Stories
& news
that heals.
Life in the palm of your hands
Photo: Charmaine Mallari Photography Michelle and Gilbert (Gil) De Jesus are silver-lining people. They’re quick to smile and their optimism is contagious. But they haven’t had it easy. The last two years have been filled with incredible challenges for the couple –...
Storybook ending
December 10, 2019 There’s no place like home. When twins Emma and Frederick were born at only 26 weeks at St. Boniface Hospital, their parents, Janelle and Brant Batters, didn’t know if the micro-preemies would even make it. They weighed about two pounds each. “Our...
Now and then
For her 10th birthday, Brianna Matkowski’s mother surprised her with a trip to visit St. Boniface Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where Brianna had been a newborn patient. Brianna and her mom, Andrée, came to the Hospital from the northern Manitoba...
You gave Jennifer her life back
Imagine waking up one morning in your own bed, but unable to remember where – or even who – you are. That was the confusing reality Jennifer Lee had to face, a decade ago. “The person I was before I woke up that day in 2009 doesn’t exist anymore,” says Lee. “My brain...
Back from the edge
As the co-host of The Start, weekday mornings on 680 CJOB, it’s Greg Mackling’s job to embody the friendly Manitoban persona. And he does it well. Meet him once, and the veteran Winnipeg broadcaster will quickly make you feel like you’ve been friends for years. He has...
Joyful songs of healing
Dawn Beirnes has watched the public’s understanding of mental illnesses change over the years, along with her own. Beirnes was diagnosed more than 30 years ago with bipolar affective disorder and later, borderline personality disorder. Before then, as a young person...
Happy Father’s Day!
New father Mark Thompson and his wife Kristen, of Winnipeg, welcomed their first-born child Blake Elliot Thompson into the world on Sunday, May 26, at St. Boniface Hospital – fewer than 48 hours before this interview. Mark, who is self-employed as a mechanical...
The long and winding road to healing
It took Melissa Gowryluk over a year to feel comfortable enough to share her story with others. “Now that I have, it’s changed me.” "I feel more positive," said the former St. Boniface Hospital patient. In January 2017, while she was away on a business trip, heavy,...
My dance with life
In desperation, I pulled the fire alarm… Long before then, it all started with sleepless nights. I was 15 years old, and before long, my tossing and turning had become the onset of my mental illness. Suddenly, I couldn’t tell the difference between what was real...
Meet our guiding lights
It’s not hard for any of us to talk about our physical health – things like blood sugar, or a broken bone. But bring up mental illness, and suddenly we go silent for fear of stigma. As a psychiatrist in St. Boniface Hospital’s Mental Health Program for nearly 20...
Finding her voice
Foundation supporter Kim Clermont with on-air personality Joe Aiello during our 2018 Radiothon of Hope and Healing, sponsored by Vickar Automotive Group. After a near-fatal heart attack in 2017, a kind and quiet soul gained the perspective and the confidence to speak...
Gérald Fay held his grandchild for the first time
Micheline Fay shares her family’s story: My brother and his wife were expecting their second child. As Dad fought on in the Cardiac Unit, and with the baby’s due date approaching, my brother said, “He needs to meet the baby before he leaves us.” Late at night on...