Rosemarie de Souza woke up on the last Saturday of February thinking it was going to be a normal day. What she didn’t know was that she was about to get some exciting news.
She sat down at her computer after breakfast to open some emails. One specific email caught her eye. It was from her doctor. She clicked the email and began to read through it. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
Her husband, Colman – was eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and they could book an appointment online on the upcoming Tuesday. When Tuesday rolled around, Rosemarie enthusiastically opened the website to book an appointment for her husband. There was quite a significant wait time considering the online portal had just launched.
After a ton of patience, they were able to get through and book an appointment. Luckily there was room for the following day in the morning.
Rosemarie says “There was more excitement than preparation. We’ve been just waiting for it so that we can get on with a little more living than we’re doing.”
Colman has ambulatory problems, which concerned Rosemarie when they first got to the hospital. She was wondering how far they would have to walk around the hospital before finding the registration desk.
Upon arrival, she noticed some very well marked signs, leading them exactly where they needed to go. They entered off Third Line and were greeted by a security guard at the entrance. He offered to grab Colman a wheelchair while Rosemarie went to go park the car.
After going inside and checking in at the registration desk, Rosemarie took her husband to the waiting area. They were met with two care workers who were also waiting in line to get vaccinated. They offered to let Colman go ahead of them.
The entire situation went well for them and Rosemarie was very impressed with Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. “People are very quick to criticize because it’s been such a long wait and difficult to orchestrate everything, but I can tell you honestly I’ve never seen anything run so smoothly.” Rosemarie explains.
Rosemarie explains her husband’s thoughts on getting vaccinated. “He had no feelings one way or the other. He has a bit of dementia, so he went along with us and did whatever we told him needed to be done. He very willingly came with us and realized then what this was all about.”
Rosemarie feels more comfortable now that Colman has had the first dose, but they will still continue to be cautious because Colman is 84 years old.
She is sure the vaccine will eventually make things safer but will not just assume the vaccination will protect us from everything and that we can go back to normal life immediately. Rosemarie prefers to wait until immunity is granted after most of the population has been vaccinated.
Colman has no side effects so far and continues to be of generally good health.
Halton's COVID-19 Vaccination Program Information
If you are 80 years or older and a resident of Halton, you are now eligible to received a COVID-19 vaccination in Halton. To book a vaccination you go online at Halton.ca, if you are having problems booking please call 3-1-1 and asked for assistance. There are two locations that you may be sent to:
Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital
Transportation is available for those who require assistance through Oakville Transit's Care-a-Van program.