Why We’re Grateful for Stevenson: Judy & Brian Reid
June 27, 2025
When asked how she feels about Stevenson Memorial Hospital, Judy Reid doesn’t hesitate. For her, it’s simple: without the care her husband received there during several medical events between 2010 and 2024, he might not be here today.
“In early December of 2010, Brian thought he had a cold, but the cough wasn’t going away and kept getting worse,” Judy recalls. “He just kept saying, ‘No, I have a cold, it’s just a bad cold, it will go away,’ but it kept getting worse. So, my daughter and I convinced him to go to the hospital and get checked out.”
At Stevenson, an X-ray was ordered. The doctor saw what appeared to be a typical cold, but he didn’t stop there.
“The doctor said that on the X-ray there was a shadow on his lung,” Judy recalled. “So, we did a CAT scan, and it was discovered he had lung cancer.”
Brian underwent surgery in April 2011. Because the cancer was caught early, no chemotherapy or radiation was needed.
“If your emergency doctor hadn’t been so on top of things, I would not have a husband,” Judy says. “When the doctor came out of the emergency room and told me he got it, I gave him a hug.”
Judy and Brian have been married for 34 years. “He is my best friend, my world, and my rock,” she says. They’ve lived in Alliston for three decades, raising their family and building strong roots in the community.
Brian lives with Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome, a rare heart condition that has required additional hospital visits over the years. One of the most serious came just a month after Brian’s lung surgery.
“He came home one day and wasn’t feeling well. We called our family doctor, and they told us to go to the hospital right away. Because he reacted to the surgery, his heart went nuts. Paramedics came and got him—he had no blood pressure.”
By the time Judy arrived at the hospital after leaving work, Brian was stable. But the experience was a difficult one. “His heart rate was all over the place, and the nurse told him, ‘If we can’t get your heart to regulate, we’re going to have to stop your heart and start it again.’ She didn’t have to. She managed to get him back under control.”
More recently, in October 2024, Brian was in a car accident. He hit a tree stump at 80 km/h, cracking his sternum and fracturing a vertebra. He spent five days at Stevenson recovering.
“He’s determined—he didn’t want to be a burden. But everyone was so wonderful to him in the hospital,” Judy says. “I tell everyone how wonderful the doctor was at Stevenson. He received great care from all the staff.”
Now cancer-free for 14 years, Brian is back to work and doing well. His ongoing health needs related to his heart condition have brought him back to Stevenson a few times over the years, but Judy says they’ve always felt supported.
“It all started with that cough. If that doctor hadn’t been paying attention, if he hadn’t seen that shadow, if he hadn’t been so on top of his game, I wouldn’t have a husband.”
For Judy, Stevenson isn’t just the place where her husband received excellent care. It’s part of what makes Alliston home. “This is our home, this is our community. We know a lot of our neighbours and we talk to everybody. Alliston has become more like a city, but there’s still a small-town feel… The unique thing about Stevenson is that it still has that. Even though it serves a much bigger area now, it still feels like a small-town hospital.”