Broken hearts lead to happiness
Couple’s gratitude to Hamilton General sparks fundraising effort
It was, quite literally, the dawn of a new year and yet Swarsh Mian feared the curtain was coming down on her life.
Around 6 a.m. on New Year’s Day 2016, Mian came downstairs to the kitchen and put the kettle on. Then everything went black.
Somehow, just before she passed out, she managed to dial 911.
Unaware of what was happening, husband Saleem was awakened to a banging at the front door. There were paramedics standing there.
“I said ‘What’s the matter?’ and they said someone had called,” he said.
A good thing she did. Swarsh had suffered heart failure and she was starting to take on a bluish hue.
She was revived in the nick of time and taken to Hamilton General Hospital where she underwent open heart surgery to perform a bypass and repair a damaged heart valve.
Saleem decided he should get himself checked out and that, too, was a good thing. Eleven months later, he had open heart surgery to bypass some blocked arteries he didn’t know he had.
And now, you’d have a hard time finding two people more grateful for the care they received at the General hospital.
“After God, the hospital was the one who saved my life,” said Swarsh, now 67 years old and originally from New Delhi. “We are so fortunate to have these services in Canada.
“They don’t see rich or poor, high class or low class. They just treat you like a human.”
The Mians decided they wanted to show their appreciation beyond just writing a cheque, so they decided to hold a fundraising dinner. They reached out to Colleen Cowman, director of development for the Hamilton General Hospital Foundation, and asked if there was any equipment the cardiac department needed. They hoped they might be able to raise about $25,000.
Saleem, now 70, is originally from the Punjab region of Pakistan and he’s well known for his Punjab International specialty grocery store on Queenston Road, where the motto on the front awning is “If we don’t have it, probably it was never made.”
The couple put the word out primarily to friends in the Pakistani community, sold 300 tickets and ultimately raised about $80,000.
“We just called our friends mostly and they all came,” said Saleem. “People found out later and they said ‘Why didn’t you call me? I would have come.’”
With the donation, the hospital was able to purchase an intraaortic balloon pump and a Level One transfuser.
The former helps support the heart during an acute heart attack if the heart is not pumping well, and the latter helps administer blood products into a patient rapidly when they’re bleeding.
Cowman said the foundation might usually see eight to 10 community fundraising events a year that typically bring in up to $10,000 per event, so the Mians’ original goal was a welcome — and ambitious — addition.
“Tripling the goal was hugely important to us,” said Cowman, who expressed gratitude at the generosity of the Mians and the Pakistani community.
“It really does make a huge difference to us,” she said.
While the amount raised might not be in the same category of the millions of dollars donated by some benefactors, every donation is appreciated, Cowman said. Hospital equipment often has to be funded from donations, she added, and the General’s cardiac program is the largest and busiest one in Ontario.
“We have people who mail in a gift and it might be $25 or $50 and they’ll say ‘I wish I could do more, I’m so grateful for the care I received,’” she said.
“Each gift is honoured because we understand the story of the people behind it and the gratitude.”
Based on the success of the first dinner, the Mians are aiming for a second one, and they may even make it an annual event.