It started like any other summer evening on Skeleton Lake: a family meal, the hum of cottage chatter, and Glen Gregory at the sink, tidying up before bed. Then everything stopped—his heart, his awareness, the rhythm of a night like so many before.
What followed was a race across Muskoka to save his life, one that began in a small-town ER and ended hours later at a regional hospital equipped for the worst.
Glen was standing at the sink of his Muskoka cottage, rinsing dishes after a summer dinner with his wife, RuthAnn, their daughter, and son-in-law. The family had just finished eating, and like always at the lake, everyone pitched in. Glen was tidying up, setting the stage for morning coffee.
Then, everything went black.
His heart had slowed to a dangerous 30 beats per minute. His family called 911, and within minutes, an ambulance was rushing him to the nearest hospital in Bracebridge. On the way, Glen recalls watching the monitor, its numbers dipping lower than they should.
“I looked up at the paramedics and said, ‘I’m leaving again,’” he remembers.
Doctors at the closest hospital stabilized him, but they quickly realized Glen’s condition required care beyond what they could provide. His heart’s electrical system had failed. Without warning, his pulse would drop, he’d lose consciousness, and resuscitation was needed.
That’s when Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) became Glen’s lifeline.
“Within hours, they told me I was going to RVH,” says Glen. “When they loaded me into the ambulance, a woman in scrubs jumped in with me. I said, ‘I must be pretty special to get my own nurse.’ She shook her head and said, ‘I’m a doctor.’ That’s when I knew I was in trouble.”
Glen arrived at RVH in the middle of the night. Hours later, his heart stopped again.
It took a full team to bring him back, working in tandem, focused and fast.
He woke to a cheering clinical team and a doctor leaning over him with a smile.
“Welcome back,” the doctor said.
That morning, RVH’s cardiac team inserted a temporary pacemaker. Days later, surgery gave Glen a permanent one—and a second chance at life.
That was four years ago. Since then, the care Glen received has become even faster and more coordinated.
Thanks to donor support, RVH has expanded its Code STEMI protocols into Muskoka, guaranteeing that anyone in Simcoe Muskoka experiencing a heart attack gets to RVH within 90 minutes of first medical contact.
This means patients like Glen now bypass their local hospital altogether when every minute matters—cutting down critical delays and increasing survival rates.
The impact goes well beyond cardiac care. Each year, roughly 4,000 people from Muskoka access specialized treatment at RVH—care that local hospitals can’t provide. That includes stroke, mental health, cancer, trauma, and kidney care. And during Muskoka’s bustling summer months, the numbers spike.
It’s a time RVH staff call “trauma season”—when car crashes, boating accidents, and severe injuries send a surge of patients through its doors. As the region’s only Level 3 Trauma Centre, RVH is equipped to handle these cases, keeping patients closer to home rather than sending them to Toronto.
In 2023, nearly 1,000 trauma patients were treated at RVH. Only 105 required transfer to a city hospital. That’s nearly 900 people who got lifesaving care without ever leaving the region.
For Glen, who splits his time between Muskoka and London—where big city hospitals are never far—it’s a powerful reminder of how crucial regional access can be.
“I’m so grateful,” Glen says. “The paramedics, the doctors in Bracebridge, and the team at RVH were incredible. Even after I went back to London, RVH followed up at 30, 60, and 90 days. I knew I could always reach them.”
Today, Glen is back where he belongs: casting lines from the dock, sipping coffee on quiet mornings, and enjoying the peace that comes with a steady heartbeat.
He’s also a proud donor—to both RVH and Bracebridge Hospital—grateful for the chain of care that saved his life and determined to pay it forward.
“I owe everything to them,” he says. “And I want others to have that same chance.”