Eagle Lake resident expresses gratitude for life-saving care received at HHHS

Eagle Lake resident Richard Muir expresses gratitude for life-saving care received at HHHS

Radiothon matching gift offers 100,000 reasons to donate to Here for You in the Highlands to support local access to mammography

August 2, 2024 -  Long-time Eagle Lake resident and business owner Richard Muir is challenging all Highlanders to donate to Here for You in the Highlands by offering a $100,000 gift to be matched by donations received at the upcoming MooseFM Health Radiothon presented by Minden Subaru. From personal experience, Richard Muir knows just how important hospitals are to rural communities. 

In September 2022, he experienced discomfort that went away but came back later in the evening. Luckily for him, his sister-in-law, an Emergency Department nurse happened to be visiting. She immediately sensed this could be a significant health event, insisted he get to Haliburton without delay and called 911. EMS was at the cottage on Eagle Lake in less than 20 minutes. He arrived at the hospital just as quickly and minutes later he experienced a massive cardiac arrest.

“I would have died if I had not gone to the hospital,” he says. “I could not have received better care than what I did in Haliburton. It was second to none. Dr. Mason and the staff there, kept me alive. They performed 26 minutes of CPR until the heart medication started working and then made sure I made it to a cardiac care centre as quickly as possible by helicopter. I thank God for my family and for being here, alive, at 74-years-of-age.”

Haliburton Highlands Health Services Foundation (HHHS Foundation) is the recipient of the annual Moose FM Health Radiothon which takes place this year from 6am-6pm on  August 15 and 16 presented by Minden Subaru and hosted by Rick Lowes. The focus is on mammography and women’s health. Here for You is raising funds to bring the most modern digital mammography unit to the County. It is expected to be in place and operational by late 2024. 

This new diagnostic service will save time, money and lives. There are 6,000 women who will benefit from easy access to the digital mammography unit.  Early diagnosis of breast cancer offers the greatest chance for successful treatment and survival. 

The Radiothon will feature interviews with breast cancer survivors, healthcare specialists and those who have been touched by the healthcare they have received at HHHS, like Richard Muir.

The Muir family were first introduced to Eagle Lake by family friends. They have owned and operated Silver Eagle Cottages on Eagle Lake for nearly twenty years and have shared this beautiful place with all the wonderful people they’ve met along the way.

The generous matching donation from Richard Muir will add to the Here for You in the Highlands current matching campaign and all donations to the Radiothon will be double matched. Each $1 donated will be matched by two matching donations for a total of a $3 – triple the impact. 

How to support the Radiothon: 
Online donations: www.hhhs.ca/foundation/give
Over the phone:  705-457-1580 or 705-286-1580

In-person donation locations (10-4pm Aug 15 & 16): 

• Beside Wind in the Willow, 152 Highland Street, Haliburton
• Todd’s Independent Grocer, 5121 Haliburton County Rd 21, Haliburton
• Dollo’s Foodland, 12325 ON-35, Minden
• Parks’ Foodland, 188 Highland Street, Haliburton
• Tim Horton’s drive-thru in Minden & Haliburton
• MooseFm Radiostation 6am-6pm, 152 Highland Street, Haliburton

Hourly sponsorships available: call 705-457-1580, first come first served.
Plus special challenges and prizes throughout the day. Tune In! Call In!

To learn more about how HHHS is Here for You and how you can make a gift during the Radiothon which will be matched through the Muir’s Jericho Foundation, please visit the HHHS Foundation website: hhhs.ca/foundation. 

For more information about the campaign and to discuss how you can get involved please contact, Executive Director, Melanie Klodt Wong (mklodtwong@hhhs.ca) 705-457-1580