Last November, Leonard Thomas woke up with a strange feeling of numbness in his right leg. The numbness quickly turned into excruciating pain leaving Leonard unable to walk. He and his wife knew this could be serious – Leonard’s family has a history of heart disease, and he had recently been discharged from Sunnybrook after having undergone cardiovascular surgery.
Leonard’s wife called an ambulance, which, upon Leonard’s insistence, took him to Sunnybrook, despite it not being the closest hospital. “It was faith that first led me to Sunnybrook,” explains Leonard, recently retired after 20 years with pharmaceutical company, Janssen Ortho. “I knew that there was no other hospital I wanted to go to.”
When Leonard was admitted to Sunnybrook’s Emergency Department, numerous tests were performed to diagnose his condition. When the results came back Leonard was diagnosed as experiencing a blood clot in the main artery of his right leg. That evening he was operated on by vascular surgeon, Dr. Andrew Dueck.
During the tests to diagnose the blood clot in his leg, the doctors also discovered that Leonard had a five-centimetre aneurysm in his aorta. Without thorough testing, this life-threatening condition may have gone unnoticed and untreated. Leonard was operated on quickly by Dr. Dueck, restoring him to full physical health.
“I thought I wouldn’t make it,” recalls Leonard. “But I was up and walking within a week and back at work within three.”
Leonard, a talented artist, believes that the expert care of a world-class cardiac team, and in particular the skill, enthusiasm and dedication of Dr. Dueck, are the reasons he is still alive today.
“They saved my life. No doubt about it,” says Leonard. “Life is so precious; so fragile; yet often we don’t appreciate what we have until it’s threatened.”
“I owe my life to this hospital, and I’m a living example of what they can do. Everything was positive, from the moment they wheeled me in, to the moment I walked out.”
In a wonderful gesture of gratitude, Leonard decided to recognize the outstanding care of Dr. Dueck by giving him one of his most treasured creations – an oil painting named “Sun Down.”
Every day the staff of the Schulich Heart Centre offers patients life-saving treatment and care. The current facility was built more than 40 years ago and is being renovated to accommodate the growing needs of patients and staff.
Leonard feels very strongly about donating to the Schulich Heart Centre: “Thanks to the generosity of so many individuals, Dr. Dueck and his team had the resources needed to save my life.”
Like many, Leonard is excited about the fact that an anonymous donor has promised to match every donation made to the reconstruction of the Schulich Heart Centre before December 31, 2008, up to a total of $10 million. “To have a donor so committed to the cause that they will double every dollar raised for the Heart Centre is just incredible,” says Leonard.
Now is the time to donate to the Schulich Heart Centre. You can offer your support by visiting www.sunnybrookfoundation.ca, making an online donation, and doubling the impact of your gift. ”