Margaret was awakened by the ringing of the telephone. A glance at the clock told her it was 2AM and with an uneasy feeling she made her way to the kitchen and lifted the receiver. The doctor’s voice was calm, but the point he was making was clear, her mother was very ill, and was not expected to live through the night. It was September 10, 1956 and she knew that she was the only family member who would get the news that night. Margaret lived in St. John’s, the capital and only city in Newfoundland at the time, while her father and other family members lived “around the bay”, as the people of St. John’s referred to the thousands of little communities that dotted the coastline and often reached far into the bays of the triangular shaped island. Margaret thought of her blind father, who was unable to make the trip to visit his wife, and of her brothers and sisters who would get the news tomorrow by telegram. “Lord, She prayed, don’t let her die tonight“.

Meanwhile, back in Middle point, the others slept on, unaware of the sudden turn of events that had so upset Margaret. How well her father slept these nights was known only to him. His wife Patricia, had taken sick in mid July, indeed had not been feeling well for weeks before that, but the only doctor availably was one that travelled to the “outports”, as the often tiny communities were called, by boat. The MV Lady Anderson, named for the wife of a former governor of the colony, made regular trips to points along the Southeast coast of the province, but was often called from it’s regular route for emergencies. Fortunately for Patricia, the hospital ship arrived at Middle Point on the evening of July 14, for on that day she had been too sick to get out of bed. The doctor’s prognosis was a tumour on the thorax and the following day, he sent a telegram to The General Hospital, in St. John’s asking that his patient be admitted. When confirmation was received the following day, preparations began for the trip to St. John’s. Since Patricia too weak to travel alone, a lady friend of the family volunteered to escort her. Travelling first by boat, then by car and finally by train, she sat by the sick woman’s side until they arrived at the hospital two days later where Patricia was quickly admitted and the tumour diagnosed as malignant. It was also ascertained that the patient was suffering from anemia and was much too weak for surgery. In two weeks however, she was feeling much stronger but now faced with the decision as to whether or not to have surgery. The success rate for cancer patients in 1956 wasn’t great but the alternative was certain death within a few months, if not weeks. As her husband could not travel to St. John’s, Patricia asked to return home to discuss it with him. Travel in Newfoundland at the time meant that she would be away from the hospital for almost a week. Reluctantly the doctors agreed and she returned home where she and Tom would make the decision together. With much apprehension the decision was made to go with the surgery and hope for the best.