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Healthy Babies on the Go

June 9th, 2007

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My mother Edith claims the Victorian Order of Nurses saved her sanity, and perhaps my infant life, in the modest upstairs flat of her parents-in-law’s home adjacent to Bore Park in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Her world had recently been turned upside down when she delivered not one, but two, six-week premature babies in the persons of identical twins Larry Brian and Garry Wayne.

Of course, her scrawny four-and-a-half pound treasures needed round-the-clock care and about the time young Edith was closing in on the end of her rope, the VON rolled up in a blue 1949 Chevy sedan. Edith’s confidence grew. And so did we, with the support of Canada’s venerable mobile nursing service who helped put the Larry-Garry show on the road to health and happiness.

I was raised with that lore. I’d see a car with VON stenciled on the door and think the driver was off to do good for someone, probably right in their own homes. As a result, I’ve always maintained an appreciative respect for the non-profit national health organization that has been caring for Canadians since 1897.

These days it’s not so easy to tell if a Victorian Order Nurse’s car is in the lane beside you. Their vehicles are usually not marked and in most cases the drivers do not wear nurses’ uniforms anymore. But they’re out there, by the thousands across this country of ours.

With a new nephew and niece on the scene, I’ve been thinking about those VON stories. So my wife, Lisa, and I checked out what the Victorian Order of Nurses was up to in terms of baby care; to find out what has evolved since my early encounter with the VON.

We found out about a program administered by VON Canada New Brunswick appropriately called Healthy Baby and Me. A few well-aimed telephone calls led us to Campbellton, on the legendary Restigouche River that separates New Brunswick from the province from Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula.

That’s where Anne Maltais, the Healthy Baby and Me Program Facilitator, goes about the business of providing education and support to young adults who are either expecting a baby or parenting an infant. Her beat includes communities in northern New Brunswick from Saint-Quentin to Jacquet River, places where weather can be brutal and where safe, reliable transportation is paramount to a person like Anne.

Lisa made arrangements to have lunch with her at a local cozy restaurant and then attend one of her classes, so off we drove to Campbellton. When Anne wheeled her spiffy Chevy Equinox into the restaurant’s parking lot, I noticed there were no VON markings on the front doors. There was no nurse’s uniform either, just a small VON pin on Anne’s blouse.

Over lunch Anne filled us in. She has always loved to drive so the mobile aspect of her job is a bonus. Her 2006 all-wheel-drive Equinox is key to this mobility especially when the winter winds blow nasty snowstorms through the area.

It didn’t take long to realize Anne also loves all things living. At home, besides two daughters and a husband, she manages two dogs, a cat with kittens, rabbits and a horse. But when she talked about the babies she meets in her Healthy Baby and Me courses, Anne Maltais’ eyes sparkle.

After lunch, we followed her to the Restigouche Resource Centre for Parents and ventured inside. A case of what-ifs haunted me. What if the babies didn’t appreciate this hovering wooly-faced creature? What if they made a break for the door or if little smelly trophies had to be dealt with?

“Hey, I’ve been there when my daughters cut the mustard. Be a man, Garry.”

Before the stars of the class arrived, I went out to the car to get my camera. I couldn’t wait to meet those babies. On the way, I passed a young mother wheeling a perambulator up the walkway. Her baby was shielded from the wind by a blanket. No sighting yet. Like trying to spot an elusive rock star arriving at a blockbuster concert, I would have to wait a bit longer.

After the infants arrived, their mothers soaked up Anne’s every word as they rocked, wiped, patted and cuddled their sweeties. There was a guest speaker that day, a speech therapist who talked about early language development. I couldn’t take my eyes off those babies, so fresh-faced and so robust. Even at just two or three months old, the wide-eyed ‘students’ were so different from one another.

When the class was over I asked if we could line them up for a group photo. Of course, Lisa got glassy-eyed helping out with this maneuver. And when I was photographing those little humans, this middle-aged misty-eyed softie could hardly see through the viewfinder. I was happy for the proud young mothers. And I had plenty of respect for Anne Maltais, a competent, devoted professional. She has such passion for the program and for the babies and parents she meets. We got the feeling that each and every one of the families she meets touches her and works its way permanently into her heart.

As Anne packed her props and files into the back of her Chevy Equinox, I silently thanked the Victorian Order of Nurses. Not only for the services they provide across this country but also for the help they afforded my own young mother all those years ago.

Without their assistance in the early 1950s, the Larry-Garry show probably wouldn’t have unfolded as it did, and you just might not be reading this column today.

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