Until a Cure is Found
Until we find cures, people must live with disease. When there are no longer curative measures to be had, the patient can seek palliative care, which offers emotional, spiritual, medical and practical support to those patients with life-limiting illness over a period of days, weeks, months and even years. It is care that allows patients to accept their disease and to live within it.
While many organizations support the quest for a cure, The Healing Cycle Foundation is dedicated to providing the best care available for those who will not benefit from a cure – those who can instead benefit from the care available to improve their quality of life.
Judy Tobin is a registered nurse at The Credit Valley Hospital. She has worked in the hospital’s eight-bed palliative patient care unit for ten years. “Prior to joining Credit Valley, I knew I was meant to dedicate my career to supporting these patients and their families,” she says. “We meet our patients when the battle, the struggle or the fight against disease begins to transition to acceptance – when they are ready to embrace their disease. We support them through that process through medical and non-medical approaches to care.”
The palliative patient care unit at The Credit Valley Hospital is noted for it’s quiet, peaceful environment. “We have the best doctors on the planet! Our team provides the best care. I couldn’t do my job every day if I wasn’t convinced of that. We provide what our patients and their loved ones need in the moment. We recognize the anger, pain, sadness and helplessness but also the transition to acceptance and peace. In some cases, we see people become ‘who they are’ for the first time in their lives because they were always trying to be someone else for everyone else – it’s truly amazing,” says Judy.
During the Healing Cycle ride this year
Judy Tobin will be there as riders cross the finish line. She’s promising to bring sunshine too!