This is a story about my sister Joan, myself and the Tim Horton's located in Ottawa and the surrounding area; but before I tell you how it began I should start with the back story.
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Our story begins on November 19, 2001. At the age of 55, my sister Joan, from Sarnia Ontario, suffered a stroke during an operation. She was left paralyzed on her right side and with aphasia; a disorder that limits her ability to communicate. Joan was moved to a chronic care facility and the following nine months of her life were very rough, fighting infection after infection which stemmed from her operation.
The rest of the family of three brothers and four sisters live in the Ottawa area and we would make periodic trips to Sarnia for weekend visits. At the time Joan also had a daughter and grandchild who lived in nearby London, and a newly-married daughter who lived in Ottawa.
In 2003, Joan’s husband sold their business in Sarnia and Joan moved from the chronic care hospital to a newly-opened nursing home in Ottawa called Garden Terrace. This made it possible for her family to play a more active role in her care and her life. We each chose a day of the week to visit Joan.
My days were Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings and for three years it became our routine. One of the things Joan enjoyed was that a lot of times when we visited her we would bring in Tim Horton's tea or coffee. By 2006 Joan was becoming more mobile with her wheelchair and so I changed the way that Joan and I would spend our Sundays.
One day in April, 2005 I saw the Tim Horton’s television commercial about two sets of travelers who were crossing Canada and visiting Tim Horton’s along the way and it gave me an idea. At that time there were over 100 Tim Horton’s locations in Ottawa. I downloaded the addresses and created a 24” x 36” poster of the addresses, with a circle beside each one, and had the poster dry mounted. On May 26, 2005, I hung the poster in Joan’s room and we started our Tim Horton's adventures.
Each Sunday I help Joan out of her wheelchair and into the front seat of my car. Joan grabs the overhead hand grip, I stand behind her wheelchair, lift her from around the waist, shift her weight to her good side and swing her into the seat and we leave the nursing home to visit one of the Tim Horton’s on the list.
We order tea for me and Joan sometimes has tea and sometimes coffee and during the summer months she prefers the Iced Cappuccino. We also order a multi-grain bagel (double toasted) with peanut butter. After that we go for a drive and sometimes stop and visit with family and friends, have lunch, return to the nursing home and tick off the address on the poster of the Tim Horton's location we just visited.
Over the past three years we have visited every Tim Horton's in the Ottawa area, except for the ones located inside office buildings or hospitals. Later in 2008 I updated the list of addresses to include Tim Horton's that have opened since 2006. We are visiting the new Tim Horton's and revisiting the ones on the original list from 2006 and taking pictures so we can keep a diary of our Sunday outings.
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Our story begins on November 19, 2001. At the age of 55, my sister Joan, from Sarnia Ontario, suffered a stroke during an operation. She was left paralyzed on her right side and with aphasia; a disorder that limits her ability to communicate. Joan was moved to a chronic care facility and the following nine months of her life were very rough, fighting infection after infection which stemmed from her operation.The rest of the family of three brothers and four sisters live in the Ottawa area and we would make periodic trips to Sarnia for weekend visits. At the time Joan also had a daughter and grandchild who lived in nearby London, and a newly-married daughter who lived in Ottawa.
In 2003, Joan’s husband sold their business in Sarnia and Joan moved from the chronic care hospital to a newly-opened nursing home in Ottawa called Garden Terrace. This made it possible for her family to play a more active role in her care and her life. We each chose a day of the week to visit Joan.
My days were Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings and for three years it became our routine. One of the things Joan enjoyed was that a lot of times when we visited her we would bring in Tim Horton's tea or coffee. By 2006 Joan was becoming more mobile with her wheelchair and so I changed the way that Joan and I would spend our Sundays.
One day in April, 2005 I saw the Tim Horton’s television commercial about two sets of travelers who were crossing Canada and visiting Tim Horton’s along the way and it gave me an idea. At that time there were over 100 Tim Horton’s locations in Ottawa. I downloaded the addresses and created a 24” x 36” poster of the addresses, with a circle beside each one, and had the poster dry mounted. On May 26, 2005, I hung the poster in Joan’s room and we started our Tim Horton's adventures.Each Sunday I help Joan out of her wheelchair and into the front seat of my car. Joan grabs the overhead hand grip, I stand behind her wheelchair, lift her from around the waist, shift her weight to her good side and swing her into the seat and we leave the nursing home to visit one of the Tim Horton’s on the list.
We order tea for me and Joan sometimes has tea and sometimes coffee and during the summer months she prefers the Iced Cappuccino. We also order a multi-grain bagel (double toasted) with peanut butter. After that we go for a drive and sometimes stop and visit with family and friends, have lunch, return to the nursing home and tick off the address on the poster of the Tim Horton's location we just visited.
Over the past three years we have visited every Tim Horton's in the Ottawa area, except for the ones located inside office buildings or hospitals. Later in 2008 I updated the list of addresses to include Tim Horton's that have opened since 2006. We are visiting the new Tim Horton's and revisiting the ones on the original list from 2006 and taking pictures so we can keep a diary of our Sunday outings.
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