North Bay nurse provided primary care in Ukraine to families fleeing war
A North Bay nurse got a first-hand look at the impact of the war in Ukraine when she travelled to the Ukraine-Poland border to care for displaced families trying to escape the conflict.
Jenny Ryan flew overseas in mid May, knowing she wouldn’t just be providing physical care, but also emotional support.
“The Ukrainian people need our help,” Ryan said.
“I spoke to many people who lost friends and family in the war. It’s a real thing for them. It’s not fake news.”
Ryan, a registered hospital nurse with the North Bay Regional Health Centre, volunteered with the Canadian Medical Assistance Teams (CMAT), a disaster relief organization made up of volunteer health professionals.
She met with fellow nurses, doctors and a translator to provide basic medical care to Ukrainians fleeing war.
Ryan was stationed in Poland and would cross into western Ukraine to work at a stationary clinic each day.
“One mom and her children were stuck at the border, because sometimes it would take two to three days to cross the border because the lineups were quite large,” she said.
“She was nine weeks pregnant and she drove 1,000 kilometres and she was quite nauseous from being pregnant. So we provided treatment for her.”
Ryan met many families looking to take refuge in other areas of the country or neighbouring countries.
“Many of them had their husbands still fighting in the war. They didn’t really want to leave Ukraine,” she said.
“Some of them didn’t have the resources to leave Ukraine.”
This is the first conflict the CMAT has been deployed to since starting up as a non-profit organization back in 2005. Ordinarily, the medical teams respond to natural disasters.
“Early on in our deployment in March we were seeing 40-50 patients a day in our mobile and stationary clinics,” said CMAT executive director Valerie Rzepka, in a Zoom interview from Lviv.
"That has decreased to about 8-10 patients a day."
CMAT estimates it has supported a few thousand Ukrainians since the war began. The operation ends June 30, when the Canadian medical professionals will start a transition period.
“We will be transitioning to a more supportive role providing training and education to local providers,” said Rzepka.
Ryan said if the Russian aggression escalates, she’d be willing to go back to help. The European crisis really puts things into perspective on how lucky we are to live in Canada, she added.
“We have a good health care system. We live in a peaceful country and we have freedom here,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Still so much love between us,' Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Trump's lawyers grill ex-tabloid publisher as 1st week of hush money trial testimony nears a close
After prosecutors' lead witness painted a tawdry portrait of “catch-and-kill” tabloid schemes, defence lawyers in Donald Trump's criminal trial on Friday sought to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election.