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Red Deer mom thanks hospital staff for saving her life

Mar 14, 2018 | 9:17 AM

It was the day of my little girl’s baptism and my heart ached to be at the church with her.  Instead, I was in the Emergency Department at the Red Deer Regional Hospital with severe fatigue and a fever. An infection was raging in my body and I had no antibodies to fight it.

My name is Sabrina McKinley and this wasn’t my first visit to the hospital.  I became a patient here when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014.  A few days before Erikka’s baptism, I received chemotherapy which compromised my immune system. If not for the quick action of my healthcare team in the Emergency Dept, I don’t think I’d be here today.  My situation was so serious I was transferred to the Palliative Care Unit. It was terrifying to hear that I might not make it. My family had to start preparing for the worst. 

But I was determined to pull through. Erikka, was only seven years old and she needed me.  I’ll never forget her words to me. “You have to come home, mommy. This isn’t the end,” she said.  Thanks to the lifesaving treatment I received at the Red Deer Regional Hospital, Erikka was right. It wasn’t the end. My incredible doctors and nurses saved my life. I desperately needed comfort and reassurance and I found both at the Red Deer Regional Hospital. My amazing care team assured me I wasn’t in this fight alone. They were there by my side every step of the way.