Question 4: “When we can all travel again, where is the first place you would like to go for a well-deserved break?”
Obviously, this is what frontline healthcare workers have been dreaming about for the last 18 months and there is a wide range of places that they will travel to when they are able.
Some want to remain in our beautiful province.Dr. McLeod wants to head out to Tofino with his surfboard and hit the waves.
Dr. Walton-Knight would like to camp at the top of a mountain, for some serenity and another local family doctor will go camping along the coast.
Local RN, Helen Zaparniuk will be heading to Penticton to see family and Dr. Heffner wants to go to Haida Gwaii to catch some Coho salmon.
Some would like to head just over the border. Dr. Robertson has a home she has not seen in Washington since the border closed and can find peace there while watching the sunset.
Local paramedic Bart Niko has another good reason to head to Bellingham – Trader Joe’s (we have all missed that!) – before heading for a tour of Southwestern ghost towns in the US.
Hawaii is a popular option, the warm, sandy beaches of Maui are calling Dr. Bicknell, Dr. Smiljanic and Dr. Vyselaar, who wants to eat a giant steak by the beach and have nothing to do after such an exhausting time.
Dr. Murphy would like to see beaches too, but in the Caribbean.
Some would like to go further afield. Sandra Sodvat, RN, would like to head to Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe on an amazing safari that was cancelled in 2021. Dr. Haaf would like to head to Europe in the Fall and also go to Disneyland. Dr. Hughan would like to see Southern Italy again and show her children where she got married. Dr. Jaschinski would head off to South Africa to celebrate a family birthday. Resident Dr. Boskovic would go to Croatia to see family and relax. Dr. Vrana would head to a hiking trip down the coast of Portugal.
Finally, to show how the pandemic has affected every part of our lives, Dr. Jaeger says that he will be going to Galiano Island, in beautiful BC, to finally marry his fiance, after postponing his wedding twice. Here’s wishing them all the happiness in what we hope will be a pandemic-free world.
Conclusion
We have endured many a hardship during this pandemic including working and schooling from home and not seeing family and friends, but these are nothing compared to the frontline workers who spend time around the clock keeping you safe and putting their lives and those of their families at risk every minute. I hope this article has given some insight into the struggles and challenges doctors, nurses and paramedics have faced and continue to face every day during the COVID pandemic.