Jody Vance credits the kindness, support and love of the Delta care workers who surrounded her and her family on how she made it through the passing of her beloved father.
Bill Vance, also known endearingly as Coach Bill, was treated like family in the Cascades Unit of Delta View Care Home, says Vance, and she will be forever grateful for it.
“I promised [my dad] that I would never leave him alone and afraid, so they made sure that he was never ever alone and afraid. There’s just so much gratitude attached to that,” she said.
Vance’s youth was spent living in Delta, and she graduated from South Delta Secondary School before moving back to Vancouver, where she was born. Delta continues to hold a special place in her heart as most her family still lives in the community.
While brainstorming how Vance and her brother Greg could express their utmost thanks to the team who cared for their dad, she says the idea of sending flowers or a box of donuts wasn’t even coming close to being meaningful enough. And so, they came up with the idea of sending the Cascades Unit a letter.
The broadcaster and columnist had her and her brother Greg’s thank-you letter published in The Orca on June 16. In it, she writes how the astounding care that her dad and family received means absolutely everything.
“Our hearts skipped a beat every time the call display read ‘Cascades Delta View.’ And almost every time, the call began ‘Everything is okay, it’s Sean calling, just updating you…’
“If it wasn’t Sean, it was Rupinder, Arianne, Parm, T.T., Manpreet, Veronica, Elvin, Neeru, Suman, Dalwinder, Sijit, Suzanne, Lin Yang, Kayla, Tina or Ginny.
“We were in a rhythm of connection with all of you, and that certainly helped us when Dad’s significant health decline began three weeks ago, when your beloved Coach Bill saw his valiant battle with Alzheimer’s and cancer get the upper hand,” reads part of the letter.
Vance also extends her thanks to Dr. McCuaig from Delta Hospital’s emergency room for being so empathetic and kind when delivering her dad’s heart wrenching diagnosis.
“I said ‘our family is committed to ensuring that he is comfortable and that – when it is time – that he goes gently into the night’, and that doctor said, ‘I’m so glad to hear that, you’re doing absolutely the right thing.’”
During those last days, Vance heard that sentiment many times from the Delta medical professionals surrounding her, and she says hearing that reassurance was comforting.
And she would tell her dad almost those exact same words – that he did everything, it was perfect, and that he didn’t need to hang on for the family’s sake.
“He was very task-oriented, so I think he heard me when I said, ‘it was perfect, you’re good,’” she laughs.
Coach Bill was known in the Cascades Unit for “his love of music and helping with the simple tasks of folding towels with the personal care workers. How he was funny and a bit crass – and liked the occasional inappropriate joke,” reads part of the thank you-letter.
Amid all the deflating, sad headlines coming from care homes during this pandemic, Vance feels it’s important to pay attention to the people who continue to work tirelessly caring for our loved ones.
“I feel like all personal care workers in long-term care homes deserve our deepest gratitude,” she says. “I hope that government acknowledges the hard work of these people and puts significant investment in helping to bolster staffing and funding and supports for [care homes].”
