“I wish more people would realize how easy it is to have an impact on this hospital and our medical system.”
Vartouhi Jazmaji clearly remembers the moment she realized that Women’s College Hospital is a special place. It was the late 1970s, not long after she had moved to Canada from Lebanon, and her sister-in-law was undergoing an emergency C-section. Vartouhi, holding her sister-in-law’s hand throughout the procedure, recalls the pure joy of the doctors and nurses in the room when the baby was born.
“It was unbelievable – like they had never delivered a baby before,” she says, knowing that the care team was delivering hundreds of babies each year at that time. “I was so moved. I said to myself, ‘This is an environment where people really care.’”
A long-time patient of WCH herself, Vartouhi says that the care she received over the years never ceased to be exceptional – including the day, on her 60th birthday, when she was rushed to WCH and diagnosed with uterine cancer. That day, she took comfort in knowing that her doctors and nurses truly cared – and that they would ensure she received the very best care. Today, Vartouhi is cancer-free.
Vartouhi says that her decision to become a monthly donor in 1992 was an easy one. Having received such excellent care at Women’s College Hospital and knowing the importance of giving – she and her husband are deeply involved with their community and support numerous causes – she wanted to give back to the place that made such a difference for her and her family.
“It’s so easy to make a big difference over time by making manageable monthly donations,” she says. “And I know my donations are being used properly. I wish more people would realize how easy it is to have an impact on this hospital and our medical system.”
Vartouhi is proud that her donations helped build the new home of Women’s College Hospital, but she knows that it’s what’s inside that counts – and the reason why she has been a donor for 24 years and counting.
“The people make Women’s College Hospital what it is,” she says. “A big house doesn’t make a home – it’s the people that matter.”
Become a monthly donor today and help change the lives of more women like Vartouhi.
