It’s close to midnight back home in Ottawa, almost 9 p.m. in Vancouver, and Theo Bair’s phone is vibrating.
He’s come to expect the call – he knows she would have just finished a long shift, and she would check in on Theo, living away from the whole family.
“It is a little bit difficult. Not being able to hug my mom every now and then, but she always tells me everything’s going to be okay,” says Bair, who moved out west at age 15 to join the BMO Whitecaps FC Academy system in 2015.
It’s that nurturing wisdom and care that mothers have by nature. It’s the same innate traits that Marjorie Bair possesses that makes her exceptional at her job.
Marjorie, a nurse for 30 years now, is on the frontline in the battle against COVID-19 at Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa.
The exposure to the disease would make anyone fret, but the 20-year old son knows his mom best.
“I know that she's going to take care of herself because she knows how to do that,” says Theo. “I don't worry about my mom. She's a boss lady. She knows what she wants to do and she knows how she's going to do it.”
Her responsibilities include overseeing the hospital unit and ensuring that everything is going smoothly, and everyone is being taken care of.
“We’re just trying to help the families and the patients at our hospital,” says Marjorie. “We let them know that we’re here, we’re in it together, and that we’ll get through this.”
Officially, her title is care facilitator. For Theo, it’s something else.
“My mom has always been my Super Woman and she does it for a bunch of kids at the Children's Hospital as well,” says Theo. “My mom is very strong. She knows how to calm them down because that’s what she does for me. My mom is the superstar in the family, and always will be.”
Before a nurse, Marjorie is first and foremost a mother. But she knows her son is in good hands three time zones away, so she can turn her focus on caring for patients during this time.
“He’s very well taken care of by the Whitecaps,” says Marjorie. “He knows that there’s many people that he could reach out to when he has concerns or just to help him along, that brings me great comfort despite him being on the other side of Canada and away from his family.”
Once the pandemic has passed, and it eventually will thanks to frontliners like Marjorie, the mother and son look forward to an especially sweet reunion.
“I know I’m going to get my guts squeezed out but it’s okay,” proudly says the son with a smile.
The quotes used in this story are courtesy of Global BC News Hour at 6.
