The H & H Shah Family of Winnipeg are helping St. Boniface Hospital Foundation donors love and honour their own dads, granddads, and father-figures this Father’s Day by matching gifts to the Hospital.
For the second year in a row Hemant M. Shah, wife Hina, and their sons Hiren and Hiten, and their combined families committed to doubling all gifts up to $1,500 until Father’s Day in 2024, giving a significant boost to the impact of donations made towards patient care and medical research at St. B.
“The biggest thing my brother and I learned from our parents about generosity is to help others out,” said Hiren, who is himself the father of two boys, 12 and 14, born at St. B.
“We were taught to focus on positivity, help prop people up, and give back if and when we can. That’s what we are trying to do with this Father’s Day campaign through the Foundation,” he added.
The family arrived in Canada as immigrants in 1980 with little to call their own, said Hiten.
“My dad worked two jobs when he got here. A parking lot attendant and dishwasher. He truly started at the bottom,” he said. “I can’t image how scary it must have been for my parents, being in that situation. But they made it work.”
Far from his birthplace of Mumbai, Hemant eventually found success and earned the nickname “Mr. India” by forging bonds between Manitoba companies and customers in India. He used a lifetime of knowledge and experience to promote international trade and business development.
“Our dad set the example, as an immigrant, of how you can stay connected with your motherland and still make a successful life here,” said Hiten.
“My re-birthplace”
Decades later, the reason for the family’s generosity this Father’s Day is close to their hearts. Hemant survived a Code Blue – cardiac arrest – in the summer of 2021 and underwent open-heart surgery at the Hospital. At age 68, Mr. Shah spent 19 days (including one Father’s Day) in Manitoba’s Cardiac Centre of Excellence while receiving life-saving cardiac care.
“The community supported me. I am alive today and talking to you because of the care I received at St. Boniface Hospital. I am here with my family and grandchildren, because of your support,” said Hemant.
He was at home in June 2021 making plans with Hina to celebrate Father’s Day when he had what he at first thought was indigestion. But he soon lost consciousness.
Shah awoke to learn that he had experienced a Code Blue – cardiac arrest, at Victoria Hospital. Five of his major arteries were blocked. After being stabilized, Shah was moved to St. Boniface Hospital for open-heart surgery on June 30, 2021.
“St. Boniface Hospital is my re-birthplace, three years ago. They took good care of me. My heart had stopped, and I was gone for 13 minutes. They revived me, and here I am,” he said.
Fatherhood challenging, rewarding
Father’s Day is the perfect occasion to recognize the men in our lives who showed us the way to conduct ourselves, said Hiten. As the father of a son, 9, and daughter, 6, himself, he follows Hemant’s example.
“Being a Dad is the greatest job I have will ever have. It is also the most challenging. You are responsible for raising good, productive human beings. With luck, they will be able to do the same with their own children one day,” he reflected, acknowledging that mistakes will be made.
“It is a lot of pressure, but when you see your children accomplish a goal, there is nothing more rewarding.”
Hiten is grateful his father survived his Code Blue. “I can never thank him enough for the number of sacrifices he made. I am incredibly proud to be his son, and happy he gets to watch his grandchildren grow up,” he said.