Editor:
The 716 sudden deaths due to the extreme heat is more than any daily deaths from COVID-19 (in B.C.). This must not be forgotten as new headlines appear.
My father very nearly became one of those statistics above. I had just left him fine a couple of hours earlier when my niece checked on him. At that time, his body was limp he was often non-responsive. It took 30 minutes to reach 911.
We were told that it would be at least two hours before an ambulance could arrive. They sent the Burnaby Fire Department. They put him on oxygen, with cooling items to bring down his temperature. It was so difficult to watch helplessly. They told us they could not transport him to the hospital.
We drove our Jeep up to the front stairs and the firemen lifted his body into the air-conditioned vehicle. At Burnaby Hospital it was an unbelievable scene. There was no one available from the hospital to get my father from the car inside the hospital emergency.
Three paramedics came to our aid and took him in the ambulance entrance. We were there from the afternoon to 3 a.m. During that time, people were bringing their loved ones in Ubers, taxis and their own cars. One man was carrying his elderly mother over his shoulder running into the emergency department.
People were lined up down the sidewalk just to give their names. The waiting room was at capacity and people were waiting outside to be called.
There was a 10-hour wait, one nurse said. Inside, with my dad, the nurses were amazing - as too were the paramedics going above and beyond. Does it really matter that this was unprecedented weather?
Our government should be prepared for whatever can cripple our community. They should be proactive using foresight in what could possibly happen.
I shudder to think if there had been an earthquake. Again, it is our most vulnerable seniors and others who suffer the consequences of their inaction. With more towers and people residing in Burnaby, will the new hospital even meet the community’s needs? The government must to invest in health care.
Jacqueline Merandi, Burnaby
