We have owned property near Markdale since 1981. Both Susan and I had medical practices in Toronto so it wasn’t until 1993 that we were able to move to Glenelg. From the start the Markdale Hospital was a big part of our lives. Shortly after we settled in, our three-year-old son Toby fell and broke his leg necessitating our first visit. Once the fracture was set and immobilized, Toby quickly discovered how to walk unaided. His stomping around on his cast led to frequent return visits to the hospital for new rolls of plaster to repair the damage. We got to know the place very well.
A couple of years later my neighbor and I were splitting wood. He crushed his little finger and I took him to Markdale. There was no surgeon available on site so rather than transport my neighbor to Owen Sound, I was given permission to use the Markdale operating room.
A few months later I received a polite letter from the administration at Grey Bruce Health Services suggesting that, since I was making regular use of the hospital system, perhaps I would like to join the hospital staff. I did.
Forward to 2002 when I was asked to chair the first fund raising campaign for a new hospital: “Just a few weekends of your time”. Thanks to amazing community support we collected pledges for twelve million dollars, an amount far more than the government anticipated. And then we waited. For 15 years.
During that time the hospital remained a significant part of our lives. I continued to see patients there, was sick enough to spend a week as an in-patient, two broken arms – I had to drop my motorcycle and Toby fell out of a tree –and I joined the new Capital Campaign. The Hall family has been deeply involved with the Markdale hospital for decades and supporting this up-to-date facility is one of our best decisions.