Catharine's Story

Catharine Martin is more than happy to volunteer to help raise funds for VGH, UBC Hospital and GF Strong Rehab Centre. She's able to describe herself today as "a normal working mom" thanks to VGH staff.

After the birth of her son in 2005, Catharine was rushed to VGH in a coma, suffering from acute fatty liver of pregnancy, a rare pregnancy-related condition. Thanks to the ICU staff as well as Dr. Eric Yoshida and his colleagues in the Division of Gastroenterology, Catharine survived this potentially fatal illness, and was able to return home and get to know her son.

But Catharine's recovery was slow, and she remained very ill for over a year. She began to think that she would always be sick, since tests showed nothing wrong with her. An acute pancreatic attack brought Catharine back to VGH, and into the care of gastroenterologist Dr. Mike Byrne. Catharine credits Dr. Byrne with giving her back her life: by sending her to another hospital site for an endoscopic ultrasound, he was able to rule out pancreatic cancer, and his treatment regime quickly restored her health.

You can see Catharine's video testimonial at www.supportvgh.ca. Please share the link with your friends and family by email or on Facebook!

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Vancouver
• General
• Hospital
• VGH
• UBC
• GF
• Strong
• Rehab
• Centre
• acute
• fatty
• liver
• of
• pregnancy