John Stenstrom’s father, Jack, was a general surgeon in Victoria and his son, David, is an internal-medicine physician in Oregon.
But not Stenstrom, who went into business instead, becoming chief executive and president of a steamship company that owned and operated freighters on the west coast of North America.
“Medicine skipped a generation in my family,” said the Victoria-area resident. “I wasn’t drawn to medicine like they were, but let me tell you that I’ve sure benefited from the care of those who were. Many times.”
Stenstrom, 79, said he and his wife, Bonnie, raised their family in northern California and Washington state for 25 years. While travelling for business, he says, he saw a lot of the world, from Australia and New Zealand to South America.
“I wouldn’t have thought it then, but those experiences would show me just how great we have it right here. Like it is for a lot of people, there was something that drew me back home to where I grew up.
“For more reasons than one, I’m grateful for that today.”
Stenstrom returned to Canada in 1999 after he retired. Soon after, he had a recurrence of prostate cancer, which he’d experienced years earlier.
“I had seen some of the best physicians in the U.S. at Stanford University Medical Center,” he said. “When I called down there to ask if I should return for treatment, they surprised me by saying: ‘No, stay home. You’re in one of the best places on the West Coast for treatment, right there at Royal Jubilee Hospital.’ ”
Several years went by and he and Bonnie enjoyed sailing and travelling in their RV a few months every year to see their grandchildren — there are 1o of them now.
Last October, after a restless night’s sleep, he woke up with a “great swelling” in his leg. “Bonnie knew we needed to go for help right away — she gave me five minutes and we were off to Saanich Peninsula Hospital,” Stenstrom said. “A short while later, I was transferred by ambulance to Royal Jubilee where I would undergo an angioplasty to relieve the swelling.”
The diagnosis was deep-vein thrombosis.
Stenstrom remembers talking to critical-care physician Dr. Peter Sherk afterward about going to Royal Jubilee’s High Acuity Unit.
“I spent several days in the new High Acuity Unit and I credit the care that I had at Royal Jubilee for a full and complete recovery,” Stenstrom said. “All of the doctors, all of the nurses and all of the support staff were just exceptionally good.”
Bonnie Stenstrom said she knew her husband was in a great place.
“I felt really good knowing that he was in the hands of this constellation of physicians in the High Acuity Unit — that they had various specialties, but they were all going to come together on this situation. I had this sense that every aspect of John was going to be taken care of because that’s what those people were there for.
“We both have a lot of confidence in our health care. I wasn’t worried. You have to put your trust somewhere and I trust this system here. It works.”
The Stenstroms followed up with a contribution to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation $7-million It’s Critical Campaign for a permanent High Acuity Unit to augment Royal Jubilee’s Intensive Care Unit, as “our way of saying thank you.”
The health care system in Canada was a major part of the decision to return here, Stenstrom said.
“From my perspective, the care we have in British Columbia is top-notch. When you need it, it’s there and it’s very good.”
Donations to the It’s Critical Campaign can be made online at victoriaf.ca, by calling 250-519-1750 or emailing [email protected].
