October 28, 2020
A 10-year volunteer at Chinook Regional Hospital, Rosemarie Gattiker sits on a bench dedicated to her late husband, Wayne, at Henderson Lake in Lethbridge.
Rosemarie Gattiker holds her Alberta Health Services Volunteer pin that recognizes her 10 years of helping patients at Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge.
Story & photos by Sherri Gallant
When Rosemarie Gattiker was treated for breast cancer in 2006, she appreciated the little things volunteers did to make her and other patients more comfortable.
Two years later, when her husband Wayne Tillotson was diagnosed with terminal cancer, the kindness of volunteers during his treatment once again made an impression on her.
Recently, Gattiker received a special pin from Volunteer Resources in Lethbridge, in recognition of 10 years of service. “When my husband died I was just devastated and for a year I couldn’t bear the thought of going into the hospital,” she recalls. “But after that year was over, I felt that I wanted to help.”
So she signed up at the volunteer office in Chinook Regional Hospital so she could help care for others — just as she and Wayne had been cared for.
Her first assignment brought her to the hospital’s dialysis unit, where she did what she could to make patients more comfortable during the long hours they spent in treatment. When the cancer centre announced an opening a few months later, she took it. She knew that’s where she wanted to be, and she’s been there ever since.
“When Wayne was having chemo I would sit with him for the four hours or so that he had to be there,” Gattiker recalls. “I noticed that some people didn’t have anyone to be with them, and volunteers would sometimes sit with them. I couldn’t imagine not being there with Wayne.
“We were always there over the noon hour. Someone would come around and ask each person what they wanted for lunch. They came around with home-baked cookies and a cup of tea or coffee. It was just a lovely gesture. I didn’t realize just how much it would mean to Wayne, but every time we were there he would mention how nice it was when people came by to see if he needed anything. He just thought they were angels.”
Each time she sits with a patient now, or brings warm blankets or a meal, she knows it makes a difference.
“On the day I got that 10-year pin and a thank-you letter, it made my heart sing. It was so lovely being appreciated and being acknowledged for it — and I received it on the 11th anniversary of Wayne’s passing.”
