Lois Hole hospital society moves closer to buying cancer tech
Celebrating their first-year anniversary, members of the Lois Hole Hospital Women’s Society announced they were $26,000 away from purchasing a $205,000 piece of high-tech equipment to “light up” cancer cells.
Co-chairwomen Krista Ference and Melanie Nakatsui made the announcement last week when the society’s 78 members and guests, including 58 founding members, met at the Royal Glenora Club for an anniversary party.
“Our $1,200 founding members’ campaign is directly helping us purchase state-of-the-art technology called the Firefly,” said Ference. “The Firefly is an extension of the DaVinci Surgical Robot and will light up when cancer cells are detected. Can you imagine the number of women who can benefit from this technology?”
The society is a group of women in all ages and stages in life committed to excellence in women’s health care and treatment at the Lois Hole Hospital for Women.
Dr. Sophia Pin, the newest of six female surgeons in Edmonton’s Division of Gynecological Oncology and working at the Lois Hole Hospital, told guests the robot has many advantages during surgery for patients and surgeons.
“For the patient, there is a decrease in infection rate, bleeding, post-operative pain, a much quicker recovery time, which allows patients to return back to work or regular activities faster,” she said. “Advantages to the surgeon are improved posture at the surgical console, a decrease in surgical fatigue and a significant increase in visualization.”
Union Bank Inn owner Diane Buchanan was thanked by Nakatsui for providing seed money to kick off the society’s endeavours.
The society was also grateful for Firefly funds received from the Dr. Terry Traff Endowment Fund.
“His wife Julia noted her late husband was an obstetrician/ gynecologist and endocrinologist at the Royal Alex and would have loved this project of funding the Firefly,” Nakatsui said.
Also praised for an exceptionally large donation was lawyer and developer John Day, whose gift came through his late wife’s trust, the Cecilia Johnstone Fund for Research and Innovation in the Treatment of Cervical Cancer.
“It is through partnerships and generous donors that we can achieve great advances in women’s health at the Lois Hole Hospital for Women, in the city and in the province,” said Nakatsui. “We hope more women will consider joining us, as a member or founding member of our society.”
Cupid’s success story
A love-at-first-sight romance in 2001 has led a couple of Indian heritage to open their third restaurant, Haweli, in South Edmonton Common.
“The rich wood and bricks remind me of a Rajdhani railway station,” says Ramesh Devangodi, taking a break from renovating the restaurant with his wife Sonia.
“The Indian rail network is the largest in the world and my wife, my new partner and old friend Manny Bharti and I would like to see as many Haweli restaurants as there are Indian rail stations.”
Devangodi and his wife founded and own the prosperous New Asian Village in the west end and the flourishing Haweli restaurant downtown, and have given back to the community by supporting many local fundraisers.
“Ramesh was reserved and very good looking when he came to work for my dad Harmeet Kapur as a chef,” said Sonia, then 24. “It was love at first sight.”
Said Devangodi, 26 when they met: “I too fell immediately in love. But I was too shy to say anything to Sonia.”
After working with Devangodi for a week, Sonia confided in her mother, Charan, that she was crazy about him and asked her to tell the chef of her feelings.
“I was too embarrassed to say anything to him myself,’’ says Sonia.
Says Devangodi: “I was shocked to hear of Sonia’s love. I felt exactly the same way, but I would never have said anything.’’
The couple did later manage a kiss during that first week. That led to their marriage two years later and launching their own restaurant.
Now, three children later — Akash, 16, Aryan, 11, and Avanti, five — they will work in their latest restaurant together.
“I will return to work in the kitchen of our new Haweli and make sure it is known for its excellence in Indian, Canadian, fusion and Indo-Chinese cuisine,” said Devangodi. “Sonia will work out front to make sure everything runs well.”
Devangodi recently returned to India to learn of trends in cuisine there, and then visited London, where he says Indian cuisine thrives in both restaurants and pubs. Their new restaurant is the former 200-seat Hudson Tap House in South Edmonton Common, which also boasts a 100-seat patio.
“Regulars won’t be disappointed,” said Devangodi. “We will still offer Canadian beers, including a dozen draft beers, and such favourites as burgers and fish and chips.”
The Indian word “Haweli” can translate as “castle,” and Indian artifacts such as a 2,000-year-old entrance desk help decorate the inside of the 511-square-metre building and suggest it might be a misplaced Rajdhani rail station.