Everyone knows her. With her smile and willingness to help your shopping experience be a positive one, no one ever suspected that she was a ticking time bomb.
Sue Stratford is a staple at Market Fresh Foods, and has been since their opening days. She worked hard, and proved herself everyday. Tired or sick, she always had a smile for the next customer to approach her.
It all started about three weeks before Father's day 2014. What appeared to be a cough, turned into something more severe. Sue couldn't shake the cold, or the cough until Father's day when she complained about not being able to catch her breath. Rushed to the hospital by her husband Marc Bruyere, they soon discovered that the cold she was battling had developed into a pneumonia.
After a couple of days in the hospital, another blow. Her pneumonia was associated with a heart murmur, which showed that one of her heart valves needed to be replaced. She underwent several tests, from ECG to Cardiogram, to Angiogram. By the end of week two, she was scheduled to be transferred to Kelowna General Hospital, where they would have to repair two leaking valves, and replace one damaged one.
The first surgery took place on Friday July 4th, almost three weeks after entering the hospital.
The surgery took 17+ hours, and at the end of it, the left side of her heart was not beating. Another surgery was performed the next morning, lasting about 3 hours. The doctor informed her husband that the heart was still not beating, and that she would remain in an induced coma until the swelling went down. They hoped that this would help the heart.
Another operation was performed on July 8th, but with little success.
July 9th, she was transferred to St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver. She was put in line for a heart transplant, then she was taken off the list after one of the doctors was able to perform yet another open heart surgery to repair the damage.
Sue was returned to Kelowna General on July 19th, still in her induced coma... just over two weeks.
The nurses weaned her off of the sedative, and let her wake up slowly. As of this moment, Sue is doing well, but is still far from being better. She is still assisted with a breathing tube, and will be having et another surgery to remove the breathing tube from her mouth, to her neck. A tracheotomy.
Throughout all of this, Marc has tried to remain strong, and with the outpouring of well wishes, prayers and the generosity of his fellow co-workers and the customers at the store, he has been able to visit and spend time with his wife.
The family will be going through more pitfalls, as without Sue working, they have lost 1/2 of their wages.
The customers at Market Fresh Foods suggested a donation box at the tills so they could help financially.
A GoFundMe account was created by Labyrinth Farms in Westsyde, while another customer has asked Market Fresh Foods if it would be okay to have a BBQ at the store, with all proceeds being handed over to the family to ease their minds about their mounting bills.
This is where the community has decided that they wanted to help also.
During the BBQ, the store along with the customer organising the event will be holding a raffle, with all these proceeds also going to the family. The food and beverages will be supplied by Market Fresh Foods, and the raffle prizes have been flooding the store.
Those involved with donating prizes at the time of this writing are:
Along with the wonderful vendors and stores supplying the raffle prizes, Krafts 'N' Kaboodles will also be setting up a table at the event. Krafts 'N' Kaboodles is the home based business that Sue's husband began last year, and with her help, has made various crafts for sale.
The BBQ Fundraiser is will be held at Market Fresh Foods, on August 2nd, between 10am and 2 pm.
Sue Stratford is a staple at Market Fresh Foods, and has been since their opening days. She worked hard, and proved herself everyday. Tired or sick, she always had a smile for the next customer to approach her.
It all started about three weeks before Father's day 2014. What appeared to be a cough, turned into something more severe. Sue couldn't shake the cold, or the cough until Father's day when she complained about not being able to catch her breath. Rushed to the hospital by her husband Marc Bruyere, they soon discovered that the cold she was battling had developed into a pneumonia.
After a couple of days in the hospital, another blow. Her pneumonia was associated with a heart murmur, which showed that one of her heart valves needed to be replaced. She underwent several tests, from ECG to Cardiogram, to Angiogram. By the end of week two, she was scheduled to be transferred to Kelowna General Hospital, where they would have to repair two leaking valves, and replace one damaged one.
The first surgery took place on Friday July 4th, almost three weeks after entering the hospital.
The surgery took 17+ hours, and at the end of it, the left side of her heart was not beating. Another surgery was performed the next morning, lasting about 3 hours. The doctor informed her husband that the heart was still not beating, and that she would remain in an induced coma until the swelling went down. They hoped that this would help the heart.
Another operation was performed on July 8th, but with little success.
July 9th, she was transferred to St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver. She was put in line for a heart transplant, then she was taken off the list after one of the doctors was able to perform yet another open heart surgery to repair the damage.
Sue was returned to Kelowna General on July 19th, still in her induced coma... just over two weeks.
The nurses weaned her off of the sedative, and let her wake up slowly. As of this moment, Sue is doing well, but is still far from being better. She is still assisted with a breathing tube, and will be having et another surgery to remove the breathing tube from her mouth, to her neck. A tracheotomy.
Throughout all of this, Marc has tried to remain strong, and with the outpouring of well wishes, prayers and the generosity of his fellow co-workers and the customers at the store, he has been able to visit and spend time with his wife.
The family will be going through more pitfalls, as without Sue working, they have lost 1/2 of their wages.
The customers at Market Fresh Foods suggested a donation box at the tills so they could help financially.
A GoFundMe account was created by Labyrinth Farms in Westsyde, while another customer has asked Market Fresh Foods if it would be okay to have a BBQ at the store, with all proceeds being handed over to the family to ease their minds about their mounting bills.
This is where the community has decided that they wanted to help also.
During the BBQ, the store along with the customer organising the event will be holding a raffle, with all these proceeds also going to the family. The food and beverages will be supplied by Market Fresh Foods, and the raffle prizes have been flooding the store.
Those involved with donating prizes at the time of this writing are:
- Dollar Barn
- Petro Canada
- Freybe
- Grimms
- Van Houtte Coffee
- Tumbleweeds Pub and Liquor Store
- The Pond
Along with the wonderful vendors and stores supplying the raffle prizes, Krafts 'N' Kaboodles will also be setting up a table at the event. Krafts 'N' Kaboodles is the home based business that Sue's husband began last year, and with her help, has made various crafts for sale.
The BBQ Fundraiser is will be held at Market Fresh Foods, on August 2nd, between 10am and 2 pm.