one at a time. There were about 50 pieces on one eye and 10 on the other that the nurse gently pressed with a swab to get them to adhere to its fibres.
In about a half hour, Elizabeth’s son’s treatment was finished and he was able to return to school.
“He was treated so well and so quickly that it was an exceptional experience,” said Elizabeth, adding the accident happened around 10 a.m. and her son was back at school by 1 p.m.
“For a mom, it’s that confidence that when you get there, you’ll receive the care your child needs,” she said. “I go there with complete confidence because every experience I’ve had has been excellent.”
Elizabeth’s story is a part of the Brant Community Healthcare System Foundation’s 12 Days of Giving Campaign.
The equipment supported by donor dollars isn’t all ‘nice to have’ — it is critical, much-needed medical equipment required to perform daily diagnostics and care for patients.
As Elizabeth and her son have learned first-hand, when crisis or illness impacts you or a loved one, the Brant Community Healthcare System is here to offer you exceptional healthcare in your time of need. Now is the time to make a difference, please consider making a gift TODAY that is meaningful to you, and support a strong healthcare system for our community.
Your involvement, through a donation of any size, will allow the BCHS Foundation to purchase patient equipment not funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, provide essential resources to maintain the exceptional level of compassionate patient care, and invest in new and innovative technology.
To make a donation, click here or call 519-751-5510.
This holiday season, give a gift that could save a life and be a part of the Brant Community Healthcare System Foundation’s 12 Days of Giving Campaign.