WEYBURN - Saskatchewan is a very help-your-neighbour province. Many residents in the province are proud to have a rural connection, where people are treated as friends and family, even in the cities of Regina, Saskatoon and Weyburn.
I am very grateful for the kindness given by strangers. Recently I had my car end up in the ditch, while driving up north to visit my mother on Good Friday. The roads were a little slick, with that heavy, sloggy snow, and the snow pulled my wheels in a fashion where suddenly I was heading towards the ditch.
Fortunately, as an experienced driver, I kept in control of the car, pumped the brakes to slow down the vehicle, and didn’t try to force my tires in a different direction (even though my car was being pulled south, into the ditch, instead of east down the highway).
As a result of good driving, my son and I were both safe and there were no injuries, nor any damage to my car. This is where the kindness of strangers came into effect, as four vehicles stopped on the highway to check to make sure that we were okay, and that a tow truck was on its way in assistance. (One of these vehicles in question had been going east themselves, and had pulled around to get on the west lane to double check on our car).
It was also good fortune that I was only half an hour from my destination, and that my Aunt Shelly, who works for CAA, was at my grandmother’s farm nearby and was able to call a tow truck on my behalf.
It is that kind of care and attention for other people that means a lot to me. Another case in point was during a recent appointment at the Weyburn General Hospital for a colonoscopy. I was a little nervous and anxious for the appointment, and the second floor nurses were very kind and courteous, always checking up on me before the appointment.
I had even mentioned that I had brought my circulation gloves (as my hands get cold easily), and the recovery room nurse who helped me get ready for the colonoscopy made an effort to tell the day surgery nurses that those circulation gloves were available if I needed them.
Dr. Lenferna was a wonderful anesthesiologist, and made me comfortable with a little joking around (checking to see if the crown in my teeth was made of gold or not). Of course, there was kindness in checking in on me in the recovery room, as I had mentioned nausea as a previous side effect.
Kindness is definitely one of those traits we should have more of in our lives. Thank you to all those who showed me kindness in the last week.
