April 24, 2023
Terry Dokken started in the kitchen at St. Boniface Hospital before finding her calling as a Health Care Aide in the Palliative Care Unit. Her husband of 39 years, Tim, drove a bus with Winnipeg Transit.
“Mom was the glue of the family and Dad was the jokester,” said Dana Dokken, characterizing parents in whose names she’s planning a tribute gift to St. Boniface Hospital Foundation.
Of course, they were much than that to Dana and her two younger sisters.?
“Everything they did?was for us, their daughters. The example to be good to each other and help others. Both gave of their heart and soul to help others.”?
At work her mom always had a smile, Dokken said.
“She was a ray of sunshine for patients. She never wanted anyone to die alone.”
Terry Dokken was thriving in her job when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. She passed away just under three years later, at 57. Terry spent the final 12 hours of her life in the Palliative Care Unit where she had comforted so many before.
“When she passed away, she was comfortable,” Dokken said. “The hospital really took care of her.”
Annual tradition
On the first anniversary of her mother’s passing, Dokken started an annual tradition: delivering flowers and food to Palliative Care for patients and staff.
“I brought pink and purple flowers, which my mom loved. She was cremated, so I had a place to grieve by visiting the ward. And still when I sit in the family room, I can feel her. I truly can.”
Dana learned from her mom’s cancer experience to follow up on health concerns.
It was a lesson she took to heart on her dad’s behalf a couple of years later. Tim Dokken underwent three open-heart surgeries at St. Boniface.
“We were in the Asper building many times. A lot of different people helped him. I was there with him.”
Tim Dokken passed away in 2021, at 64, while on a waiting list for a heart transplant.
At one point her father was in a care home; Dokken advocated for mental health resources be made available to support his care.
Seeing the good
Even dealing with her health concerns and personal struggles, Dana Dokken is determined to honour her parents by supporting health care.
“It’s easy to criticize the health care system but there are so many good acts happening every day. People need to see the good and look at the little blessings. There is so much we can do to help patients and caregivers.”
“I can do something. I can honour my parents.”
Like Dana, you can remember your loved ones through tribute gifts to St. Boniface Hospital Foundation. Your gifts can create a lasting legacy.
When accumulated gifts total $2,000 or more, your loved ones’ names are added to the Tribute Wall in St. Boniface Hospital’s Everett Atrium, creating a lasting tribute to your honouree.