Chris Hadfield may have been the star of the show Saturday night but he wasn't the brightest star to take the stage.
You'd think the most famous Canadian astronaut ever and a fella with a best-selling biography wouldn't have much of a chance of being overshadowed. Yet, even Hadfield talked at the start of his presentation during the Bob Ewert Memorial Dinner and Lecture about how inspired he was by the story of third-year Northern Medical Program student Michiko Maruyama.
Becoming a doctor wasn't her first choice in life, or even her second.
First, she dreamed of going to the Olympics to compete in judo and as a national champion, she was well on her way. Second, she studied industrial design at the University of Alberta, eager to apply her artistic abilities to design toys and children's furniture.
Then doctors found a tumour in her leg.
Cancer ended her Olympic dream but it didn't dampen the fire inside Maruyama's heart. She benefited from the incredible work doctors did to treat her and was inspired to join them. Although she left her potential career in toy design behind, she didn't forget about her artistic side.
Once accepted into the Northern Medical Program, she quickly became known for her medical illustrations, as she blended her love of art with her studies. Word of her talent spread and she was asked to share her ability with others.
Maruyama's painted the fun wall mural in the pediatric wing at University Hospital featuring the four food groups that encourages healthy eating for children. She spent a summer at B.C. Children's Hospital developing teaching toys for kids undergoing treatment. She and Haida artist Clarence Mills collaborated on a children's book called Dirty Paws about the importance of washing hands.
Then the cancer returned.
Six more weeks of radiation therapy put her behind in her studies but she's back at school, working as hard as ever.
At the moment, she's working with a plastic surgeon and the UBC engineering program on a cheap and compact burn treatment kit for first responders and for use in developing countries.
Hadfield wasn't the only one struck by her story.
The Northern Medical Programs Trust awarded Maruyama the $5,000 Rising Star Health Service Award on Saturday night for her incredible efforts, even while fighting cancer, to improve health care in the region.
Although she's from Lethbridge, Maruyama has already decided she will set up practice in Prince George once her studies are done.
Prince George is already benefiting from the work of Dr. Lauri McCoy, a born-and-raised in Prince George resident and graduate of the Northern Medical Program. She is currently specializing in geriatrics or health care for seniors. Based on the aging population in Prince George and area, McCoy will be worth her weight in gold to the entire region in a few short years.
Even as incredible as these two women are to the present and future of Prince George, their success has been made possible by the Northern Medical Program. Health care in Prince George was in full crisis 14 years ago but the community came together with health professionals to turn things around. The result of that rally attended by more than 6,000 people was a combined effort in all communities to make health care the job of everyone. The medical school at UNBC, the teaching hospital in Prince George and even the cancer lodge are a result of those efforts and doctors in practice and training for local residents is the wonderful legacy of the medical program.
But it doesn't just belong to just us anymore. All of rural Canada has benefited from the training provided by the Northern Medical Program to enable health care practitioners to work in all rural and northern areas of the country, not only within the boundaries of the Northern Health Authority.
Hadfield told some fascinating stories about his life as an astronaut and had some motivational thoughts to share about pursuing dreams. After he was done, a few of them joined him on stage to provide accompaniment when he performed David Bowie's Space Oddity.
Yet, with all due respect, he was second fiddle Saturday night to the amazing accomplishments that is the Northern Medical Program and the doctors of today and tomorrow.
