I got my booster shot December 13 at 6:10 p.m. The things we remember...

Truthfully, it was a bit scary going to a place with so many people. And scary in my insides, too. I arrived at the Community Centre in Picton and stood in line outside very briefly – six feet apart for sure. I sensed some other folks were also finding it scary.

Then I heard a voice. From behind a mask and under a ball cap and wrapped in a big, dark jacket. It was a voice I recognized that somehow recognized me.

“Hi Monica. How are you? It's Richard. Have to ask you the questions. Sorry.” (So Canadian, eh?)

It was Richard, who works for The County, holding a clipboard and checking my name and asking me the well memorized COVID clearance questions.

And then I felt myself relax.

Richard was one of the many County staff working when I went for my first shot last April. And here he was again. There were other County staff working that same evening. And volunteers. And a full-court press of medical folks checking health cards and administering our booster shots. Many of these folks, while cheerful, encouraging and supportive, were looking tired. It was just about time to end that day.

As I got in my car and headed home, I was aware that, as much as I hadn't wanted to be there with so many people, I had just witnessed something pretty amazing. And I hadn't had to travel to the North Pole to see it! Having grown up in that seasonal tradition, this is what I saw...

It was the assembly line of Santa's elves preparing and delivering a very special Christmas gift this year to each of us in our community. There was a risk for each of these individuals in carrying out their assigned task. A risk for them and their loved ones. This wasn't the early days of COVID. These were the days of the still raging Delta variant and the early discovery days of the Omicron variant in Canada. For multiple months these folks, and many others, have trained and prepped and delivered these gifts of testing, shots, hospital care and home supports in our community. I am so grateful.

I want to recognize all these special “Covid Elves”. What they helped Santa deliver this year are stronger family members in the presence of an illness that is taking a lot from us. As you read this, it won't have been a normal Christmas – again. We were so hoping. Most folks won't be going south or on vacations outside Canada this winter – again. Gatherings will be restricted in size – again. And for now, life celebrations including births, marriages, graduations and deaths will still come with “instructions.”

It's a bummer.

But there have been really good times for the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation in those same months. For that lift in our community, I want to recognize another group of elves – the staff of our PECMH Foundation and our Back the Build Campaign Cabinet Members. And especially YOU – the over 2,000 donors who have decided to help us get a new hospital in Prince Edward County. You have delivered, and keep delivering the other gift that will change our healthcare future.

We already know that COVID will change how our hospital is built to help manage infections and patient flow accordingly. The modified completion date of 2027 means we will have an even more leading-edge health care facility to respond to similar crises of our current time and going forward. We know that extra care factor will require us to raise additional funds.

But for now – I want to simply say thank you to “All the Elves.”

May your New Year be one of good health and joyful moments!

Sincerely, Monica

For information about our hospital, or to make a donation call 613 476 1008 ext. 4502, or visit the Foundation’s website at www.pecmhf.ca.