MEANT FOR EACH OTHER
Gallery owner Robert Heffel hung Spanish great Pablo Picasso’s Femme au Chapeau (1941) and Street, Alert Bay (1912) by B.C.’s Emily Carr together recently, after realizing they’re a match made in heaven. The paintings will be auctioned off Nov. 20, with the Picasso estimated to fetch north of $8 million and the Carr up to $3 million.
Serena Ryder, a Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter, shared the story of her journey through depression at a conference of healthcare professionals gathered in Vancouver on Thursday to discuss the release of In Her Words, a report detailing the difficulties women face in B.C.’s health-care system.
Ryder, 35, now a mental health advocate, began to experience anxiety, panic attacks and depression in her 20s. The depression became so paralyzing she made a harrowing emergency visit to a psych ward where, after a four-hour wait, she left without getting the help she needed.
“Going to the psych ward that one time was the most terrifying and impersonal experience I’d ever had,” said Ryder.
Ryder was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder and endometriosis, and received treatment. She said more compassion is needed in the health-care system, particularly for those who are in emotional distress.
Genesa Greening, president and CEO of the B.C. Women’s Health Foundation, lauded Ryder for her courage in sharing her story to help others.
“One of the reasons this report is so impactful is we didn’t ask people things like, ‘How many times a year do you go to the doctor?’ or ‘How many medications are you on?’ We asked, ‘What is your story as it pertains to your experiences with health care?’” said Greening.
Greening said she believes that by sharing their stories, women can become empowered to advocate for the health care they need and help change the system for others.
“I view our foundation’s job to marry story to science, in large part because it’s difficult for people to really know how these health-care interactions impact people. It’s more than just statistics. We need the data to change policies and practices, but the stories are what make it valid.”
On the conference stage, Kim Van der Woerd, a member of the Namgis First Nation from Alert Bay, said she hopes the stories shared by Indigenous community members will help guide medical professionals and organizations to make historical and cultural considerations a part of the healthcare process.
Dr. Unjali Malhotra, medical health officer for the First Nations Health Authority, said she would love to see the health-care system get to a point of “cultural safety” by listening to what people need, and working toward that.
“This report is not meant to be an exercise of comparison between genders, but is meant to be an exercise in understanding how both genders are currently accessing health care, and how the way it’s set up is detrimental to both,” said Greening.