Stacy Ross

Thanks to the largest gift in its 36-year history – a $7.5 million donation – the Victoria Hospitals Foundation is launching a new campaign to bring cutting-edge surgical robots to Greater Victoria. At Royal Jubilee Hospital, a surgical robot with multiple arms and a laser almost seems like science fiction. But it’s not the future of patient care in Greater Victoria, it’s the present.

In spite of their realtor’s advice, Rachelle Westman and her husband, Pete, decided to buy their first home in Victoria’s Burnside-Gorge neighbourhood. That was more than 30 years ago, and even then the area was plagued with problems related to drugs, crime, and homelessness. Much later, during COVID, with graffiti everywhere and complaints from residents seemingly constant, Rachelle decided to do something about it.

Twenty-five-year-old Maura Weston-Lee was struggling. She has cerebral palsy and a genetic auto-immune disorder that robs her of her strength, balance, and energy. But during COVID something happened that would change her life. She became a Para Equestrian and though it’s extremely difficult and dangerous, there’s nothing else she’d rather do. CHEK Newsletter Sign up for the CHEK Now daily email newsletter to get breaking news and the day's top stories sent to your email.