Angel for a Day

Providing TLC to people has always been a passion for Diane Falk of Langley. It guided her into the nursing profession before she married and had children. When her family moved from Ontario to British Columbia, Diane realized she needed something more in her life than to be a stay-at-home mom.

So after the move, Diane went into a hospital emergency room, the department where she had worked after she graduated from nursing school, to see how much things had changed. She soon realized things had changed a lot and more work was being done by machines than by the nurses.

“Because TLC is my thing,” says Diane, “I decided against doing the nursing refresher courses to go back to work, and to instead volunteer with the Royal Columbian Hospital Auxiliary, to give the TLC that staff didn’t have as much time for in their busy schedules.”

That was 40 years ago, and having volunteered over 10,000 hours, Diane has taken on many roles within the organization, including gift shop buyer, program convener, shopping cart attendant, and trainer of new volunteers for the Auxiliary, to name a few. She also looks after the older, retired members of the Auxiliary, by phoning and visiting them regularly so “they know that we haven’t forgotten about them.”

One of Diane’s proudest achievements with the Auxiliary was in 1981, when she was elected as president. Another was in 1991 when the open-heart surgery program started and a surgeon approached the Auxiliary to see if they could make pillows for the patients with a diagram of the heart.

Diane took on this Heart Pillow program.

“At the beginning, there were five open-heart surgeries a week,” she says, “now there are 20-plus a week. We have made more than 17,000 pillows.”

Patients hold the pillows for comfort, and after the surgery, the surgeon draws in the diagram what procedure was done; the nurses sign them and write words of encouragement.

In 2016, Diane was recognized for her efforts when she received the “Above and Beyond” award, an annual award given by the hospital to “recognize those who go above and beyond to achieve extraordinary results.” For Diane, this was special because she was nominated by a Fraser Health staff member. “They noticed I made a difference in the hospital,” she says.

Diane has also received the “star award,” a program set up by the Hospital Foundation where patients, families and peers nominate and donate money to the Foundation in the recipient’s name.

Another highlight in Diane’s volunteer career happened recently when she was volunteering as a convener on the critical care floor, waiting with family members for a loved one to have surgery.

“A woman ran up to me, hugged me and said I had helped her 10 years ago when her husband had open-heart surgery,” she shares. “This time, her son was in critical care. He had been in a bad accident and was there for six months, so I got to know the family well. After the son recovered, this woman wrote to me and said I had made things so much brighter in dark days.”

For Diane, knowing this is all she needs: “I come home with a happy heart knowing I am helping others; I don’t need any other payment for what I do.”

Diane emphasizes, however, that it’s not just her who is recognized. “The people who work in this program are kind, caring people, sometimes called ‘angels for a day,’” she says.

At 80, Diane is still at the hospital volunteering anywhere from 10 to 50 hours each month. “When my husband retired, he said ‘don’t change your life; continue to do what you love.’ I need volunteering in my life, and although I get more tired now after a day of volunteering, it’s a good tired. I hope as long as I’m well, I’ll keep going like I am.”

“I think the world would be a better place if everyone took time to volunteer. The volunteer gets a lot of happiness from it. That’s why people volunteer – because you feel good.”

For more info about Royal Columbian Hospital Auxiliary, call 604-520-4237 or visit: www.fraserhealth.ca/about-us/volunteer/royal-columbian-hospital/

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