Episode 84: How Julia Wagg’s legacy is giving others an extra shot at life

The Ottawa Hospital’s mental health team provides early diagnosis and treatment of severe mental illness to patients across Eastern Ontario.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Sarah Brandigampola, a psychiatrist at our hospital who works in the On Track: First Episode Psychosis Program. She discusses the three-year program that cares for patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, the multi-disciplinary team involved, and why this program is so important, including the fact that Canada has one of the highest rates of schizophrenia in the world. Dr. Brandigampola also shares that treatment options have improved dramatically in the past decade, and today there's a great deal of hope for patients. (24:03)

When Heba Haidar was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, her world came to a grinding halt. She was on maternity leave, with three young children under the age of five, and she worried about what the future might hold for her and her family. Hear Heba’s story – one of our latest in the cancer journey series — and find out why cancer is not such a big scary word anymore.(26:34)

As a young boy, Dr. Alvin Tieu likely saw himself becoming a professional athlete because of his love of sports. But there was a shift in grade 7 — science became more interesting, and he decided to write an essay on the Big Bang theory. From there, his interest in medicine and research started to grow. Today, Dr. Tieu is an emerging leader at The Ottawa Hospital and the 2023 recipient of the Worton Researcher in Training Award. (19:14)

Registered Nurse Phil Nguyen exudes energy — whether he’s caring for patients on 5W in the Transplant and Cellular Therapy Unit at the General Campus, teaching the next generation of healthcare workers at uOttawa, or busting a move as a hip-hop dancer. 

In this conversation, Phil talks about why he considers The Ottawa Hospital his home away from home. He reveals what he loves most about his job, his special connection with patients, and how his team will go beyond the call of duty to provide compassionate care — he shares one special story in particular. You’ll also find out why it’s not so unusual to find him dancing with his patients. (18:47)

Dr. Shawn Aaron’s path to research wasn’t planned. In fact, his goal was to become a physician and care for patients with lung disease, but that all changed when he came to The Ottawa Hospital and fell in love with research.

In this conversation, Dr. Aaron discusses his practice-changing research for cystic fibrosis and COPD. While he admits his research career saw early success when he turned his master’s thesis into a New England Journal of Medicine article – that didn’t stop him from pushing the research envelope over his impressive career. As a result of that, he has been named the 2023 recipient of the Dr. J. David Grimes Career Achievement Award. (25:05)

Faced with an autoimmune disorder since childhood, rock radio announcer Amy Volume has been a patient of The Ottawa Hospital for about 20 years. More recently, she started losing mobility in one leg and that’s when her orthopaedic team said it was time for her to have hip replacement surgery. Listen to hear more about Amy’s story and why she considers our ortho surgeons the real rock stars. (23:46)

Meet Dr. Barbara Vanderhyden – a senior scientist at The Ottawa Hospital who’s held the inaugural Corinne Boyer Chair in Ovarian Cancer Research since 2000. 

In this episode, Dr. Vanderhyden talks about why she’s devoted her career to investigating ovarian cancer. You’ll learn about her dedicated team, and find out who are the unofficial members, and the important role they play. Plus, Dr. Vanderhyden shares two critical discoveries they’ve made in the last few years, her deep gratitude for our donors, and how puzzles and mysteries continue to be a part of her life even when she's not in the lab. (28:47)

After nearly a decade of mini seizures, Stefanie Scrivens was diagnosed with a rare form of a brain tumour at only 20 years old — that was in 2009. She would be one of the first to benefit from a new treatment option to increase her chance of survival, including two complex, 8-hour awake brain surgeries at The Ottawa Hospital to remove the tumour.

Today, at the age of 34, we check in with Stefanie to get an update on how she’s doing and what direction her life has taken since her two brain surgeries at The Ottawa Hospital. (26:55)

Dr. Paul MacPherson is a longtime advocate for gay men’s health. In 2023, he was named the first Clinical Research Chair in Gay Men’s Health at The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa. This chair is a first of its kind in any Canadian hospital.

In this episode, Dr. MacPherson talks about what it means to see this research become a reality, the stigma gay men face when it comes to their health, and how he hopes this chair will help to change that. He also shares how the idea for the chair came about in the first place, and what he does with the one hour he sets aside for himself each day. (28:44)

UPDATE: Sadly, Alison passed away on Wednesday, October 11, 2023. We offer our deepest condolences to all those who loved her and we remain profoundly inspired by her. 

Alison Hughes was first diagnosed with breast cancer at age 37. At the time, she was running her own business and the mother of two young children. The news was the shock of her life. Ten years later, her world was turned upside down again — this time her breast cancer had metastasized. Alison hopes to be a voice for younger people facing a breast cancer diagnosis, and that’s why she’s sharing her story. (33:04)